Data and institutional Research Request Form

Institutional data is produced and maintained by other offices throughout campus. Each department is responsible for the accuracy, quality, and integrity of institutional data that is specific to that office.

For example, Admissions is accountable for application information; Registrar, for enrollment; and Accounting, for billing and financial information, etc. All these data, including IR data, are proprietary, i.e. owned by West Virginia State University. 

Some forms of University data are highly confidential and fall under Federal Regulations (FERPA) and may not be released in a public manner. Note that the IR, Registrar, Admissions, and other offices on campus will not release any unit-record data (data with identifying variables) except under very specific conditions and only by FERPA regulations. Data Stewards understand the data integrity standards and format for the release of data. There are specific conditions for the release of unit-record data, and they are:

Requests by Board of Governors, senior administrators and faculty representatives of standing committees or academic departments for decision-support, institutional planning or departmental assessment, upon approval by the appropriate senior administrator.

Requests by recognized researchers for scholarly work, to be considered by IR and the appropriate senior officer. A request for data must include the reason for the research, intended audience, and plans for dissemination and publication.

It is mandated reporting to the State and Federal government.

Unit-record datasets cannot be released to any other parties, including students (even for classroom use or research purposes.) One exception to this policy is that of class rosters released to instructors from the Registrar's Office.

Aggregate results of some Institutional Research reports such as the Factbook and assessment surveys are considered public and are posted on the IRAE homepage. Data posted on the IRAE website and aggregate data released to the public adhere to data integrity and management standards.

If you are seeking data about West Virginia State University, please first check the IRAE website. If you need to make a customized data request, please complete the Data Request Form. This form should be completed at least 30 days in advance of when the desired data are needed. The IRAE Office will respond within a reasonable timeline if it can comply with the request. Preparing extra data sets take time to prepare. This request process allows for planning, coordination, and prioritization of these requests.

This form is used to submit a request to the Institutional Research, Assessment, and Effectiveness Office for the review of your plans to conduct institutional research.

Please complete the following.

The timeline for your proposal will be compared with other pending institutional research initiatives occurring on campus. The Assessment Committee will make a recommendation about the scheduling of your project. Projects and requests will be scheduled based on the order in which they are received weighed against institutional priorities. Thank You.