ON THE NATURE OF INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH AND THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS IT REQUIRES

This paper offers a conception of institutional research as comprising three tiers of organizational intelligence. The first tier, technical and analytical intelligence, requires familiarity with the basic analytical processes of institutional research The second tier, issues intelligence, requires knowledge of substantive institutional management issues in four areas: students, faculty, finances, and facilities. The third tier, contextual intelligence, requires understanding of the history and culture of higher education in general and of the particular campus on which one works. The kinds of knowledge and skills required at each level are also discussed, as are the ways in which each form of intelligence is acquired.