The Role of Our Office at the College
Analytics and Institutional Research (AIR) at Grinnell is charged with the collection and analysis of data to assist in strategic, academic, and administrative decisions and actions. We work closely with the dean of the College in support of student learning assessment and we assist all campus offices in developing the culture and skills for analysis and a cycle of evaluation, decision-making, and re-evaluation. AIR coordinates external reporting of institutional data to government and other agencies; coordinates, schedules, and implements institutional surveys, serves as archivist/custodian of institutional data and analyses; and coordinates the development of a data dictionary.
How We Do Our Work and Who You Should Call
We are a team of experienced researchers with complementary talents and skills who strive to work collaboratively with one another and others in innovative projects at Grinnell College. Our work is closely connected with that of the vice president for strategic planning at Grinnell and is intended to support the continuous planning model that is in place here through data-informed decision-making. To some degree, we are able to interchange roles though our particular interests and skills are described below. Leadership within our team is assumed by various team members depending upon specific tasks and associated goals. Please see the descriptions of skills, interests, and brief bios of our staff to determine who to call when you need our help or have a question.
Carlie VanWilligen, Director of Institutional Research
Call or email Carlie with questions about available data from Grinnell and our peer schools, Grinnell’s externally reported data, surveys that target an institutional audience, support for department and faculty reviews, end-of-course student ratings of the instruction process, and whatever else you might be curious about.