Institutional Research: Informing Institutional Enhancement, Practice and Strategy

Dublin City University and the UK and Ireland Higher Education Institutional Research (HEIR) Network are delighted to host the 3rd Annual Conference on Institutional Research.

The role of institutional research, both in individual higher education institutions and the sector as a whole, is increasingly considered “mission critical” to understanding and evaluating the work of universities.

Institutional Research in this context incorporates research undertaken within an institution or higher education system to provide information to support an evidence-informed approach to policy and practice. By virtue of its nature, the scope of IR is very broad and can include analysis and research on the student experience, including retention, progression and achievement; teaching and learning enhancement; research activity and bibliometrics; and institutional, inter-institutional and sectoral performance.

The HEIR 2010 conference will build on the work of the previous conferences mapping an agenda and building a community with a focus on developing a framework for Institutional Research in the UK and Ireland. In doing so it will explore the synergies between institutional research, strategy and quality enhancement within higher education institutions.

The conference will bring together academics, professionals and administrators with an interest in institutional research, quality enhancement, strategy, university planning, learning and teaching evaluation and improvement, student support and development, and policy development.

Even though the conference is focussed on developing a framework for IR in the UK and Ireland, it is open to IR practitioners and enthusiasts from around the world representing a variety of institutional research approaches and traditions from which we can all learn.

We look forward to welcoming you to Dublin City University for this event, being held for the first time in Ireland."