The University of Connecticut Office of Institutional Research provides data and analysis to support the management, planning, evaluation and assessment functions of the University. The office fulfills this mission in a variety of ways and serves a wide range of consumers of information, both internal and external to the University.
The Office of Institutional Research has a university-wide approach to data collection, data reporting and data analysis. The Office is interested in both the whole of the University of Connecticut, including the Health Center for certain summary counts of students and staff, and all the parts comprising that whole.
The level of analysis and the timeliness of the response to data questions provided by the Office of Institutional Research are largely dependent upon the sources and types of data available. The Office works with all types of data: raw data on individual records; aggregate raw data; data that must be transferred from one format to another, or from hand-calculated worksheets into computer spreadsheets; data that must be first collected or compiled from surveys or various printed sources and then put into a computerized format; data readily accessible through administrative disks; and data in computer files with unique formats, data dictionaries, and storage considerations. Typically multiple sources of data are used, including non-computerized data, to answer questions.
The Office of Institutional Research consists primarily of data users, data analysts, and data presenters. The Office does not view itself as a data maintainer, however, in reality, they edit and maintain data perceived to be important to the University but which is not being edited or maintained by other administrative offices. Historically, the Office of Institutional Research has been involved in such things as legislative bill tracking until an Office of Governmental Relations was created. Additionally, the Office has been involved in space utilization studies until the responsibility was moved to the Office of Facilities. The individual staff data published in the University staff directory was handled in the Office until Human Resources took over the task. Currently the Office of Institutional Research maintains data collection as well as reporting systems for; student ratings of faculty; opinions of college experiences by undergraduate alumni; academic progress tracking of student intercollegiate athletes; data to support the University budget-making process, including mission statements; University program measures for the State's Office Policy and Management and the Governor's Budget; University Program Assessment; Faculty and staff data reporting; and Student data analysis and reporting.
From the guide to the University of Connecticut, Office of Institutional Research Records, 1950, 1960-2001, (Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries)
