The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment shares in Suffolk University’s mission as a talent catalyst through excellence in teaching, research, and public service by providing comprehensive and essential information to support:

• Institutional Planning
• Policy Formation
• Data-driven Decision-making
• Evaluation of Effectiveness

The office also strives to coordinate accurate and timely responses to external accountability mandates, including: external accreditation, and a wide range of diverse internal and external requests for information about the campus.

Strategic Planning

The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment is charged with compiling, analyzing, interpreting, and disseminating statistical data used in strategic planning efforts by University administrators, trustees, departments, programs, and committees. These data include but is not limited to:

• Student Demographics and Characteristics
• Faculty Demographics and Characteristics
• Student Success Outcomes
• Admissions
• Enrollment
• Tuition and Financial Aid
• Revenue and Expenditures
• Retention, Persistence, and Graduation
• Courses Taught and Faculty-Student Ratios
• Credit Hour Production
• Shared Curricular Goals and Outcomes
• Degrees and Certificates Awarded
• Employee Demographics and Characteristics
• Research, Grant, and Scholarship Productivity
• Facilities Utilization

This information is disseminated to the University community through annual reports, websites, and responses requests. The information is actively utilized in Suffolk University governance and oversight to ensure data-driven decision making.

Institutional Effectiveness and Programmatic Review

The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment is responsible for coordinating campus-wide and unit-level assessment of academic programs and administrative processes to support the University’s strategic plan and quality improvement efforts. These activities include but are not limited to:

• Gathering and presenting institutional performance data
• Coordinating data comparisons and exchanges with consulting agencies and peer institutions for benchmarking purposes
• Coordinating, tracking, administering, and disseminating Suffolk University internal and external surveys
• Providing support and consultation to assist units in program evaluation and assessing student learning outcomes and administrative objectives
• Conducting special studies to evaluate and report on the University’s progress in achieving strategic goals including the use of the University Dashboard for informing the Board of Trustees and other Governance constituents
• Supporting NECHE and other Institutional, Department and Professional/Program Accreditation activities
• Use the web site to communicate commonly requested information and to highlight materials that may be broadly useful for planning, evaluation, and decision making
• Strive for high levels of communication, professional knowledge, training, and activity in order to make positive contributions to the understanding and practice of institutional research and assessment

View an overview of the review process [PDF]

Analytic Reporting

The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment has primary responsibility for preparing and submitting official reports and data files to ensure the University’s compliance with Suffolk’s bylaws and governance, state, and federal reporting mandates. This includes maintaining on-going and timely preparation of materials for NECHE Accreditation and for supporting the Accreditation of Institutional Units, Departments, and Programs. In addition, the office coordinates the University’s responses to a variety of other external requests for information that are received from the media, publishers of college guides, local government, the general public, and other institutions.

This information is disseminated to appropriate offices and the President and Provost of Suffolk are provided with updates and documentation on a regular basis or as requested.

Contact Us

Office Location

73 Tremont Street
13th floor
Boston, MA 02108

Mailing Address

Suffolk University
8 Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108

Email Address

For General Information, Requests, or Questions about Qualtrics: [email protected]

Office Members

Gary Fireman, Associate Provost and Chief Data Officer
Phone: 617-305-6368
Email: [email protected]

Joshua Holmes, Director
Email: [email protected]

Yahya Shamekhi, Associate Director
Email: [email protected]

Sage Espinosa, Institutional Research Associate
Email: [email protected]

Philip Bonmassar, Institutional Research Associate
Email: [email protected]

Elizabeth Henderson, Career Outcomes Data Analyst
Email: [email protected]

Rizwanur Rob, Research Analyst
Email: [email protected]

Ryan Veiga, Research Analyst
Email: [email protected] 

Sarah Burnham, Graduate Fellow