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A Focus on IR and Decision Support in the UK, Ireland, Germany, and The Netherlands

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Building Capacity in Institutional Research and Decision Support in Higher Education

Part of the book series: Knowledge Studies in Higher Education ((KSHE,volume 4))

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Abstract

Institutional research takes place in Ireland, the UK, Netherlands, and Germany and is a significant activity because decision making by institution leaders is informed by data collection; certainly teaching and learning is evidence-based rather than what academics think ‘ought to be the case’; services and facilities are changed on the basis of evidence; even (at least in theory) staff and student satisfaction is taken into account during improvement processes. However, IR is currently not recognized as a discrete activity, resulting in institutional research being done by lots of different groups, internal and external; rather than by a centralized office. Knowledge-building with senior administrators about IR, additional professional development for practitioners, and coordinated thinking will strengthen IR and decision support in the region.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Klemenčič, (2016) highlights that Austria, alone of Central and Eastern European countries, is closer to Germany in its development of institutional research practice.

  2. 2.

    We are indebted to colleagues on the Executive Board of the Dutch Association of Institutional Research for this information.

  3. 3.

    We are indebted to Dr. Suzan Bozkurt for her translation of this source.

  4. 4.

    We are indebted to colleagues on the Executive Board of the Dutch Association of Institutional Research for this perspective.

  5. 5.

    We are indebted to Professor Uwe Schmidt of the University of Mainz for this perspective.

  6. 6.

    We are indebted to Dr. Suzan Bozkurt for her translation of this source.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Birmingham City University, Birmingham, UK

    James Williams & David Kane

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  1. James Williams
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  2. David Kane
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Correspondence to James Williams .

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  1. Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA

    Karen L. Webber

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Williams, J., Kane, D. (2018). A Focus on IR and Decision Support in the UK, Ireland, Germany, and The Netherlands. In: Webber, K. (eds) Building Capacity in Institutional Research and Decision Support in Higher Education . Knowledge Studies in Higher Education, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71162-1_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71162-1_10

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