INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH; A DISTINCT FUNCTION OR A SUBSUMED FUNCTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION MANAGEMENT?

Institutional research is a function of higher education whose role is still evolving. This study investigated the presence or lack of commonalities inherent in the personnel or in the collegiate milieu relative to whether the function was initiatory or responsive. The results of the study indicated that public institutions were more likely to recognize institutional research as a unique function compared with their private counterparts, and that increased size and complexity of a college resulted in institutional research being a recognized function or subfunction in higher education. Factors such as sex, age, prior college teaching, involvement in college governance, educational background and journals read yielded no statistically significant relationship in regard to an initiatory or responsive role of institutional research whereas public versus private and the size of the college did yield statistically significant relationships. Other factors such as membership in professional associations, use and availability of computers, the use of modern management tools and the amount of time spent doing institutional research were marginally significant in separating initiatory from responsive institutional research suggesting the need for further study. Individuals who spent more time doing institutional research perceived the value of the function and were more likely to be initiatory in their approach to it. The major criterion separating private and public institutions was the locus of control for decision making. One of the implications of the study was the need for replication both in other sections of the country and to survey the same population over time in order to measure changes in society, in higher education management, and in accountability requirements. The vignettes are examples of the value of subjective data