Proceedings of the 1979 conference of the North Carolina Association for Institutional Research and the 1980 Research Search Exchange Drive-In Conference Program, which address the skills needed by institutional researchers to deal with the issues in higher education in the 1980s, are presented. Highlights of the North Carolina association conference are provided by Robert M. Ussery, including the following addresses: "Issues for the Eighties," by Robert Stoltz; "Responsiveness and Responsibility: The Central Issue in the '80's," by Donald Stedman; "North Carolina Funding and Enrollment Trends During the Eighties: Implications for Institutional Research," by Allen J. Barwick; "Commentary on North Carolina Funding and Enrollment Trends," by James L. Morrison, William McIntosh, and John Gamble; "EDUCOM Financial Model," by Al Jones; "The Future of Institutional Research at Colleges and Universities," by W. Archie Blount; and "Student Choice and Enrollment Information," by Robert L. Chapman. Contributed papers for the drive-in conference are as follows: "Coping with External Reporting Requirements at UNC at Wilmington," by Robert E. Fry; "Student Retention at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Using the NCHED A-7 Report," by Paul D. Naylor; and "The Introduction of a New Grade System at a Public Teaching Institution: Impact on Grading Tendencies of the Faculty," by Nathaniel L. Felder. (SW)