Many public university systems rely on their own institutional research (IR) offices, in addition to the IR offices from their member institutions, to help conduct the work of the university system. In this chapter, the author illustrates the type of work conducted by system-level IR offices using a nontraditional data source that can be used to…

This chapter introduces the key economic concepts, models, and methods that can help inform institutional research in higher education. (Contains 1 table and 9 figures.)

Economic models of the way in which faculty allocate their time, and the behavior of labor markets, can help inform institutional research on faculty in a variety of ways. (Contains 3 tables and 3 figures.)

This chapter provides some examples and recommendations for expanding the connections between economics and institutional research. (Contains 1 figure.)

Examines how analysts have treated rank in faculty salary models and the problems associated with either including or excluding controls for rank. Uses a sample selection statistical procedure to correct for the effects on salary of gender bias in promotion from associate to full professor. (EV)

Discusses the challenges involved in conducting a salary-equity study for nonfaculty academic employees and shows how such an analysis was conducted at one institution. Describes how the institution reacted to the study. (EV)

Reviews some recent financial trends in higher education and provides a brief overview of the current recession in the United States. Offers some views on how this recession might affect the major revenue sources that institutions of higher education rely on to fund their operations. (SLD)

Reviews several different methods that analysts can use to measure gender- and race-based pay differences for academic employees, and how they are interrelated. Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each method, and shows how they can give rise to different estimates of pay disparity. (EV)