Improving Institutional Research in Post Secondary Educational Institutions

Association For Institutional Research, Tallahassee FL

Investigators

Abstract

This five-year project will support a variety of activities designed to promote the use of national databases of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grantee, the Association for Institutional Research (AIR), will organize and administer a program to support several types of awards to investigators using these data bases. The project will consist of eight components. The first three components include continuing support from the previous award. The first component would support fellowships to individuals to support on-site work in Washington, DC providing professional experiences to the fellows using NSF and NCES databases. The second components would support research work at the awardees home institution on NSF or NCES databases. The third component would provide support for communicating and disseminating information about the content of the NSF and NCES databases and techniques for utilization of these databases for analysis. The fourth component of the project includes dissertation fellowships. This program will provide fellowships to conduct dissertation research on postsecondary education using NSF and NCES databases. The fifth component of the program includes an interdisciplinary certificate program operated at U. S. universities. This program will allow students or professionals to enroll and obtain a certificate in institutional research. The programs will use NSF and NCES databases in their training and course work. The sixth component of the program is the support of senior fellows. The fellows will be selected and are expected to serve in residence at NCES or NSF during an academic year to gain experience on the operations of Federal statistical agencies regarding the organization and collection of postsecondary institutional data. The seventh component of the project includes national collaborative training on IPEDS data. Workshops will be designed to train staff from postsecondary institutions in the actual web based collection of IPEDS data using newly designed analytical tools from NCES and in dealing with common data base and organizational problems that are part of the implementation of a new technology. The eighth component of the project includes the design and development of a Voluntary Institutional On-Line Information Network.