Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP)
The CIRP is a product of the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA. It is sponsored by the American Council on Education and the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies at UCLA. It has been administered to freshmen across the country for over 50 years. Over 400 colleges and universities use this instrument. Swarthmore has participated since 1971. HERI produces an annual report called "The American Freshman" which contains national norms by sex, race, and type of college. This program has generated a tremendous amount of research over the years.
At Swarthmore the survey is administered through the Deans office and is given to new students prior to arriving on campus. Response rates for incoming students tend to be quite high when compared to other student surveys. Data are generally returned to the campus by the vendor in the winter.
