Research On The Supporting Mechanism Of Institutional Research For University Decision Making In The United States

Institutional Research(IR)originates from the United States of America.With the development of American higher education,IR has gradually become an integral part of American university management,as well as a means and symbol of scientific management of modern colleges and universities.It was after the Second World War to 1960s that American higher education entered its "golden age".During this period of time,the United States firstly stepped into "the popularization stage of higher education".Since then,American universities had suffered a series of unprecedented management problems and competitive pressure.On the one hand,higher education institutions increased rapidly both in the number and scale,which caused to generate lots of complex internal organizations and large budgets;on the other hand,government's huge investment in higher education indicated that colleges and universities bore huge public responsibilities.Besides,it became increasingly difficult for traditional management mode to adapt to this change.Thus,the management of many colleges and universities fell into disorder.Those university leaders were also subjected to criticism from inside and outside.All of these problems directly triggered a so called "Higher Education Management Revolution" in history.The core of this revolution is to explore a management mode for modern university,and promote the management of higher education to be more scientific.In the above background,IR has officially stepped onto the historical stage of higher education in the United States.IR is one terminology with a specific meaning.In this study,it will be defined as a practical area,which is based on the university's situation,aiming at the practical problems in university management and operation,through systematical data selection and analysis,to provide support for university's decision-making.The American Association for Institutional Research website makes it clear that IR researchers will provide information support for decision-making.Based on that,this study will mainly focus on the following three questions:(1)How is the IR produced and developed in the United States,and how do the institutional arrangements and organizational structure get developed?(2)In which fields that the IR provides support for university's decision-making?(3)How does the IR provide supports for decision-making?The main part of this thesis will develop in accordance with the above three questions.The study firstly analyzes the five stages of the evolvement of the American IR system:The period between the 18th to 19th century is an embryonic stage,or called the College Self-Study stage.At this stage,the IR is still an individual behavior,and organized and institutionalized research has not come into being.The first half of the 20th century is an emerging stage,that is,the Survey stage.A few universities have started to carry out organized IR practice.Among them,there are 10 schools which have set up IR institutions.The period from 1940s to the mid-or late-1960s is a construction stage for the system,during which IR offices have begun to be extensively set up.115 colleges and universities have built the office for IR.The period between 1960s to 1970s is the development stage.IR increasingly expands its support function on university's decision-making.In some larger colleges and universities,2 to 3 level systems have been established within the IR institutions.Since 1980s,IR has entered its adjustment stage.Many colleges and universities have adjusted the IR institutions and their functions.Throughout the whole process,it is found that American IR has experienced from the spontaneous to the conscious,from the scattered to the organized research process,as well as from division to integration,and even the redifferentiation of a spiral process.The whole process therefore embodies the characteristics of induced institutional change.At first,American IR institutions are charged by the president,they have to report work and provide support directly to the president.Later,due to the changes of decision-making power among university leaders,IR institutions start to report to the provost or vice president.But in some other colleges and universities,the dean or department head are in charge of the IR institutions.Among the four organization modes of IR institutions,the professional bureaucracy is the most effective mode,and that it can be distinguished into two types according to the setting objects of organizations,one is set up according to the functions of IR institutions,the other is established according to customer's requirementsThis study has selected 798 conference reports of 2011-2012,2012-2013 and 2013-2014 from the Forum of Association for Institutional Research(AIR).After being systematically analyzed,the themes of selected reports are classified via using the EXCEL pivot table.Then combined with previous research,the thesis has established a three-level index system in the field of IR decision support.Among them,there are 6 secondary indexes,respectively,Enrollment Management,Assessment Activities,Faculty Affairs Issues,Curriculum and Teaching,Finance and Budget,Planning and Reporting.The total number of the third indexes is 19,respectively,Recruiting and Admitting,Financial Aid,StudentLearning Experience,StudentSuccess,Alumni,School Evaluation,Program Assessment,StudentLearning Outcomes Assessment,FacultyRecruitment,Retention,Promotion and Retirement,Curriculum Setting,Teaching Methods,FacultyPerformance,Cost and Budget,Revenueand Expenditure,Planning,as well as Data Report.Among those research fields,problems on Enrollment Management are the most popular theme,which accounts for 53%of the reports.If coupled with the Student Learning Outcomes Assessment,research on Student Affairs Issues will be more than 60%.Thus,it can be inferred that American IR field or even the whole American higher education cares and emphases Student Affairs Issuesvery much.The paper puts forward that the three factors of university decision support are decision-making environment,organizational structure and data system.Decision-making environment is the external environment in decision-making support,which affects decision-making support,including decision-makers,ideas of decision-makers and decision-making models.The organizational structure is the internal factor of decision support.The rationality of organizational structure determines the effect of decision support,which includes institution setting,staffing,fund guarantee and personnel analytical ability.Data is IR resources and the working material of IR professionals,information is the basis for decision-making,and also the "product" of IR professionals' work.IR professionals select data mainly from four levels,including the database at national level,database at state level,the nationally available database developed by a university or an association as well as the database at school level.Through analyzing the three main factors,the study has established a Mental Interaction Model between decision makers and IR professionals,and a Data-Driven Decision Support Model.The two models are correlated with each other and effective,which have reflected the relationship between IR and university decision making,therefore none is dispensable.The Mind Interaction Model displays in three phases.Phase one is to define the decision-making problems.In phase two,in the process of data analysis,IR professionals and decision makers will interact with each other and carry out dialogues,working together to construct decision-making context,so as to form solutions or suggestions within the framework of the research target.Phase three is after the completion of decision making,during which decision makers will provide IR professionals with necessary feedback about the value and effectiveness of information,to help them evaluate the effectiveness of supporting,and offer improvement chances for future decision support.The Data-Driven decision support mechanism includes five phases.Phase one is to identify fields of decision support,define decision-making objectives and the related problems,and make clear the needed information to tackle each problem.On the basis of above analysis,phase two is to collect and integrate relevant data.Phase three is to process data,extracting useful information for decision-making.Phase four is to show the information to decision makers.Phase five is the substantive decision process.This study also provides advice for the IR in China.(1)Administration work can promote the establishment of IR institutions,and set a clear positioning for IR institutions,which will offer institutional guarantee to carry out IR in China.(2)Strengthening the research on students' affairs should be the orientation of our country's IR work.(3)The concept change of decision makers will be the premise of IR development.(4)It is necessary to cultivate IR professionals and provide talent guarantee for the development of IR in China.(5)We should speed up the progress of data system construction,opening and sharing for it is the basic condition to carry out IR in China.