【IR 2.0: Linking the Institutional research Mechanism with Institutional Development Planning.】
This article explores the "Guidelines for Reviewing the Plan to Subsidize Universities in Enhancing Campus Professional Management Capabilities," established by the Ministry of Education in May 2015. The aim of this plan is to lead and partially support Taiwan's higher education in gradually developing specialized Institutional research and to consider Institutional research as the starting point for university governance. The article points out that the implementation of the Higher Education Sprout Project, incorporating the function of Institutional research, serves as the foundation for evidence-based improvements in teaching quality and student learning outcomes, as well as an execution performance assessment mechanism, further emphasizing the importance of Institutional research in universities and colleges.
The article also highlights that the Ministry of Education has allowed universities to conduct self-evaluations, assisting them in establishing independent quality assurance mechanisms and promoting the utilization of Institutional research. By integrating data on campus management and student learning into campus information and utilizing data mining techniques, relevant issue analysis can be conducted to identify the strengths and weaknesses in campus management and student learning, which can then be transformed into wisdom for enhancing institutional effectiveness.
Regarding the development of Institutional research mechanisms, most universities have established relevant administrative units and improved the legal framework. They have also completed data construction for student learning outcomes from enrollment to career tracking and developed visualization information systems. Various research aspects, such as student source analysis, student attrition and learning outcomes key factor analysis, teaching quality improvement analysis, graduate career development analysis, and faculty academic productivity analysis, have been conducted according to the needs and characteristics of each institution. However, the article points out that many Institutional research practices still adopt a top-down "textual planning mode," lacking bottom-up democratic participation, which affects the effective implementation of strategic planning.
As a well-known public comprehensive research university in Asia, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) takes charge of its Institutional research mechanism through the Office of Institutional Research and Planning. This office, directly reporting to the Deputy President, consists of statisticians, information system experts, dedicated higher education researchers, and data analysts. The primary mission of this office is to collect and analyze regular data on the university's development, analyze trends and developments in higher education in Hong Kong and abroad, collect information for benchmarking and comparative studies, collect and analyze data for formulating university development plans and innovations, conduct analyses and research on international university rankings, and provide actionable business intelligence for predictive analysis and best practices to support evidence-based decision-making in university governance.
In conclusion, the article proposes several valuable insights that can be adopted by Taiwan's Institutional research (IR 2.0) based on the experience of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, including enhancing the role of Institutional research in university governance, strengthening organizational management and methodological innovations in Institutional research strategic planning, enhancing knowledge and skills in applying new technologies to Institutional research, and implementing Institutional research to serve as a performance assessment mechanism for the execution of campus development strategies, thus providing evidence-based decision-making recommendations. The case of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is used to explore the role and significance of its Institutional research mechanism in the development of its campus planning, providing valuable references for promoting Institutional research mechanisms in Taiwan's universities and colleges.
【Excerpt from the issue No. 01, 2021 of TWAEA’s ePaper】
