This presentation will provide specific, practical tips on optimizing the one- or two-person Institutional Research office drawn from the presenter’s two decades of experience providing an IR function in a small liberal arts university. The presenter will identify the characteristics of an effective IR office and explain how even the smallest office can capitalize on the advantages of diminutive size to achieve them. Topics will include clarifying and refining the mandate of the IR office, improving reusability and consistency of reports, strategies for reducing workload, and tactics for broadening institutional awareness of the purpose and value of the IR office.
Garry Hansen (St. Thomas University)