This chapter provides a big-picture view of the postgraduate outcomes landscape. In an effort to promote understanding and to communicate the value of a higher education credential to various stakeholders, five national efforts are described, each of which provides a different perspective for defining, measuring, and collecting postgraduate…

Efforts to develop common higher education data standards are expanding both within and across countries. The institutional research (IR) community plays a critical role in assuring that these efforts capture the diverse manifestations of the postsecondary and tertiary education systems and promote responsible comparisons. This chapter provides…

In the past 20 years, the number of international faculty members at American universities has continued to increase rapidly. This growth is evident in data showing that the proportional representation of foreign-born faculty easily surpasses that of domestic underrepresented racial/ethnic groups. The increasing presence of international faculty…

The purpose of this research is to analyze the attributes of top-tier public institutions and their host municipalities to determine if there are common factors in how the organizations are structured, how they interact, and whether a symbiotic relationship exists that can benefit both entities. This research attempted to determine if cities under…

To compete in the global marketplace, numerous reports point to the need for the United States to increase its production of highly educated workers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Although estimates suggest that the number of STEM-related jobs will grow faster than other jobs, the rate of bachelor's degree production…

The system office for community college institutional research (SOCCIR) plays a role in the drama of higher education that states must orchestrate to help community college systems operate effectively and efficiently over the long term. But how exactly does the SOCCIR enable a state to accomplish what the separate institutional research (IR)…

This chapter covers the impact of homeland security mandates on institutions and international students and scholars. The author traces the history of interest by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in developing a management system for international students and scholars that eventually resulted in the birth of Student and Exchange…

Public higher education has relied on a variety of funding structures since the 1950s. Layzell (2007) describes five general approaches in contemporary use in the United States. "Incremental (baseline) budgeting" uses the current year budget as the base and then makes adjustments to account for expected changes in activities, revenues,…

Nationally, state spending for public higher education has been declining as a proportion of state general fund expenditures. Traditionally state-appropriated budgets for public colleges and universities tend to be cut during times of economic crisis, but often these funds are not always restored once the crisis has passed. As a result "the…

Considering accountability, affordability, and access through the experiences in Chile, East Asia, Australia, Croatia, and the United States offers a clear reminder that trends and issues in higher education are often more similar across national contexts than they are distinct. Across higher education, institutions and systems are responding to…

The history of performance indicators for evaluation of institutions of higher education in the United States and Europe is chronicled to provide a context for understanding the definitions and methods used to develop them. Performance indicators are defined and described in relation to other measures used for assessment of institutions, drawing…

Compares quality improvement and accountability processes in the United States and United Kingdom. For the United Kingdom, looks at quality audits, institutional assessment, standards-based quality assurance, and research assessment; in the United States, looks at regional and specialized accreditation, performance indicator systems, academic…

A review of studies of U.S. and Canadian college and university institutional research offices finds a traditional focus on size, organizational location, professional preparation, and primary tasks. Suggests the emergence of four trends related to: (1) technology, (2) demographics, (3) emphasis on pedagogy, and (4) national, regional, and state…

This chapter reviews the eclectic missions of religious institutions and sets forth an agenda for conducting research with this diverse segment of American higher education. (Contains 1 table.)