Office of Academic Affairs

Offices of Institutional Research and Assessment

Created Spring 2014

Overview and Purpose The Institutional Research and Assessment offices support the consistent and systematic measurement of institutional performance and its alignment with institutional goals. The main purpose of these two offices is to serve the senior academic and administrative officers at Spring Hill College by providing an analytical framework for planning, decision making, and improvement. These two offices work together collaboratively, under the guidance of the Associate Provost in Academic Affairs, to provide data-driven answers and information in a timely manner. An annual goal of these offices includes the distribution of a departmental and Division-specific Annual Data Report that can be used to support program planning. Website: Information regarding these offices and related data reports can be located on the IR and Assessment website. The offices strive to use the website to communicate commonly requested information and to highlight materials that may be broadly useful for planning, decision making, and assessment processes. Institutional Research (IR) oversees the collection, analysis, and reporting of college-wide data. These data are the official college data, often pulled from census databases created per semester that freeze data at a single point in time, reported to state and federal external agencies. Records regarding student enrollment, credit hour production, program completers, retention and graduation rates and other general data points of common interest are collected, aggregated, and posted at regular annual intervals on the website. Assessment oversees and collects data related to student achievement, student engagement, and student and partner satisfaction. For instance, the Assessment office initiates the processes and analyzes data related to a number of surveys (i.e., NSSE, Exit Survey, Senior Survey), as well as the College’s core learning outcomes. The Assessment office also supports the completion of annual assessment processes in an effort to maximize institutional effectiveness, particularly as these processes relate to accreditation at the college and division level. Data Request Procedures Interested in additional data through either office? Please complete a Data Request Form. Personnel in the IR and Assessment offices are often asked to pull data and provide reports throughout the academic year. In order to request an ad hoc data report through either of 2|Page

these offices, a Data Request Form, available on the website, must be submitted online approximately one month prior to the requested report date. Data Priorities: With ad hoc reports, our highest priority will be to serve the President, the Chief Operating Officer, the Provost, the Vice Presidents, and Division Chairs, in that order. Services from the IR and Assessment offices include assisting with or completing, on the behalf of college units, mandatory reports to governmental and accrediting agencies. Personnel in the offices focus on using both regular and requested reports as occasions to support the work of the College's senior leadership. To the extent possible, we will attempt to meet all requests for information and support that are consistent with our mission of providing accurate information that leads to data-driven decision making at the College. Request Procedures: When the Data Request Form is received, the Associate Provost will contact the individual listed on the form to gain a better understanding of the nature or scope of the request. The request will then be assigned to the appropriate office and a delivery date will be determined. When the request is completed and a data report is generated, the requestor will receive a PDF of the report. The actual report and the database used to inform the report will be archived for future reference regarding similar requests or follow-up studies to the initial request. Privacy: Both the IR and Assessment Offices adhere to privacy standards. Due to FERPA, the IR and Assessment Offices cannot provide individual student data that directly aligns to student records (i.e., names and ID’s of individuals with aligning GPA’s etc.). Similarly, when sample sizes are too small to protect individual identity, the information will not be reported. Any data requests received through the system, which ask for information regarding individual student records, will be sent to the Registrar. Training and Support We are here to help you as you make decisions regarding college planning, programming, implementation, and reform. Do not hesitate to contact our offices if you have questions regarding our services. Informal and one-on-one training is available upon request to help individuals meet their information needs with data collected and analyzed in the two offices. Please contact [email protected] regarding training opportunities.

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