Institutional Research
Getting information and insights into the hands of the people who need it, when they need it.
About Us
Our Mission
The mission of the Office of Institutional Research at Palo Alto University is to support the university mission by providing objective data and analysis to advance university-wide decision-making, institutional effectiveness, policy formation and strategic planning.
Our Aspiration
(from the Association of Institutional Research, www.airweb.org)
Our Function
The Office of Institutional Research (IR) is unit within Palo Alto University’s Institutional Effectiveness team, reporting to the President’s Office.
The IR team assists with the internal and external reporting needs of the PAU, including data collection and analysis, and development of reports geared towards enabling administration to make informed decisions and improve institutional effectiveness across multiple departments.
Our four primary areas of focus include:
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Accreditation |
Providing support for ongoing university and program-specific accreditation |
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Operations |
Improving data accessibility, utility, and designing data-driven solutions to address operational challenges |
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External Reports & Publications |
Publishing reports and visualizations for the university website, providing data for higher education publications, and complying with various federal reporting requirements (e.g. IPEDS) |
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Research |
Conduct research to guide institutional self-evaluation, supporting the mission, goals, and core values of the university strategic plan |
Our Core Values
This office follows the Code of Ethics prescribed by the Association for Institutional Research.
Additionally, this office aims to:
- Lead the university in data management and data-informed decision making
- Collaborate with constituents across the university
- Support institutional effectiveness operationally, academically, and strategically
- Promote data transparency, information access, and data literacy
