Institutional Research

We identify, collect and provide information about the nature and quality of Hope College through the availability and analysis of data. Constituencies served are:

• Hope College faculty, staff and students to support decision-making and planning, enhance presentations, reports and proposals and inform assessment activities
• Prospective Hope students and parents to understand properties and characteristics of Hope College and measure the quality of education provided by Hope
• Colleagues at other institutions to benchmark the performance of their institution against Hope
• General public to understand the nature and quality of Hope College and learn about Hope by providing descriptive data to publications, websites and government agencies

Mission Statement

Collect, maintain, analyze and disseminate accurate, consistent and timely data for and about the academic and operational programs of the college in support of college planning and decision-making and to support public constituencies in evaluating and monitoring the nature and quality of the institution.

Functions

Special Projects

Conduct ad hoc studies and provide information requested by administration, departments and committees on topics relevant to the college

Assist faculty in preparing institutional data for grant proposals

Data Maintenance

Develop, maintain and analyze institutionally relevant information in support of the college’s planning, assessment and decision-making activity

Data Reporting

Report accurate statistical information about the college to external agencies

Inform the college community about results of studies through regularly published reports, summaries and updates

External Data Requests

Coordinates the college’s response to national statistical surveys, questionnaires and other non-routine requests for information

Data Presentation

Coordinates and maintains current publications as a source of essential and official facts about the college for both internal and external constituencies

Data Integrity

Coordinate, standardize and verify college data released to the public

Review college publications for consistency of information

Goal Tracking

Track the college’s performance against long-range goals and objectives

Comparative Analysis

Participate in comparative, peer-institution studies and analyze and present results

External Representation

Participate in relevant consortia and professional organizations on behalf of the college

Trend Analysis

Devise a system whereby changes and trends may be tracked and anticipated

Benefits

1. Provide full support for strategic planning
2. Provide data in a timely and effective manner in support of decision making, cost containment, college marketing, assessment and obtaining outside funding
3. Enhance the usefulness of data through effective presentation
4. Enable institutional data to be analyzed across administrative areas
5. Eliminate duplication of effort in data collection, analysis and reporting
6. Provide data in a timely and effective manner to make sure that the college receives full benefit from data consortia such as HEDS and IPEDS