1. Developing a Statewide Student Tracking Tool (Wendell Pai, Marina Moschos, Angela Detlev, Ophelia Robinson, Sumi Lanneau)
This chapter describes the development of a state-level student tracking system developed by the Policy Research and Data Warehousing section of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. The focus is on issues related to data integrity and design, data elements, reports development, potential users, and implications for policy. The online tool presents aggregate reports of student success to inform policymakers at all levels.

2. The Role of Consultants in Institutional Research (John Milam)
Consultants serve a vital function for many colleges and states in the support of their institutional research needs. This chapter discusses how higher education consultants draw on their training in institutional research to assist institutions and other policymakers with selected tasks. The chapter also reviews the considerations that institutions should remember when selecting and using consultants.

3. Collaborating on State-Level Institutional Research in New Hampshire: NH PAPER (Ingrid Lemaire, Judith A. Knapp, Sarah Lowe)
This chapter reviews the experiences that state-level institutional researchers had in collaborating on data gathering and research activities that provided collective benefits for the group. The authors focus on an annual statewide survey that they conduct of high school seniors to gauge postsecondary aspirations.

4. Using College Board Data to Examine Trends in New Hampshire’s College-Bound Students (Robert K. Toutkoushian)
The institutional research function can occur not only at the institutional level but also aggregated at the system level. The author shows how a system-level institutional research office can combine annual reports from the College Board with institutional data to provide policymakers with information on how the college-bound population in their state is changing over time.

5. Virginia Improves Teaching and Learning (VITAL): A Comprehensive Statewide Data System for Teacher Quality (Virginia L. McLaughlin, Thomas J. Ward, Tod R. Massa)
The authors describe how a coordinating board-level institutional research office created a data system enabling the state to assemble detailed data on teachers from the time that they enter teacher preparation programs through employment. The data system is intended to improve teacher education programs, strengthen accountability and accreditation processes, inform policy and funding decisions, and further understanding of teacher development and effectiveness.

6. Confronting Ambiguity, Anarchy, and Crisis in Institutional Research: Using Student Unit Record Databases in Extra-Institutional Research (Glenda D. Musoba, Jacob P. K. Gross, Don Hossler)
This chapter provides a second illustration of the potential uses of a statewide unit record data set for institutional research purposes. The data set was constructed by an institutional-affiliated yet independent office that conducts research on higher education issues pertaining to college access and retention.

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