Office of Institutional Planning and Analysis Mission Statement:

The mission of the Office of Institutional Planning and Analysis (OIPA) is to provide and to coordinate information support for reporting, decision-making, and planning activities to help fulfill the stated mission and goals of Bates College. The Offi ce provides the administration, trustees, faculty, and other internal and external constituencies of the College with information, planning services, and research assistance. The office was initially established in the fall of 1993 as the Office of Inst itutional Research; it became the Office of Institutional Planning and Analysis in April of 1998. Reporting to the President, the staff consists of the Director of Institutional Planning and Analysis, an Assistant Director for Institutional Research, and an half-time Enrollment Analyst who also works with the Registrar.

There are three primary functions of the Office:

1. Institutional Research:

• Provides an authoritative source of current and historical official College statistics.

• Develops and maintains a collection of electronic data archives and management reports that integrate information from a variey of internal and external sources.

• Oversees the college’s response to national statistical surveys, questionnaires, and other non-routine requests for information. Also serve as primary contact with state and federal agencies and various professional organizations with respect to information reporting.

• Coordinates and maintains current publications as a source of essential and official facts about the college. These include: Bates Facts, Bates at a Glance, and the online Electronic Factbook

• Audits records to ensure the integrity of institutional data and data definitions.

2. Planning and Analysis:

• Provides direct support and leadership for short-term and strategic planning activities and decision-making through the analysis, presentation, and distribution of relevant and timely information.

• Helps establish quantitative and qualitative critical indicators to assess and forecast progress toward institutional goals.

• Monitors progress toward fulfilling the institution’s stated priorities and goals, and reports on progress to the president and to other groups and College officers as appropriate.

• Provides guidance, advice, and data support to other other offices, groups, or constituencies in support of their statistical and analytical needs.

• Conducts environmental scanning and monitors how new regulations and public policy changes may affect the College and its mission.

• Identifies areas in need of greater efficiency and assists in the development of strategies to achieve such efficiencies.

3. Outcomes Assessment and Survey Analysis:

• Conducts and analyzes surveys and completing institutional self-studies to assess the expectations, satisfaction, and outcomes of students and other constituents of the College.

• Conducts enrollment planning, market analysis, and retention studies and projections.

• Assists with accreditation activities and other institutional assessment or ad hoc studies.

• Provides support for the accreditation process and other internal and external reviews.

The Bates College Office of Institutional Planning and Analysis endorses the Association for Institutional Research's Code of Ethics.

This URL: http://www.bates.edu/IR/OIPA.mission.html

Last modified: 11/5/99 by JCF