To help foster more effective decision-making at Washington State University, the Office of Institutional Research will be reorganized under the Office of Strategy, Planning, and Analysis effective July 1, 2022. This organizational realignment is meant to create stronger decision support services, a key operating principle of OneWSU and part of the WSU system strategic plan.
“The Office of Institutional Research provides vital data and information for the University, and this change positions the office to more effectively serve the entire system,” said Elizabeth Chilton, provost and executive vice president, and chancellor, WSU Pullman. “As we look at where data and information reside in the university and the institution’s growing needs around this strategic asset, it has become clear we need to align our resources to be more effective.”
The Office of Strategy, Planning, and Analysis was created in October 2021 as a step in OneWSU system development, and supports university leadership by leveraging institutional data and enhanced analytics to facilitate and support robust planning, innovation, and transparent decision-making across the entire WSU system.
“In order for WSU to continue fulfilling its mission as a land-grant university, a unified OneWSU system is essential,” said WSU System President Kirk Schulz. “Achieving our goals as a system requires focus, coordination, alignment in our planning, and informed decision-making. This is precisely what the Office of Strategy, Planning, and Analysis was created for and what this change will help them do.”
Over this past year, increasing focus has been placed at WSU on using data for better informed planning, decisions, and improvement. This has meant a stronger emphasis on data as a strategic asset, leading to the decision for this organizational change.
“We are excited about where this takes us,” said Chris Hoyt, Vice President of Strategy, Planning, and Analysis. “As we plan for the future of WSU, we need a way to measure how we’re doing with our goals; this realignment allows us to do that more effectively. IR will not move away from its core services- instead it will allow us to expand, be more proactive, and be more innovative.”
More information regarding the Office of Strategy, Planning, and Analysis and current data initiatives can be found on its website.
