This case study focused on a small liberal arts college (Lake Erie College, Ohio) over one year during which four milestone events appeared to be pivotal in increasing the willingness of the school to use institutional research for decision-making in areas of program modification and development. At the beginning of the year, the college was faced with enrollment declines in the Master's in Business Administration (MBA) program and the undergraduate business programs. These were followed by the four milestones: (1) development of a marketing research plan to determine possible cooperative arrangements with local employers; (2) a survey of MBA and undergraduate students concerning what they liked and disliked about the college; (3) focused interviews with 20 companies and the resulting report which presented action recommendations; and (4) a concurrent development of a proposal for an accelerated degree completion program for part-time adults. Analysis supports the value of institutional research to institutional decision making. Specific lessons from the case study are drawn including the value of a team-based approach to institutional research, the value of institutional research to institutional advancement efforts, and the value of faculty engagement in market research. (DB)