In honor of the twenty-fifth anniversary of New Directions for Institutional Research, this issue provides an overview of the field of institutional research and a status report on the profession. The authors present the results of various national studies that examine the professional preparation of institutional researchers and the size and primary task of the IR office. Chapters explore the role IR plays in improving an institution's ability to learn; review organizational behavior theories that shed light on the researcher's relationship with the institution; and discuss the three tiers of organizational intelligence that make up IR--technical/analytical, contextual, and issues intelligence.

This is the 104th issue of the quarterly journal New Directions for Institutional Research.