Dynamic Benchmarking Launches Interactive Tool to Expand Knowledge of Institutional Research Field

WINDHAM, N.H., March 20, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Dynamic Benchmarking, a provider of customized online benchmarking and reporting solutions, is pleased to announce the launch of a new, interactive version of the National Survey of Institutional Research (IR) Offices for its client, the Association of Institutional Research (AIR). The survey data will be used to inform program reviews of IR offices, benchmarking initiatives, and conversations about the evolving role of IR in higher education.

First launched in 2015 and based in part on research funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the inaugural National Survey of IR Offices established a baseline of capacities and resources, and was framed around four areas of inquiry:

●     Office structure (e.g., reporting lines, type of work produced)
●     Staffing (e.g., roles, FTE, headcount)
●     Financial resources (e.g., office expenses, professional development, budget, staff salaries and benefits)
●     Office users and clients

"Historically, there hasn't been a lot of data collected on IR," Darlena Jones, Director of Assessment and Research at AIR, said. "The 2015 study was the first of its kind conducted on a national scope. The 2018 study will help us gain a better understanding of this diverse field. In particular, it will help IR professionals understand how their office operations compare to their peers'."

The benchmarking study uses the same areas of inquiry as the original research study, but allows survey participants to access customizable reports based on more than fifteen different metrics and filter by sector and Carnegie Classification. Institutions seeking expanded benchmarking may purchase premium access with additional features. Overall, the new platform offers great flexibility and customization of data comparisons.

"IR offices vary greatly among higher education institutions," Elaine Cappellino, Education Operations Manager at AIR, said. "The 2015 study offered a snapshot of the state of the field. Now with this new benchmarking platform, offices can conduct more meaningful peer-to-peer comparisons based on organization size, structure, budget, and so much more."

The National Survey of Institutional Research Offices is currently open for data collection. For more information, or to participate in the study, please visit the AIR website.

ABOUT THE ASSOCIATION FOR INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH (AIR)
The Association for Institutional Research (AIR) empowers higher education professionals to leverage data, analytics, information, and evidence to make decisions and take actions that benefit students and institutions and improve higher education. For over 50 years, AIR has been committed to building and sustaining strong data-informed decision cultures within higher education institutions. For more information, visit http://www.airweb.org.

ABOUT DYNAMIC BENCHMARKING
Dynamic Benchmarking is a New Hampshire-based startup that delivers real-time benchmarking and data analysis solutions with the features and capabilities of custom software in a format that is easy to use and quick to deploy. Founded by a team of women entrepreneurs, Dynamic Benchmarking combines powerful, web-based technology with unparalleled industry expertise and customer care to provide best-in-class, peer-to-peer data comparison for small businesses, associations, large enterprises and any organization looking to tap into the knowledge of the crowd for the collection of best practices, salary comparison, financial and operational data and more. Dynamic Benchmarking builds web-based solutions that are flexible, scalable and allow for meaningful comparison of financial and operational performance in a dynamic and interactive manner. For more information, please visit http://www.dynamicbenchmarking.com.

SOURCE Dynamic Benchmarking