A service of the Higher Education Data Policy Committee (HEDPC), IR in the Know keeps you up to date on current and emerging issues related to higher education data collection, analyses, and reporting with a brief summary of topics and links to more detailed information. We welcome your feedback and suggestions. If you discover a resource or article that might be useful to other IR professionals, please send an email to irintheknow@airweb.org.

WICHE Report: Promising Practices in Statewide Articulation and Transfer Systems
A new joint publication by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and Hezel Associates examines statewide articulation and transfer efforts in Promising Practices in Statewide Articulation and Transfer Systems. The report highlights best practices and policy recommendations from a research study that included a literature review, scan of publicly available information, surveys, and interviews with key higher education officials. Specific recommendations to states include regular and systematic evaluation of articulation and transfer policies that respond to changing conditions and consider the perspectives of a broad range of stakeholders, the allocation of funds to aid in the development of policies and practices that support and measure articulation and transfer efforts, and the identification of key metrics related to articulation and transfer systems.

AASCU Report: State Outlook: Fiscal and State Policy Issues Affecting Postsecondary Education
The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AASCU) has released State Outlook: Fiscal and State Policy Issues Affecting Postsecondary Education. Included in the overview is a snapshot of current economic conditions and an examination of state budget pressures influencing postsecondary funding decisions. According to the report, while financial support for higher education has decreased, the demand for higher education continues to rise as students and workers alike seek successful and stable employment. The report further details the impact the current recession is having on state higher education institutions, including increased tuition, department and program consolidations, capped enrollments, and larger class sizes.

Ed Trust Reports: Graduation Gaps for Minority Students
Two reports released by The Education Trust— Big Gaps, Small Gaps: Some Colleges and Universities Do Better Than Others in Graduating African-American Students and Big Gaps, Small Gaps: Some Colleges and Universities Do Better Than Others in Graduating Hispanic Students — examine disaggregated six-year graduation rates at hundreds of public and private institutions The reports show that when graduation rates are disaggregated by race and ethnicity, the rates are markedly different among different groups of students. Using several years of data from College Results Online (a web-based tool that displays graduation rates by race, ethnicity, and gender for four-year institutions), the reports highlight institutions that have both small and large graduation gaps among different racial and ethnic groups.

SREB Report: Beyond the Rhetoric: Improving College Readiness Through Coherent State Policy
A joint report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education and the Southern Regional Educational Board (SREB) Beyond the Rhetoric: Improving College Readiness Through Coherent State Policy examines issues and challenges regarding the postsecondary preparation gap, a key impediment to college completion. According to the report, nearly 60 percent of first-year postsecondary students are not academically prepared for college-level work. The report provides an explanation for the lack of preparation, the challenges facing students, and recommendations aimed at state policymakers and education leaders for closing the preparation gap.