This chapter describes a framework to guide collaboration between institutional research and other campus offices. Three examples are then provided to illustrate how the framework was applied successfully to actual projects.

This chapter describes how data on the extent of community service among a national representative sample of young college students were associated with "supports," including human, social, and cultural capital. This chapter helps fill missing information on estimates of the occurrence and persistence of community service, types of…

This chapter describes the impact that participation in the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement had on the institutions of higher learning that applied for the classification. This is described in terms of changes in direct community engagement, monitoring and reporting on community engagement, and levels of student and professor…

This chapter describes how assessment of co-curricular student learning outcomes can be used as part of the institutional accreditation process and the opportunities institutional researchers and student affairs educators have to collaborate in those efforts.

Faculty and staff at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) have developed several tools to assess campus civic engagement initiatives. This chapter describes the IUPUI Faculty Survey and the Civic-Minded Graduate Scale, and reports on findings from campus-based assessment and research.

This chapter describes how canonical correlation was used in conjunction with an item response theory model to address the relationship between college students' civic engagement involvement and attitudes as undergraduates. The constructs of interest were students' participation in civic, political, and expressive activities, as well as…

This chapter discusses the Association of American Colleges and Universities' (AAC&U's) Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE) project, which aims to demonstrate that faculty across the country share fundamental expectations about student learning on all of the essential learning outcomes deemed critical for student…

Both routine monitoring reports and special studies contribute to effective fund-raising efforts and the provision of services to alumni of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A long-range strategy committee was established to determine market-research needs and approaches and to establish long-term alumni-relations priorities. The alumni…

The author describes practical steps for infusing the strategic plan throughout the organization. These steps have carried the University of Wisconsin--Madison effectively through two cycles of reaccreditation and planning. (Contains 1 figure.)

Describes a project of the Coalition for Networked Information, founded in 1990 to advance scholarship interest in the networked-computer environment. The project coordinated work of seven higher education institutions in conducting assessments of their campus networks. Topics discussed include the networking climate on campuses, why assessment is…

A State University of New York program is described in order to illustrate how self-assessment can serve two purposes: accreditation and sound institutional growth. In order to establish systems of self-assessment that support growth, the institution must identify and understand the obstacles it faces. (Author/MLW)

Oregon State University implemented Total Quality Management in nine phases: exploration; establishing a pilot study team; defining customer needs; adopting the breakthrough planning process; performing breakthrough planning in divisions; forming daily management teams; initiating cross-functional pilot projects; implementing cross-functional…

A faculty workload study and several related campus initiatives at Kent State University (Ohio) are described, including institutional participation in a roundtable on the future of the university and the initiation of a major institutional strategic planning process. A particular focus of the efforts is on an expanded view of scholarship in…

Qualitative case studies of graduate students, focusing on student socialization, are critical for understanding the student experience. Because of the departmental nature of graduate study, cross-departmental studies may be not be as revealing. The qualitative case study approach is particularly useful in examining minority student experiences.…

Summaries of the design, planning, and implementation of performance funding programs in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington reveal the challenges and opportunities of this reform approach. Performance measures and objectives and the history of the program in each…