Data definitions: articles for IR teams
How institutional data terms are defined, why they fragment across IPEDS, state, and internal reporting, and how to document and govern them.
How an IR office uses Clema when its key analyst resigns
How an IR office uses Clema to keep definitions, sources, and terminology when its key analyst leaves. 85% of institutions rely on one person for this knowledge.
Clema Research Team · 5 mins readHow an IR director uses Clema when "retention" means five things
How an IR director uses Clema to surface the cohort definition on every answer, so "retention" stops meaning whatever the requester had in mind.
Clema Research Team · 5 mins readWhy 'enrolled student' has five definitions
In a study of 20 IR and IE offices, one term routinely carried several valid definitions at once. Here is why that happens, the eight layers it happens at, and why it breaks reporting even when the data is clean.
Clema Research Team · 11 mins readIs your institutional knowledge one resignation away from gone?
A diagnostic for institutional research teams: the Institutional Intelligence Gap, the three tiers (55% Large, 40% Moderate, 5% Small), a five-factor self-assessment, and an illustrative cost model for key-person dependency in higher ed.
Clema Research Team · 12 mins readFrom person-dependent to system-supported: a framework for governing data definitions
Creating data definitions is achievable. Maintenance is where most efforts collapse. Here is a six-step framework, an AI-readiness argument, and tier-by-tier next steps for IR/IE teams.
Clema Research Team · 12 mins read