Assessment, Evaluation, and Research

2016

This chapter explores the best practices and resources for adopting assessment and evaluation strategies and practices across countries.

Uses and Misuses of Data

2018

Higher education is awash with data with more coming every year. Much of this is due to accountability reasons and growing interest from stakeholders (internal and external). New technologies have increasingly allowed more powerful analytics and deeper dives into data. However the increasing pressures and new technologies have brought significant questions on how data is used and its relevance. This chapter examines how data is used within higher education and an extended discussion of how it has been misused. The chapter concludes with three suggestions on how institutions can do to reduce the likelihood of the misuse of data and the role of institutional research could play in facilitatin…

International Student Migration in Finland

2021

There is increasing attention on the retention of international students with many stakeholders desiring to keep international students for long-term economic growth. This study examines the factors affecting international students to stay in Finland five years after initial enrolment with particular focus on the role graduation plays in students staying or leaving. Tracking 11 (years) entering cohorts for five years across national (Finland) data registries, we found evidence of an inverse relationship between graduation, degree type, and the probability of staying; higher the degree level of graduation, the decrease in probability an international student stays. We conclude that while gra…

New Voices from Intersecting Identities Among International Students Around the World

2022

In this article, we introduce our special issue, “International students’ lived experiences in the era unprecedented uncertainty and challenges: New voices from intersectional identities.” Our motivation and intention for this special issue, the focus, and the overall methodological approach are discussed. In addition to presenting the contributions of each article to this issue, we also discuss what we (all authors of this special issue) try to talk and how our voices are reflecting our unique experiences of coming to the new counties and leaving where we lived as international students by unfolding our stories and multiple identities that are intersecting while we experienced.

Is There a Need for a European Institutional Research?

2013

Recent changes in European higher education have accompanied a strong desire and need by national ministries to have comparable data across institutions and a growing recognition from campus leaders that effective planning and decision-making requires reliable institutional data and analyses. This has induced changes and restructuring of duties and roles of administration, administrative staff and academic staff. In North America, internal institutional data analysis is often referred to as institutional research. We examine the roles and functions of institutional research within North America and how the changes within European higher education have created a purpose for institutional res…

Do they stay or go? Analysis of international students in Finland

2020

The increase in international student mobility raises questions of how many international students choose to stay in their host country and the reasons why some stay and others leave. This study ex...

Applying Student Development Theories: Enhancing International Student Academic Success and Integration

2019

Student development theories (SDT) focus on the growth and change occurring in students while attending higher education. In this article, we propose that the application of student development theories supports holistic development in international students and helps us understand international students’ academic success and integration. We outline a combination of student development models, derived from SDT, and interact them with concepts from international student mobility and migration (ISM). These models, when applied to student services, may assist higher education institutions (HEIs) in designing student services for international students enhancing academic success and integration.

Institutional Research in the Future: Challenges Within Higher Education and the Need for Excellence in Professional Practice

2013

The upcoming challenge for higher education institutions (HEIs) globally is how to respond to an increasing variety of societal needs but with fewer public resources and increased accountability demands. In this chapter we draw attention to the central role institutional research (IR) professionals play in positioning HEIs in a competitive and globalized environment, and the need for them to have a well-developed set of skills (both generic and specialized) to provide and inform the decision-making process. We conclude by posing some questions to consider for the practice of IR into the future.

Being an academic and engaging in social change

2021

University trustees as channels between academe and industry: Toward an understanding of the executive science network

2013

Abstract Policy makers in the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) see “autonomous” research universities as increasingly central to “world class” status, technology development and economic innovation. Trustees or regents (US) and external board members (EU) are seen as a marker of university autonomy. Examining university trustees may shed some light on the role of trustees/external board members play in research strategy, innovation and economic development. Given that a number of trustees of US research universities sit on the boards of directors of large corporations with research interests, we hypothesized that trustees may be an important channel connecting universities to …

Innovative strategic planning for the institution

2017

Expanding Research Capacity at United States Universities: a Study of Academic Research and Development Investment from 1990-2005

2012

Growing emphasis has been placed on universities to contribute to the innovation process and as a result academic research and development expenditures have increased in recent years. Nevertheless, little is known about the specific ways in which universities have expanded their research capacity.This paper examines how universities in the United States (US) have expanded research capacity as research funding has increased. Specifically, it identifies what type of research infrastructure, including various categories of human capital and research equipment, are most closely associated with increased academic research funding. Using data from 375 US universities spanning the period 1990‐2005…

Suomeen valmistumisen jälkeen jääneet tutkinto-opiskelijat tilastojen valossa

2019

Tarkastelemme kirjoituksessamme ulkomaalaisia tutkinto-opiskelijoita, jotka valmistuivat Suomen ammattikorkeakouluista tai yliopistoista vuosien 1999 ja 2011 välisenä aikana. Pyrimme kuvailemaan Tilastokeskuksen rekisteritietojen avulla, kuinka moni valmistuneista on edelleen Suomessa kolme vuotta valmistumisen jälkeen ja mitkä taustatekijät ovat yhteydessä päätökseen jäädä maahan. Kiinnitämme tarkastelussa erityistä huomiota siihen, kuinka valmistumisen jälkeen Suomeen jääminen käsitteellisesti määritellään mittausta varten. Lisäksi vertaamme maahan jääneiden henkilöiden tilannetta ja työmarkkinatulemia suomalaisten vastaaviin tulemiin finanssikriisin jälkeisenä aikana. Tulosten mukaan ulk…

Intra-regional mobility of PhD students in the European Union : the outcomes of region-making policy?

2022

This paper examines the flow of intra-European Union (EU) students for doctoral (PhD) studies to identify reasons for differences in international student mobility and migration (ISM) among member states. Rather than conceptualising intra-EU PhD student ISM only through push–pull forces, we theorise the intra-EU PhD ISM is associated with relative levels of national resources or levels of capital. We investigate the intra-EU PhD ISM through dyadic country pairings allowing the use of Gravity models to estimate the effect of variables associated with stocks of capital ascribed to a country to the change in the number of PhD students. The findings of this study indicate while there is asymmet…

Do they stay or go? Analysis of international students in Finland

2021

The increase in international student mobility raises questions of how many international students choose to stay in their host country and the reasons why some stay and others leave. This study examines factors affecting international students to stay in Finland three years after graduation. Tracking 13 (years) graduating cohorts across national (Finland) data registries, we find family ties and labour market opportunities relate to an increased probability an international student stays in Finland three years after graduation. peerReviewed