Analytical Services & Institutional Research (AS&IR) provides information, analyses, and reporting resources to Boston University’s constituents. This includes reporting of official university data, development of data dashboards visualizations and other business intelligence resources in addition to the administration of the University’s Data Governance Program.

The office supports all areas of the institution, including Trustees and senior leadership, administration, academic areas, faculty, and students.  Services include access and design of reports, dashboards, and visualizations using a range of tools. Additionally, AS&IR provides expertise in enrollment management and predictive modeling to support the University’s admissions process and retention efforts as well as advisory services on University committees and key initiatives to facilitate the use of central data resources.

In addition, members of AS&IR provide official University representation at external consortia, including the Association of American Universities Data Exchange (AAUDE), the Association for Institutional Research (AIR), the New England Commission of Higher Educations (NECHE), and North East Association for Institutional Research (NEAIR).

Analytical Services & Institutional Research is composed of three groups:

• Institutional Research

  Institutional Research (IR) maintains a robust history of institutional and comparative data and provides strong and timely analytical support for evidence-based decision making by the university community. In addition, IR acts as the primary information contact on behalf of the University for external constituents, such as government agencies, accrediting bodies, and information guides and publications. Staff also serve as a central university resource for survey design, implementation, and statistical analysis.

• Analytical Services

  AS&IR’s Analytical Services unit implements best practices in reporting and analysis to develop and support data presentation and meaningful visualization using available BI tools such as Power BI and MicroStrategy. This group assists in developing actionable business intelligence for strategic decision making covering all area of the institution and peer analysis, including predictive modeling for enrollment management. Staff also provide training and assistance with report development to promote self-sufficient data access through the University’s Academic Data Warehouse and other key information sources.

• Data Governance

  Boston University’s Data Governance Program facilitates best practices in data literacy and management to better promote and leverage our institution’s data assets and ensure that data conforms to all relevant definitions and regulations.  Supported by a cross-functional group of university representatives, the Program provides review, documentation, and clarification of the University’s data assets.