OPAIR

The nexus of research, accreditation, assessment, and strategic planning that supports individual unit endeavors towards organizational excellence by making institutional data and strategic information easily accessible, clearly understood, and well-leveraged both within the University and across the Commonwealth.

Key Projects

DEIB Dashboard

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Data Digest

A Modern Approach to the Factbook

iTwo (Institutional Insight)

Interactive Data Analysis and Distribution

Self Study 2024

Reaffirmation of Institutional Accreditation

?

News and Updates

2025 Data Summit Call for Proposals

Nov 20, 2024

Proposals are now being accepted for sessions or panelist participation at “Navigating the Next Wave: Data, Insights, and Collaboration,” Penn State’s 2025 Online Data Summit!
The conference will feature five discussion tracks. Proposals are being accepted for each track, and we encourage you to submit a proposal even if it does not fit in one of the five tracks.

COACHE Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey

Nov 15, 2024

In February 2025, Penn State will launch the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) Faculty Satisfaction Survey, a national survey administered by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This effort is sponsored by the Office of the Provost in partnership with University Faculty Senate.

Penn State enrollment remains steady in 2024

Nov 11, 2024

Penn State remains one of the largest public universities in the United States with 87,995 students enrolled across the University’s campuses in fall 2024, according to the annual enrollment snapshot released today (Nov. 11). The University welcomed its second-largest-ever incoming class at University Park this fall with 9,169 first-year students, contributing to an overall enrollment increase of 0.8% (365 students) at the campus since fall 2023.

Self Study 2024

Penn State is accredited by The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), an institutional accreditor recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. MSCHE provides accreditation for all programs offered by the University. To maintain accreditation, the University must meet MSCHE’s rigorous Standards of Accreditation and Requirements of Affiliation.

MSCHE accreditation assures students, their families, and the public of the educational quality of a Penn State education. Institutional accreditation is also a requirement for the University to participate in the Department of Education’s Title IV federal financial aid program.

Want to Learn More?

Strategic University Projects

OPAIR works on special projects outside of the areas of accreditation, assessment, institutional research, and strategic planning due to strategic resources and talent found within the office. This section is a collection of those projects.

CARES Act/CRRSAA/ARP Act Information

Penn State was allotted nearly $55 million from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relieve and Economic Security (CARES) Act, nearly $84 million from the fund as part of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA), and $150 million from the fund as part of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act. Half of Penn State’s CARES Act allocation – or approximately $27.5 million – and the same amount of the CRRSAA allocation along with more than $76 million of the ARP allocation were designated by law to be disbursed as emergency cash grants to students impacted by disruptions to campus operations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Penn State’s Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund reporting information is available here.

Foreign Gift and Contract Reporting

Section 117 of the Higher Education Act requires institutions to disclose to the Department of Education (DoE) contracts, grants, agreements with or gifts from a foreign source, with a value of $250,000 or more, considered alone or in combination with all other gifts from or contracts with the same foreign source, within a calendar year. Units should adopt procedures whereby any unit signing a contract or accepting a gift should ascertain whether the other party is a foreign source.

More information on Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, due diligence, and reporting resources are available here.

Nuventive Assessment Management System

Penn State uses Nuventive Improve for its Assessment Management System (AMS). The AMS is an online tool that supports University-wide learning outcomes assessment, strategic planning, and Middle States accreditation. Academic programs use the AMS to document their Program Learning Objectives (PLOs), create curriculum maps, plan program assessment efforts, and report results. Strategic planning units use the system to document unit-level plans and align plans with University-level outcomes.

Information and training resources for the AMS are available here.

We Earn

Penn State graduates more than 21,000 students annually across more than 200 academic programs and all degree levels. Our alumni impact the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the nation, and the world. The University participates in two projects designed to estimate Penn State graduates’ return on their higher education investment from 2001 through 2022.

First, we collaborate with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry to evaluate alumni who have worked and are working across the Commonwealth. Second, we are part of a national Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) project with 29 other states and the U.S. Census Bureau to assess earnings and area of employment, comparable by geography and by years since graduation.

Information from Labor and Industry and from US Census was merged with internal Penn State data on 224,291 graduates across all degrees, levels, and campuses. This information provides the best current estimate of the value a Penn State degree carries across the United States. We welcome the public’s exploration of recent graduates’ earnings and alumni with ten years of workforce experience.

Learn more about the value of being a Nittany Lion.

What is the Value of a Penn State Degree?

Dynamic. Accurate. Relevant.

The Data Digest is a tool that has the power to propel the University’s data users into the future. No longer is data hidden behind multiple screens and clicks.

Today, users can access fully customizable dashboards with ease, find the data they desire, carry their filters forward through their search, and export it in one click into Excel.

OPAIR is proud of the Pennsylvania State University Data Digest and works hard to provide more data and features.

Explore the Data