Statement of Aspirational Practice for IR

The Statement of Aspirational Practice for Institutional Research is a new vision of effective IR in support of student success. This vision represents a hybrid approach for IR that recognizes student success as one of several critical aspects of higher education.

The aspirational statement highlights the need for IR to serve a broader range of decision makers, to expand IR capacity through professional development of data skills, and to have chief-level leadership for an institution’s data strategy and resources. The statement report includes an action plan for institutions to create their own internal conversations about building IR capacity.

More than 260 individuals provided input on the statement, and it was vetted by 10 pilot institutions that are recognized as Founding Institutions of the Statement of Aspirational Practice for Institutional Research: Bridgepoint Education; Elgin Community College; Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis; Olin College of Engineering; Spelman College; Spokane Falls Community College; University of Denver; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; University of Wisconsin-Stout; and Utah Valley University.

The authors, Randy L. Swing and Leah Ewing Ross, express great appreciation for the individuals who contributed to this aspirational statement: Jason Brunner, Julie Carpenter-Hubin, Christopher Coogan, Mary Ann Coughlin, Meridith Drzakowski, Rhonda Glover, Jeremy Goodman, Michele Hansen, Joseph Hoey, Sally Jackson, Gina Johnson, Darlena Jones, Fred Lillibridge, Amelia Parnell, Kristina Powers, David Rudden, Jessica Shedd, Tim Stanley, Sutee Sujitparapitaya, Jill Triplett, and members of the grant advisory board.