An Evaluation of Miami-Dade's Office of Institutional Research. Research Report No. 95-01R.

As a follow-up to 1985 and 1991 efforts to determine its own effectiveness in providing useful information to the college community, the Office of Institutional Research (OIR) at Florida's Miami-Dade Community College conducted a self-evaluation in 1994. Questionnaires were mailed to 296 department chairs, Board members, and other professionals who receive research report abstracts and information capsules, generating a response rate of 37% (n=109). Study findings included the following: (1) 84% of the respondents were faculty members, and the largest area of responsibility indicated by respondents was academic affairs (26%); (2) 98% of the respondents were aware of receiving reports, and 65% used the results in decision-making; (3) 96% of the users perceived the OIR information as accurate and 90% thought it was objective; (4) compared to results from the 1991 evaluation, respondents' perceptions of the OIR's timeliness of data slipped from 92% in 1991 to 86% in 1994; (5) 93% of the individuals who requested information from the OIR by phone or in person indicated that they had a positive experience; (6) improvements suggested by respondents were related to providing better assistance to individual departments in conducting follow-up surveys, wider dissemination of data to faculty, and more campus interaction; and (7) most of the suggestions for future research topics related to outcomes and effectiveness measures. Appendixes provide information on OIR goals, the survey instrument, and sample responses to open-ended questions. (TGI)