This volume of New Directions for Institutional Research proposes and tests new approaches to institutional research (IR) that attempt to break down barriers to academic success, particularly focusing on minority students, working students, and others in nontraditional circumstances.

The chapters in this volume review prior research on best practices as well as evaluations of retention programs and persistence by students of color, then go on to propose and test new approaches to assessment, action research, action inquiry, and evaluation. Lessons learned from this volume should...