GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Institutional Research mission is to provide official, accurate and unbiased information about the university in support of institutional planning, decision-making and reporting obligations.

Institutional research activities date back to the eighteenth century, however considerable changes occurred in the field during the twentieth century.  Developments have been driven, in part, by the US government’s growing influence.  Federal higher education commissions and legislation such as the 1944, 1952 and 1966 GI Bills and the 1965 Higher Education Act set aside funds for colleges and financial aid for eligible students but with stipulations and reporting requirements.  The Higher Education Act has been reauthorized every six years since 1968, always with new requirements of universities.   Governmental authority was again exerted in 1988 when the Secretary of Education required accrediting agencies to incorporate institutional outcomes as criteria for accreditation and yet again when the 2005 Spellings Commission pushed for greater educational accountability and better evidence of quality.  Changes in the field have also been caused by tremendous advances in computing power which in turn have made it easier to use complex statistical techniques.  It is now possible to store, access, and review millions of records thereby increasing the possibilities for the production of meaningful statistics and more thorough evaluations.  Recent social and technical developments make this an important and exciting time to be an institutional researcher.

Institutional research is the sum total of all activities directed at empirically describing the full spectrum of functions (educational, administrative, and support) at a college or university. Institutional research activities examine those functions in their broadest definitions and, in the context of both internal and external environments, embrace data collection and analytical strategies in support of decision making at the institution.

Today, the institutional research function in higher education provides a complex and diverse set of activities that are designed to enhance administrative decision-making, respond to the external demands placed upon institutions, inform institutional policy development, and provide empirical data to underpin institutional planning and budgeting It assumes diverse roles within an institution of higher education: while it serves to gather, organize, and make sense of data and information regarding the institution, it also assists the institution in stepping back, with a measure of objectivity, to reflect analytically upon the meaning and import of those findings as they impact institutional growth, stability, and quality.. In the broadest terms, institutional research is research that seeks a deeper understanding of the institution, its properties and attributes.  Because of its importance, the Institutional Research (IR) Office reports directly to the university President ot Provost.

Institutions of higher education in Vietnam do not have IR offices yet, and data are collected and managed by various divisions of the institutions  That leads to inconsistency and limited reliability.

To improve the effectiveness of universities in data-based decision-making, standardize administrative processes and make them consistent with current international practices, The Center for Human Resource Development- Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City is pleased to announce an upcoming training workshop on “Institutional Research- An Approach to Improve Quality of University Governance” to be held in Ho Chi Minh City. The workshop is designed to develop basic knowledge and skills necessary for  implementing institutional research functions.

Understanding of the institution, and its properties and attributes will also help the universities strengthen accountability and social responsibility. This will lead to increasing public confidence in universities’ integrity and professional performance.

WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES

The workshop is aimed at helping participants:

• Strengthen leadership capabilities by establishing awareness of the importance of institutional research functions, and improve the decision making process based on systemic analysis data;
• Developing skills of collecting, analyzing and accurately interpreting institutional data.

CONTENTS

• Introduction of institutional research functions and its contribution to strategic planning, administration and external demands;
• Providing basic knowledge on major activities of the institutional research functions:

a/ Systematically gathering, collecting, organizing, maintaining, and analyzing institutional data. Interpretation of the implications of data and writing reports on the full spectrum of functions (educational, administrative, and support) at a college or university, such as students’ demographics, quality assurance and academic matters, etc.

b/ Conducting surveys or in-depth research projects and report writing on topics of special concern to the President and other university leaders (e.g., graduate employment, alumni and corporations/business contributions etc.)

c/ Recording feedback to support efforts related to programmatic and institutional assessment, including university accreditation and the registration of academic programs, and using institutional data to inform the admissions process.

• Guide to practice;

See Workshop Agenda

WHO SHOULD ATTEND THE PROGRAM?

Universities/colleges/research institutes leaders (Presidents, Rectors, Directors), Deans/Vice Dean; Head/Deputy Head of Academic Affairs, Head/Deputy Head of Personnel Offices, Head/Deputy Head of Quality Assurance; researchers and post graduate students in field of educational leadership and management.

FACILITATORS

The workshop will be conducted by Professor Vladimir Briller, Executive Director of Strategic Planning and Institutional Research, Pratt Institute, New York, U.S.A and VNU-HCM facilitators. Prof. Briller also works as a consultant to the World Bank. In this function, he helped one of Russia’s top universities–Higher School of Economics in Moscow to establish an Institutional Research Office.  He also conducted the Workshop on Educational Leadership and Management in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet nam in 2008. Prof. Briller is Board Member of Advisory Board, Centre for Human Resource Development. See details.

LOGISTICS

- Schedule: Three days full-time: from 20/02 to 22/02/2012. Morning: 8 AM – 12. Afternoon: 13.30 PM – 16.30 PM.

- Location: University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 12 Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Dist 1, HCMC

- Certification: Upon completion of the workshop without 30% absence, participants will be awarded with a certificate of completion.

- Documents: Participants will be provided with the course handbook prior to the commencement of the course and are required to read through all the material before they attend the lecture series.

- Tuition fees: 3,000,000 VND/per person

Special rate for graduate students: 2,200,000 VND per person.

- Deadline for registration: Feb 15, 2011. Click here to download REGISTER FORM

→ Contacts and registration: For further information, please contact the Center for Human Resource Development at the following address: P. 514-516 Nhà Điều hành, Khu phố 6 P.Linh Trung Q. Thủ Đức TPHCM.

→ Tel: 37242160 ext 1973. Ms Ngân: 09388.46656, Ms Linh: 0909310886

→ Email: chrd@vnuhcm.edu.vn.

→ Website: www.chrd.edu.vn