In recent decades, higher education systems and institutions have been called to respond to an unprecedented number of challenges. Major challenges emerged with the phenomenal increase in the demand for higher education and the associated massive expansion of higher education systems. In response universities were called to adopt planning and research methods that would enable them to identify and address the needs of a larger, more diverse student body. Higher education institutions began to place greater emphasis on planning and marketing, seeking to maintain their position in an increasingly competitive higher education market. Under the current economic downturn, universities are under pressure to further cut costs while maintaining their attractiveness to prospective students.As a result educational policy makers and administrators are called to select the 'right' alternatives, aiming for both efficiency and effectiveness in delivered outcomes. This book provides insights into the use of data as an input in planning and improvement initiatives in higher education. It focuses on uses (and potential abuses) of data in educational planning and policy formulation, examining several practices and perspectives relating to different types of data. The book is intended to address the need for the collection and utilization of data in the attempt to improve higher education both at the systemic and the institutional level.

Institutional research (IR) is a growing, applied, and interdisciplinary area that attracts people from a variety of fields, including computer programmers, statisticians, and administrators and faculty from every discipline to work in archiving, analyzing, and reporting on all aspects of higher education information systems. Cases on Institutional Research Systems is a reference book for institutional research, appealing to novice and expert IR professionals and the administrators and policymakers that rely on their data. By presenting a variety of institutional perspectives, the book depicts the challenges and solutions to those in higher education administration, and state, federal, and even international accreditation.

This reader is designed for higher education programs and for institutions with planning and/or institutional research offices or staff that have a need for professional training and development. The articles in the reader were selected from a diverse range of sources that represent a wealth of well-know and respected scholars and practitioners in the field. Most of the selections were chosen for their significance as research based, conceptual or synthesis literature. The reader's editors have provided a well-rounded coverage which reflects the broad current models and approaches to planning and the roles of institutional research. In addition, an extensive and up-to-date Other Resources section includes "Related Higher Education Reference Books and Related Publication," as well as descriptions of relevant "Data Base Resources," "Periodic Data Reports," and "Related Professional Associations." Features include: Offers comprehensive coverage in the field of planning and institutional research Addresses significant and substantive issues Presents a well-focused overview on planning and instructional research in the introduction Contains useful selections for in-service and professional development Selections were chosen through an extensive literature search and review - primarily from higher education literature Provides extensive information on other related resources Includes a special section on "Using the Internet"

Identifies and describes specific government assistance opportunities such as loans, grants, counseling, and procurement contracts available under many agencies and programs.