Overcoming Survey Research Problems
Overcoming Survey Research Problems

Author: Stephen R. Porter

Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Published: 2004-04-10

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13:

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Paper and electronic surveys of students and faculty have become increasingly popular in higher education research and are now used in almost all facets of assessment and planning. Yet as the demand for survey research has increased, survey response rates have been falling. Low response rates are problematic because they can call into question the validity of the results, as well as increase survey administration costs. This volume examines an array of survey research problems and best practices, with the aim of providing readers with ways to increase response rates while controlling costs. Many institutional researchers face additional demands such as administering multiple surveys over time, or administering surveys on sensitive subjects such as student alcohol or drug use. New technologies for survey administration also provide many different options. This volume discusses these issues in terms of the survey research literature as well as the experiences of practitioners in the field. This is the 121st volume of the higher education quarterly journal New Directions for Institutional Research.

Our Underachieving Colleges
Our Underachieving Colleges

Author: Derek Bok

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2008-01-15

Total Pages: 429

ISBN-13: 9780691136189

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The author sets forth what is known about how much students learn in college, gives recommendations for how to improve undergraduate education, and describes how universities can develop a continuing process of enlightened trial and error that will enable them to improve their performance in the future.

The Handbook of Institutional Research
The Handbook of Institutional Research

Author: Richard D. Howard

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2012-06-28

Total Pages: 691

ISBN-13: 1118234510

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Institutional research is more relevant today than ever before as growing pressures for improved student learning and increased institutional accountability motivate higher education to effectively use ever-expanding data and information resources. As the most current and comprehensive volume on the topic, the Handbook describes the fundamental knowledge, techniques, and strategies that define institutional research. The book contains an overview of the profession and its history, examines how institutional research supports executive and academic leadership and governance, and discusses the varied ways data from federal, state, and campus sources are used by research professionals. With contributions from leading experts in the field, this important resource reviews the analytic tools, techniques, and methodologies used by institutional researchers in their professional practice and covers a wide range of topics such as: conducting institutional research; statistical applications; comparative analyses; quality control systems; measuring student, faculty, and staff opinions; and management activities designed to improve organizational effectiveness.

Institutional Research and Planning in Higher Education
Institutional Research and Planning in Higher Education

Author: Karen L. Webber

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-03-12

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 1317694325

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Globalization, demographic shifts, increase in student enrollments, rapid technological transformation, and market-driven environments are altering the way higher education operates today. Institutional Research and Planning in Higher Education explores the impact of these changes on decision support and the nature of institutional research in higher education. Bringing together a diverse set of global contributors, this volume covers contemporary thinking on the practices of academic planning and its impact on key issues such as access, institutional accountability, quality assurance, educational policy priorities, and the development of higher education data systems.

Measuring What Matters: Competency-Based Learning Models in Higher Education
Measuring What Matters: Competency-Based Learning Models in Higher Education

Author: Richard Voorhees

Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Published: 2001-07-30

Total Pages: 140

ISBN-13:

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Intended as a toolkit for academic administrators, faculty andresearchers to deal effectively with the rapid emergence ofcompetency-based learning models across higher education, thisvolume provides practical advice and proven techniques forimplementing and evaluating these models. Drawing from a recentNational Postsecondary Education Cooperative project that examineddata and policy implications across public and private institutionsas well as an industrial setting, readers will find an inventory ofstrong practices to utilize in evaluating competency-basedinitiatives. Issues discussed include practical concerns ofmeasuring and reporting competency; the critical connectionsbetween the skills employers seek and student preparation for them;the connections between distance education, accrediation, andcompetencies; and the difficult procedure of setting appropriatepassing standards for assessments. With a bibliography oncompetency literature and a framework for creating competencymodels, this volume is an invaluable tool to researchers andpractitioners alike. This is the 110th issue of the Jossey-Bass series NewDirections for Institutional Research.

