Office of Institutional Research
Mission Statement
Institutional research is traditionally defined as a collection of activities designed to support the information needs of the College. These needs focus on the twin demands of externally-mandated reporting and internally-directed decision-making based on rational and objective criteria. Institutional research should be the repository for definitions and reporting standards that allow clear communication between divisions. Information, not data, is the objective.
The mission of the institutional research program at Saint Mary's College is to collect, analyze and disseminate usable information for and about the academic and operational areas of the College in support of its goal to remain an excellent center of higher education for women.
To achieve its mission, the Office of Institutional Research establishes the following goals:
- to provide information and analyses that are relevant and responsive to the needs of policymaking and decision-making
- to encourage the use of the products and resources of institutional research by maintaining a service orientation to the college community
- to provide institutional research products that are accurate and reliable and to foster a high level of confidence in the results
- to work collaboratively with college task groups to further the mission of the College, solve critical problems, and prepare for the challenges of the future
- to develop a resource archive to support longitudinal studies of enrollment dynamics, educational needs assessment, and future reaccreditation and self-study efforts
Specific objectives toward meeting these goals will include:
- an information needs assessment in concert with the college community including discussion of the institutional data requirements of each functional area
- development of new reports and enhancement of existing reports to provide a comprehensive overview of critical activities of the College
- leadership and assistance in the development, implementation and assessment of administrative information systems
- systematic campus-wide dissemination of ongoing data collection, analysis and environmental scanning efforts
