Institutional Effectiveness and Research

Institutional Effectiveness and Research (IER) provides data and reporting services at Metropolitan State University. 

Student Achievement Data

Completion Rates – Metro measures completion six years after initial enrollment. We provide numbers for students who graduate from Metro State and for those who graduate from any institution including but not limited to metro state. These are 2022 measurements and refer to students who started at Metro State in fall of 2016

Graduated from Metro State

• Undergraduates – 55.5%
• Graduate Students – 53.6%

Graduated from any college or university

• Undergraduates – 69.3%
• Graduate Students – 61.3%

Retention Rates – Metro measures retention as the proportion of student who enrolled at Metro for the first time in fall who were enrolled in the subsequent fall or who had graduated from Metro before the subsequent fall. These data are for students who were enrolled in fall of 2021 and returned in or graduated by fall of 2022

• Undergraduates – 59.0%
• Graduate Students – 72.5%

Licensure Rates – Metro collects licensure data for three programs. The following shows the pass rate for each of these programs. These data are for 2021 test takers.

• Nursing – 90.2%
• Peace Officer – 77.4%
• Teaching - 41.2%

Graduates in Related Employment – Metro uses a survey to determine the percentage of its graduates who are in employment related to their field of study within a year of graduating. This measure excludes students who have enrolled in further education or who are not looking for work. These data are for 2021 graduates.

• Graduates in Related employment – 63.8%

Institutional Effectiveness and Research Resources

Minnesota Resources

• Minnesota State Accountability presents enrollment, licensure exams pass rates, and student persistence and completion for each of the thirty-seven colleges and universities within the Minnesota State system.
• The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) is the state's principal economic development agency, with programs promoting business recruitment, expansion, and retention; workforce development; international trade; and community development. 
• The Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE) is a cabinet-level state agency providing students with financial aid programs and information to help them gain access to post-secondary education. The agency serves as the state's clearinghouse for data, research and analysis on post-secondary enrollment, financial aid, finance and trends. 
• The Minnesota State Demographer's Office analyzes and distributes data from state, U.S. Census Bureau and other sources. 
• The Statewide Longitudinal Education Data System (SLEDS) matches student data from pre-kindergarten through completion of postsecondary education and into the workforce. By bridging existing data with other incoming data a range of education programmatic and delivery questions can be answered to gauge the effectiveness of current programs and design targeted improvement strategies to help students.
• The Metropolitan Council is the regional planning agency serving the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area and providing essential services to the region. 

Regional Resources

• The Association for Institutional Research of the Upper Midwest (AIRUM) is a regional affiliate of AIR. Their major event is a conference held each fall in Bloomington, MN. The conference is a great opportunity to network with people from other IR/IE offices.
• The Higher Learning Commission is the organization that provides accreditation to Metropolitan State University. Their annual conference always has sessions of particular interest to IR. The Criteria for Accreditation and Assumed Practices are in the HLC Resource Guide.

National Resources

• The Association for Institutional Research (AIR) is a professional association of more than 3,100 institutional researchers, planners, and decision-makers from higher education institutions around the world. AIR exists to benefit its members and help advance research that will improve the understanding, planning, and operation of higher education institutions.
• The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal agency for collecting and analyzing data that are related to education in the United States and other nations. 
• The U.S. Census Bureau collects data on the nation's people and economy through periodic surveys.
• The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching is an independent policy and research center with a primary mission "to do and perform all things necessary to encourage, uphold, and dignify the profession of the teacher and the cause of higher education."