Institutional Research

The responsibilities of the office include:

  • Responding to mandated reporting needs — Meeting the requirements of IPEDS (Federal Government), CT’s Board of Regents for Higher Education, and publishers is a critical part of the PR&A function.
  • Providing information to faculty, staff, and the college community as needed — Support research interests of faculty, staff and administration; meet Fall term reporting needs; complete and post an annual fact book; provide faculty and staff with rosters, lists, labels, rates and other requested information.
  • Providing leadership for assessment activities — Support faculty and staff as we assess student learning. Contribute to improved efficiency and effectiveness for program and discipline reviews by providing standard tables, custom research, outcomes assessment consulting, and other assistance as needed.
  • Providing leadership and support for strategic planning — Provide support for the campus community as we develop a new process for strategic planning that is inclusive and transparent, will help us achieve strategic alignment, and is reflective of the interests of the campus community.

Assessment of Student Learning


Fact Book — An Overview of MCC Facts and Statistics

View or download the 2022-2023 Fact Book.

View or download these quick looks at key measures of enrollment and student success:


Transfer Success

Manchester Community College and its partnership with Eastern Connecticut State University are highlighted in The Transfer Playbook: Essential Practices for Two- and Four-Year Collegesa practical guide to designing and implementing a key set of practices to improve transfer outcomes based on lessons from six sets of community colleges and universities that, together, serve transfer students well. Issued by the Community College Research Center and The Aspen Institute.


Strategic Plan

Over the past year, MCC faculty and staff have been engaged in a process to create our next strategic plan. We followed a model called “Collaborative Strategic Planning in Higher Education.”  Action plans will be developed by departments and divisions and will guide where we invest our resources over the next several years. The outline of the resulting planning goals is available at the link below.

The plan was built on the foundation of the work done for our:


Research Studies

The office of Planning, Research and Assessment regularly produces studies of MCC students and curricula initiatives, such as the study below . Please contact the office to discuss you research needs.


Institutional Review Board

All persons, entities, agencies, and/or organizations are required to request and receive permission from the Manchester Community College Institutional Review Board prior to conducting any data collection from students, staff or faculty of the college. Please read the IRB instructions and forms carefully. Completed proposals and supporting documents should be emailed to: dnielsen@manchestercc.edu.


Contact Information

David Nielsen
Director of Planning, Research and Assessment
Manchester Community College
PO Box 1046, MS#1
Manchester, CT 06045-1046
860-512-3108
dnielsen@manchestercc.edu