Office of Institutional Research
Our mission is threefold: (1) to extract and format data from the institutional database to answer management questions and satisfy external survey and reporting requirements, (2) to interact with administrators, deans, and department heads to develop instruments and demonstrate continuous improvement through the use of data, and (3) to offer support to the OIE.
Program Outcomes
University stakeholders will have access to data and information necessary to maintain the business; compliance with accrediting and regulatory bodies resulting from timely filing of required reports; successful implementation of the strategic plan; continuous improvement work and resulting documentation; educational growth for strategic planning, customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement concepts.
Functions, Constituents & Affiliations
Functions
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Research
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Reporting
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Survey Management
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Compliance assistance under oversight of the OIE
Constituents
- Internal: Faculty and staff.
- External: Students, board members, parents, donors, regulatory partners, commercial partners, TICUA, THEC, and the community at large.
Affiliations
SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools)
TICUA ( Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities)
CCCU (Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities Association)
AIR (Association for Institutional Research)
SAIR (Southern Association for Institutional Research)
TENNAIR ( Tennessee Association for Institutional Research)
Consumer Information
In keeping with the Higher Education Act, Lipscomb University makes available various consumer information items to students, employees, and the general public. Click on the links below to access information concerning the following items:
Full-Time Student Enrollment (Fall 2017)CIP Codes of Academic Programs
Annual Survey Reporting
The Office of Institutional Research responds to external survey requests and conducts internal surveys continuously throughout the year. Many of these surveys are are vital to meeting standards of compliance, while others are for commercial use. Descriptions of these surveys and the organizations that request them are provided below.
ACE (American Council on Education)
“Seeks to influence public policy through advocacy, research, and program initiatives.” Publishes a directory of information marketed to high school guidance counselors and librarians.
ACT
Administers the ACT college entrance exam and publishes resource information on colleges and universities for high school students.
AIR (Association for Institutional Research)
AIR is the national association of institutional research professionals. SAIR (Southern Association for Institutional Research) is Lipscomb's regional association and TENNAIR (Tennessee Association for Institutional Research) is the state association. AIR comprises more than 3,100 institutional researchers, planners, and decision-makers from higher education institutions around the world.
Barron’s
A well-known resource & guidebook on American colleges and universities.
CCCU (Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities)
The CAP is conducted by CCCU each year. Members (Lipscomb is one of their 102 members) can choose to offer various assessments through CCCU’s CAP (Comprehensive Assessment Program), a collaborative research effort. CCCU members enjoy a 15% discount on Noel-Levitz assessment instruments. In addition, the CCCU provides executive summaries on each survey.
College Board
College Board tests include the SAT, AP, and CLEP. High School students can go to www.collegeboard.com for general information on colleges and universities.
College Scope
Financial resource published by the Financial Publishing Company that includes university information on tuition, room & board, fields of study, entrance tests required, admissions policies, and contact info.
www.financial-publishing.com/colscope_online.htm
GSS (Graduate Student Survey)
Lipscomb’s internally developed survey administered 2x annually: in November for December graduates, and in April for May/August graduates. In addition to the main GSS, there are shorter departmental surveys for each major. This survey is conducted in lieu of the CSS (College Student Survey) that is offered by the CCCU.
Higher Education Directory
Published by Higher Education Publications, Inc. This is a listing of administrative contacts in universities' departments and programs.
IPEDS (Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System)
Federal government report of highest priority. Sections due 3x annually:
· Fall – Institutional ID, Institutional Characteristics, Completions
· Winter – Employees by Assigned Position, Salaries, Fall Staff
· Spring – Enrollment, Finance, Financial Aid, Graduation Rates
IPS (Institutional Priorities Survey)
Linked to the SSI & offered through Noel-Levitz.
NCAA
Graduation rates reported annually. John Ezell, in Athletics, fills out this report.
NCES (National Center for Education Statistics)
Provides IPEDS data for research purposes. http://nces.ed.gov/
Noel-Levitz
Administers the SSI and IPS. Provides benchmarking and national comparisons. www.noellevitz.com
NSSE (National Survey of Student Engagement)
Annual survey (begins in fall and runs through spring) administered by Indiana University. Used for benchmarking and national comparisons. www.indiana.edu/~nsse
Peterson’s
Thomson Peterson’s is a leading provider of information on higher education – colleges, universities, grad programs, test prep, scholarship programs and financial aid. www.petersons.com
Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is a premier information provider to high school students. They also publish guidebooks and admissions test resources. www.princetonreview.com
SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools)
The regional accreditation agency for an 11-state region that includes Tennessee. Lipscomb responds to an institutional profile survey each winter and a financial profile each summer. It also goes through a re-accreditation process with SACS every 10 years.
SSI (Student Satisfaction Inventory)
Offered through Noel-Levitz. An institution can opt to use the SSI as part of the CAP initiative with CCCU. Lipscomb administers the SSI each year through the CCCU. It serves as a benchmarking tool in SACS accreditation and provides important feedback to the university.
TICUA (Tennessee Independent Colleges & Universities Association)
Requires reports on enrollment 3x annually – fall, spring, summer. Also requires an annual report on completions, due every June. Especially important for tracking participants in the TELS (Tennessee Educational Loittery Scholarship) program.
US News & World Report
The most widely publicized higher education guidebook and ranking of colleges & universities. Lipscomb is in the “Regional University South" ranking category. The latest edition of US News' America's Best Colleges ranked the Regional Universities South as follows:
1. Rollins College (FL)
2. Elon University (NC)
T3. James Madison University (VA)
T3. Stetson University (FL)
5. Belmont University (TN)
15. Union University (TN)
T18. Lipscomb University (TN)
T18. Queens University of Charlotte (NC)
20. Harding University (AR)
21. Christian Brothers University (TN)
29. Tennessee Technological University
39. Freed-Hardeman University (TN)
T47. University of Tennessee-Chattanooga
T47. University of Tennessee-Martin
Ranking indicators include:
- Peer assessment – greatest weight (25%).
- Retention – freshmen and graduate retention.
- Faculty resources – 6 factors: proportion of classes with 20 or fewer students; proportion with 50 or more; faculty salary; number of professors with highest degree; student-faculty ratio; and proportion of faculty full-time.
- Student selectivity – freshmen scores, ACT, SAT, rank, acceptance rate, ratio of those applying and those admitted.
- Financial resources – per student spending on instruction, research, student services, and related educational expenditures.
- Grad rate performance – difference between actual grad rate and projected grad rate; if grad rate is higher, the school is doing well.
- Alumni giving rate – an indirect measure of satisfaction.
Common Data Set
The Common Data Set (CDS) initiative is a collaborative effort among data providers in the higher education community and publishers as represented by the College Board, Peterson's, and U.S. News & World Report. The combined goal of this collaboration is to improve the quality and accuracy of information provided to all involved in a student's transition into higher education, as well as to reduce the reporting burden on data providers.
The CDS is a set of standards and definitions of data items rather than a survey instrument or set of data represented in a database. Each of the higher education surveys conducted by the participating publishers incorporates items from the CDS as well as unique items proprietary to each publisher. Consequently, the publishers' surveys differ in that they utilize varying numbers of items from the CDS.
Common Data Sets are available for the following school years.