The primary function of the Office of Institutional Research and Planning is to inform and guide planning and evaluation. IRP conducts empirical research and statistical and qualitative analyses for purposes of institutional decision-making and planning. The Director of Institutional Research and Planning has responsibility for the development, maintenance, and analysis of institutionally relevant information in support of the College's planning, assessment, and decision-making activity.

Planning and evaluation within a department or program, both administrative and academic, directs much of IRP’s work.  Generally, IRP undertakes a project because of program or department-specific questions that are important from a College-wide perspective.  A secondary or derivative function of IRP is statistics and analyses that are relevant for the public; governmental legislative and regulatory entities; and prospective and current donors, grantors, and students.

IRP reports to the Vice President for Planning, and its "agenda," is developed in consultation with the Dean of Faculty, other senior officers of the College, and the IRP Advisory Panel.  Many of the most important planning and evaluation concerns of the College lie at the nexus of the academic, non-academic, and financial sectors.  For example, admissions and financial aid issues should be examined within the context of the later success of students in academic programs and the financial resources and income projections of the College. Consequently, the Director of Institutional Research and Planning benefits from an increasing amount of coordination among and frequent consultation with the Dean of Faculty, the Vice President for Planning, and the Vice President for Finance.