Webber Publishes New Book on Institutional Research and Decision Support

Karen Webber, associate professor in the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia, has edited a new book from Springer Press titled Building Capacity in Institutional Research and Decision Support in Higher Education. Available as an eBook and in a hardcover print edition, the book examines the relevant roles, skills and knowledge needed to build the institutional research capacity across the higher education sector globally.

The book is aimed at senior-level officials at colleges and universities who wish to strengthen their understanding of how institutional research can support effective decision making, as well as at IR practitioners and higher education scholars. Through a broad discussion about the roles and skills of IR practitioners, the book addresses how data can be used to inform policy and planning, thus shaping the decisions and directions of institutions and higher education broadly.   

Webber has published research on a number of issues related to institutional effectiveness in higher education and co-edited a 2015 book, Institutional Research and Planning in Higher Education: Global Contexts and Themes.

Prior to joining the faculty in the Institute of Higher Education on a full-time basis, she served as director of the Office of Institutional Research and interim associate provost for institutional effectiveness at UGA. She is active in national and regional professional organizations including the Association for Institutional Research, the Association for the Study of Higher Education, and the Society for College and University Planning, from which she received a distinguished service award in 2016.