What Contributes to Job Satisfaction Among Faculty and Staff
What Contributes to Job Satisfaction Among Faculty and Staff

Author: Linda Serra Hagedorn

Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Published: 2000-07-20

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780787954383

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In recent years, the attention of college trustees and administrators as well as the general public has turned largely to increasing positive student outcomes and cost effectiveness, while the satisfaction of faculty and staff has been viewed as a significantly lesser concern. This volume argues that positive outcomes for the entire campus can only be achieved within an environment that considers the satisfaction of all of those employed in the academy. The contributors examine various jobs within the campus community-including classified staff and student affairs administrators as well as faculty-and suggest factors that will promote job satisfaction and thereby foster other positive outcomes. They review, for example, the positive relationship between sabbatical leave and the development and satisfaction of faculty. They also explore the role of the faculty union in the satisfaction of community college faculty, the unique challenges to achieving satisfaction that face women faculty members and faculty of color, and other key issues.

Validity and Limitations of College Student Self-Report Data
Validity and Limitations of College Student Self-Report Data

Author: Serge Herzog

Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Published: 2011-06-28

Total Pages: 112

ISBN-13: 9781118134160

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Critics of student self-reported data claim that the accumulated corpus of research documenting student learning on the basis of survey responses stands on shaky ground. This volume argues that scholarship on proper use of student self-report data is woefully underdeveloped and contributing authors offer several important insights to assist IR practitioners in identifying potential limitations associated with self-report data. Volume editors Serge Herzog, director of institutional analysis at the University of Nevada, Reno, and Nicholas A. Bowman, postdoctoral research associate in the Center for Social Concerns at the University of Notre Dame, have assembled contributing authors who are leading scholars in the field of college student self-reports. Combined, the chapters draw on data from a mix of colleges and universities, capturing student growth at different stages of the undergraduate experience, and even beyond graduation. This is the 150th volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Institutional Research. Always timely and comprehensive, New Directions for Institutional Research provides planners and administrators in all types of academic institutions with guidelines in such areas as resource coordination, information analysis, program evaluation, and institutional management.

Data Mining in Action: Case Studies of Enrollment Management
Data Mining in Action: Case Studies of Enrollment Management

Author: Jing Luan

Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Published: 2006-12-15

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13:

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This volume introduces data mining through case studies of enrollment management. Six case studies employed data mining for solving real-life issues in enrollment yield, retention, transfer-outs, utilization of advanced-placement scores, and predicting graduation rates, among others. The authors furnish a tangible sense of data mining at work. The volume also demonstrates that data mining bears great potential to enhance institutional research. The opening chapter deciphers the similarities and differences between data mining and statistics, debunks the myths surrounding both data mining and traditional statistics, and points out the intrinsic conflict between statistical inference and the emerging need for individual pattern recognition and resulting customized treatment of students - the so-called new reality in applied institutional research. This is the 131st volume of New Directions for Institutional Research, a quarterly journal published by Jossey-Bass. Click here to see the entire list of titles for New Directions for Institutional Research.

Higher Education as Competetive Enterprise: When Markets Matter
Higher Education as Competetive Enterprise: When Markets Matter

Author: Robert Zemsky

Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Published: 2001-10-11

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780787957957

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What makes some institutions medallions and others name brands,while still others serve a predominantly convenience/user-friendlyclientele? This volume answers these questions by illustrating theway market forces transform higher education. Acknowledging thatthe drive for student-generated revenues has come to characterizeU.S. higher education over the last quarter century, thecontributors present the results of a twenty-year study at theUniversity of Pennsylvania that explains which campuses competewith one another, at what prices, and with what kinds of outcomesfor their graduates. They offer a comprehensive history of thedevelopment and implementation of Collegiate Results Instrument(CRI), a tool for mapping the connection between market forces andeducational outcomes in higher education. Chapters detail themethods that CRI uses to help institutions to remain value centeredby becoming market smart. Topics include the range of values,practices, and abilities that can be tracked through CRI; practicalapplications of two CRI administrations and their results; and whatCRI can teach an institution about its signature in themarketplace. This is the 111th issue of the quarterly series New Directions forInstitutional Research.