Behind the acronym: OIRP

Editor’s note: This is the first installment in an ongoing series to highlight the departments and work behind Portland State’s many acronyms.

OIRP stands for the Office of Institutional Research and Planning, and though it is a department generally overlooked by the average student, the work of OIRP affects Portland State and its students and faculty every day.

The office provides a variety of information pertaining to the university, such as enrollment data, employee information and surveys of students and faculty. The information is made available to the administration, faculty, students, external agencies and the public.

Students can utilize the information to learn what degrees Portland State offers, how many faculty members Portland State has or to access the results of student surveys. The information is also used by university management to support policies and to help make administrative decisions, said Kathi Ketcheson, director of OIRP with a doctorate in urban studies.

Ten people generally do the work of OIRP, but there are often student workers in the office as well. Ketcheson believes that institutional researchers are not only responsible for collecting statistical data, but also for making sense of it and using their knowledge to help plan the implementation of the information.

OIRP is also responsible for creating factbooks outlining the type of information for which the office is held accountable. It collects information from Banner, a student information system, and data from Human Resources.

Additional information is gleaned from surveys, interviews and funded research projects. Currently, OIRP is completing a national study about student transition from community college to a four-year university, and what helps or hinders students during the transfer.

The information OIRP gathers is then reported directly to the provost and is also made available to anyone else who is interested. The reports are also provided to the Oregon University System, the state and federal government, outside agencies and other universities. Collected information, factbooks and research summaries are also available on OIRP’s Web site. Upon request, other information is distributed through electronic tables, charts, narrative reports and public presentations at conferences. OIRP also provides consultation for analyzing the information and how it can most effectively be used, Ketcheson said.

Portland State’s OIRP is considered somewhat unusual compared to other information resource offices because of its involvement with the faculty, said Ketcheson, who was elected to the university Steering Committee three times and has served as its presiding officer pro tempore.

Staff members of OIRP have served on university Senate committees and devote time to survey research with faculty. OIRP has also begun a new collaborative partnership with the Portfolio Advisory Committee, which they hope will become a model for future work regarding campus initiatives.

The work done by OIRP allows Portland State to continue to adapt to the needs of its students and faculty. Although the statistics and information gathered may not look like much to the untrained eye, the staff of OIRP manages to analyze and interpret it to guide important decisions and policies for Portland State.