Institutional Research, Effectiveness, and Planning

Welcome to the Office of Institutional Research, Effectiveness and Planning (IREP) at Delta State University.  IREP provides leadership in monitoring, supporting, and ensuring success in data management, accreditation efforts, reporting requirements, and strategic planning.  Specifically, IREP provides accurate and timely information to campus and external constituents, including the Board of Trustees and Mississippi State Institutions of Higher Learning, the U.S. Department of Education, and the National Center for Education Statistics.  IREP also provides leadership and support for maintaining accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), supports department-specific evaluation and accreditation efforts, administers institution-wide surveys and academic course evaluations, and promotes continuous improvement across the university.

• Further the academic mission of the University
• Develop and support an on-going institutional assessment program of student outcomes, teaching effectiveness, and program review.
• Enhance the professional skill, competence, and development of office staff and university colleagues.

IREP fulfills many requirements within its day-to-day operations. The staff of IREP produces numerous reports for internal and external sources. Many of the reports about the University are required by law, regarding students, faculty, staff, courses, degree programs, and a wide array of other issues. Additionally, IREP staff collects and monitors assessment instruments and reports for academic and non-academic units, in order to promote the appropriate use of assessment data for institutional effectiveness. The office publishes information about the University through annual reports and provides data for reports that are published or used by other campus units. Due to the extent, volume, and variety of these activities, IREP has adopted the following general operating guidelines.

• We will provide products and services that fall within our mission in order to serve Delta State University to the fullest capacity (academic and non-academic) by providing an effective analytical framework for planning and performance effectiveness.
• The office’s priority of services will be executed in the order in which the request is received, level of difficulty, and level of authority.

*To the extent possible within defined priority sequences, we will attempt to meet all requests for information and assistance that are consistent with our mission within the time-frame requested by the individual.

* For substantial studies requiring Institutional Review Board approval, the requester must submit a copy of the IRB approval letter to the office before processing of the request can begin. This may include but is not limited to class projects, dissertations, theses, and professional research.

* IREP makes available through its website commonly requested data, which can be used broadly for planning, evaluation, and decision making.

*Special requests will be adapted to suite the information and assessment needs of those requesting our assistance. If the request requires substantial documents to be printed and or scanned, a nominal fee may apply. However, most, if not all, services for the university units are free.

* IREP keeps logs of the reports, services, and assistance we provide. Additionally, the office assesses its own effectiveness annually to solicit feedback on how our office can better serve the university and meet the institutional research and assessment needs of those we serve.

The publication or presentation of IREP data should follow the citation examples below:

E.g. for Website Documents:

Office of Institutional Research, Effectiveness, and Planning, Delta State University. (2010, September 15). Common Data Set. Retrieved September 17, 2010, from Delta State University: www.deltastate.edu/pages/3867.asp

E.g for Report Requested:

Office of Institutional Research, Effectiveness, and Planning, Delta State University. (2009). 2008-2009 Community College Transfer Report. Cleveland, Mississippi.

E.g for Surveys/Survey Questions:

Office of Institutional Research, Effectiveness, and Planning, Delta State University. (2010). 2000-2001 Beginning Student Survey. Cleveland, Mississippi.