Improving Skills and Capabilities in the Conduct of Institutional Research in Postsecondary Educational Institutions

该项目提高了个人在机构、州和联邦各级使用高等教育数据的能力；鼓励创新高等教育学习方式；并促进研究成果向高等教育界和公众传播。通过拨款奖励和面对面培训，AIR促进了美国国家科学基金会（NSF）和国家教育统计中心（NCES）数据集在制定高等教育政策、理论和实践方面的贡献；增进对与大规模国家数据收集有关的方法和技术问题的了解；并促进高等教育界和政府机构之间的合作。此外，受资助人与国家高等教育合作组织（NPEC）的伙伴关系促进了专注于增加对NPEC每年选定的特定问题领域的理解和知识的研究。资助和培训机会针对的是机构研究人员、教师和博士生，他们研究美国高等教育，包括科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）的趋势，并利用国家数据为校园和国家高等教育实践提供信息。教师和从业人员有资格获得高达40,000美元的竞争性研究补助金，为期一年的独立研究，而博士生有资格获得高达20,000美元的论文补助金，以支持在教师论文顾问的指导下进行论文研究和写作。作为项目奖励的一部分，一个年度暑期研究所（国家数据研究所：使用联邦数据支持科学、工程和高等教育研究）将提供对NSF和NCES数据集和使用大规模国家数据源的研究方法的深入介绍。该研究所是一个由来自NSF、NCES和其他国家高等教育组织的演讲者亲自动手的面对面研讨会。资助计划和研究所都纳入了竞争性的国家提案程序，由以前的参与者和高等教育专家担任审稿人。这些活动的更广泛的影响是提供基于研究的信息，以帮助学院和大学提高学生的毕业率和完成率，特别是在STEM职业中。获得资助的人需要在AIR的年度会议上展示他们的研究，这些材料以及最终报告将在AIR的网站上向公众提供。通过AIR资助计划资助的研究定期在国家高等教育会议上发表，并在高等教育领域最受尊敬的期刊上发表。通过会议、出版物和互联网在全国范围内传播，为高等教育以外的研究人员、从业者和学者提供了通过NSF和NCES数据来回顾这些对教育领域的创新贡献的机会。

This project increases the capacity of individuals to use higher education data at the institution, state, and federal levels; encourages innovative ways for studying higher education; and facilitates the dissemination of research findings to the higher education community, as well as the general public. Through grant awards and face-to-face training, AIR promotes the contribution that National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) datasets make in setting higher education policy, theory, and practice; enhances understanding about methodological and technological issues relevant to large-scale national data collections; and fosters collaboration between the higher education community and government agencies. In addition, the grantee's partnership with the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative (NPEC) promotes research focused on increasing the understanding and knowledge of specific issue areas, selected annually by NPEC. The grant and training opportunities are targeted to institutional researchers, faculty, and doctoral students, who conduct research about American postsecondary education -- including trends in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) -- and who use national data to inform campus and national higher education practices. Faculty and practitioners are eligible for competitive research grants of up to $40,000 for one year of independent research, while doctoral students are eligible for dissertation grants of up to $20,000 for one year to support dissertation research and writing under the guidance of a faculty dissertation advisor. As part of the project award, an annual summer institute (The National Data Institute: Using Federal Data to Support Research on Science, Engineering, and Postsecondary Education) will provide an intensive introduction to NSF and NCES datasets and research methodologies using large-scale national data sources. The Institute is a hands-on face-to-face workshop with speakers from NSF, NCES, and other national higher education organizations. Both the grant program and Institute incorporate competitive, national proposal processes with previous participants and higher education experts serving as reviewers. The broader implications for these activities are in providing research based information to assist colleges and universities in improving graduation and completion rates of students, especially in STEM careers. Grant recipients are required to present their research at AIR's annual conference and these materials, as well as final reports, are made available to the general public on AIR's website. Studies funded through AIR's grant program are regularly presented at national higher education conferences and published in the most respected journals in higher education. National dissemination through conferences, publications, and the internet provides researchers, practitioners, and scholars outside higher education opportunities to review these innovative contributions to the field of education through lens of NSF and NCES data.