Courses and Curriculum

Courses

Required Courses

• Basic Applied Statistics is a prerequisite (STAT 500 or equivalent, 3 credits)

• Foundations and Fundamentals of Institutional Research (HI ED 801, 3 credits)
  
  This is a graduate level course that aims to provide students with an overview of the institutional research profession. The course is designed to examine the diversity of the IR office organization and staffing, to acquaint students with the major IR functions including overview of national data sets, planning and budgeting, enrollment management, faculty studies and instructional analysis,  accreditation, effectiveness, and student outcomes assessment; and to give students experience in using SPSS software, making PowerPoint presentations, and effective reporting on selected IR topics.

• Designing Institutional Research Studies (HI ED 830, 3 credits)
  
  This course acquaints students with best practices and necessary skills in quantitative and qualitative research design including sampling and basic measurement issues, research methods, survey research, interviews, focus groups, and selecting appropriate statistical tools. [The Research Design residential course (HI ED 585) also meets this requirement.]

Elective On-Line Courses

• Planning and Resource Management Studies (HI ED 810, 3 credits)
  
  This course provides students with a working knowledge of strategic planning models and budgeting structures and processes. Planning and budgeting skills are important components in institutional decision support. The course provides students with tools and skills in environmental scanning, revenue forecasting, expenditure controls, and bench marking.

• Studying Students and Student Affairs Programs (HIED 820, 3 credits)
  
  This course examines the characteristics of postsecondary education students, both traditional and non-traditional. It draws upon the voluminous research documenting the changes that take place in various populations of students during college. The course equips institutional researchers and student affairs administrators to engage in research on student growth, campus climate, and evaluation of student services. [The residential courses on Students (HIED 556), and Student Affairs Assessment (HIED 597), also meet this requirement.]

• Assessing Student Outcomes and Evaluating Academic Programs (HIED 840, 3 credits)
  
  This course pulls together the many threads that add up to educational effectiveness: Evaluating academic programs and curricula, assessing student learning outcomes, coping with accountability and performance reporting requirements, responding to the demands of both regional and disciplinary/vocational accreditation bodies. The course will acquaint students with strategies and instruments for conducting outcomes studies of programs, students, and alumni alike. Assessment topics include studies of students' basic skills, general education, knowledge in the major, personal growth, and alumni outcomes.

• Analyzing Faculty Workload, Performance, and Compensation (HIED 850, 3 credits)

  This course provides researchers with the skills and the analytical issues associated with analyzing faculty workload and performance in teaching, scholarship, and outreach. Topics include an overview of needed local and existing national databases, measuring faculty workload, evaluating faculty research productivity, using student ratings of instruction, providing support for academic program reviews, conducting salary studies, addressing issues of equity/diversity, and assessing faculty satisfaction, turnover, and flow.

• Conducting Enrollment Management Studies (HIED 860, 3 credits)
  
  This course provides students with a working knowledge of enrollment management processes and skills. The instructional material covers three stages of enrollment management. At the most basic level enrollment management includes attracting, admitting, and enrolling students. Necessary tools at this first level include admissions marketing, predictive modeling, and the impact of financial aid on student enrollment behavior. At the second level lies those activities that surround the new student experience – orientation, advisement, curricular access, student support services, and remedial work where needed. These activities are designed to ensure the student’s successful introduction and integration into the institution, as well as the student’s retention through the first year. At the third level, enrollment management focuses on student success (persistence, academic achievement, graduation, and employment). Analytical studies of student retention, time to degree, graduation rates, and enrollment forecasting are central IR tasks.

Other certificate credits may be earned by completing the following:

• AIR Summer Institutes

• Summer Data Policy Institute sponsored by AIR, NSF, and NCES