The Chronicle just featured two stories on polling in higher education — one focused on “advances” in methodology http://bit.ly/diXJp, and the other on surveys for institutional research http://bit.ly/1TYNfs.
We’ve been conducting qualitative and quantitative research for colleges, universities, and higher ed organizations for years. And one thing we keep seeing: inside institutions, there’s a big divide between those who welcome research insight and ideas, and those who prefer to ignore it.
Our clients — from Wellesley College to Northwestern University and UNC-Asheville, to name just a few — tend to represent divisions on campus that are held accountable for direct results. Those results include building each incoming class, to generating attention among key stakeholders, and ensuring the institution’s fiscal solvency while achieving larger strategic and academic visions.
For those key players on campus, research is a critical tool. And rigorous methodologies that adhere to shrinking budgets are central to generating useful recommendations for them. They understand that — and working for them keeps our research fresh and relevant.
