Mission

The Office of Assessment and Institutional Research at Luther College seeks to serve students, faculty, and staff by developing and implementing data reporting standards and systems to support the information needs of the college and foster greater institutional self-knowledge. Institutional self-knowledge becomes more useful when it is informed by an understanding of the college's position in relation to its external environment. Consequently, whenever possible, the Office of Assessment and Institutional Research attempts to contextualize the Luther experience through use of comparable information from peer higher education institutions and associations. Through this analysis, the mission of the Office of Assessment and Institutional Research connects with the all-college mission commitment to the liberal arts, "an education that disciplines minds and develops whole persons equipped to understand and confront a changing society."

Goals

The goals of the Office of Assessment and Institutional Research are the following:

• Provide information and analysis that is relevant and responsive to the needs of policy and decision-makers of the college.
• Provide information and analysis that is accepted as accurate and reliable.
• Encourage the use of assessment and institutional research resources by maintaining a service orientation to the college community.
• Develop a resource archive to support future institutional re-accreditation and self-study efforts.