Who are your clients?

• Everyone has access to the reports and information on our website, except for a few items provided only to employees due to state and federal privacy laws.
• Primary Clientele: The Government, Board of Regents, System Office, President, Vice Presidents, Deans, and Chairs regularly obtain our customized services.
• Other employees, students, businesses, and the local community are provided assistance with data on the Institutional Research website, through previously published reports, and via the Texas State database as allowed by the Texas Public Information Act, FERPA, and other confidentiality laws.  Institutional Research (IR) serves as the official source of Texas State University data, providing reports to many state and federal government agencies.  IR also responds to numerous external surveys from private businesses—these survey responses are used in various publications and college guide books.

What standard publications does IR produce?

• Fact Book Pivot Tables -- A collection of Microsoft Excel Pivot Tables that contain current and historical Texas State data on student enrollment and degrees awarded.
• Enrollment Highlights -- A pocket sized booklet containing fall semester student data.
• Board of Regents Fact Sheet -- A report of student, employee, finance and facillity data in graphical and tabular format thea is prepared for each BOR meeting.
• Institutional Research Newsletter -- published during each long semester, theIR newsletter is distributed to all administative heads and provides information about recent research projects or topics of interest.
• Common Data Set -- a collection of data about Texas State and its student that is used as a data source by sevveral college guidebooks, in an effort to standardize information to allow comparison between institutions of higher education.
• Other Reports -- numerous studies and reports regarding student, courses, faculty, staff, finances, and facilities are prepared by IR on a regular basis. Some of these are available on-line, while others are available in print. See our Reports page for a complete listing of the standard reports.

Can I get a printed copy of the On-Line Fact Book?

• The Fact Book Pivot Tables are designed so that users can design and print tabled data that is specific to their needs; printing the entire contents of the pivot tables is not practical not recommended.

How do I submit a customized request?

• Customized requests are necessary when data or research is needed that is not available on the IR website or in a standard report; use the project request form on the IR Home Page to place a request.  This form helps us keep track of your requests and respond in a timely and accurate manner.  When possible, please plan to allow us at least two weeks to complete your request.  If you request sensitive data about individuals, we will ask you to complete a confidentiality form, indicating you understand the importance of protecting individual privacy.

What training does IR provide?

• Workshops on how to use our online resources are provided each long semester via Professional Development workshops.  We also guest lecture in classes and visit with employee groups in individual departments and colleges upon request.

Do you provide support for grant writing?

• Grant support is limited to providing any support information that we can readily obtain. 

Will you extract/analyze data for my school project, Thesis, or Dissertation?

• Support for student research projects and class assignments is limited to information that is published on the IR website.  If research for a project is deemed beneficial to the University, IR will sometimes assist faculty and staff with data extractions for a Thesis or Dissertation. In these instances, a written request from the student’s Dean or VP must be provided.

What surveying services do you provide?

• Survey design for official university business.
• Survey distribution.
• Survey data collection.
• Survey data analysis.
• Survey reports (interactive on-line or printed).
• Survey guidelines have been developed to insure a framework of quality and consistancy in the survey process: See Survey Services.

Will you provide mailing labels or random samples for me?

• IR can provide samples in electronic format for an administrative survey; clients will be responsible for printing the list on labels if mailing labels are needed.  For all other request concerning lists of employees or students, contact Human Resources for employee lists and the Registrar's Office for student lists.

Contact our office with any needs that are not addressed in this document—we will make every attempt to accommodate your request.