The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) is a research and development center founded to improve the management effectiveness of colleges and universities. They frequently engage in partnerships and initiatives with the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, Lumina Foundation for Education, Ford Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

NCHEMS is perhaps best known for having advocated for statewide student data tracking systems that can be linked to each other.  Lumina funded NCHEMS’ Center for State Policy on Student Progression (C2SP), which attempts to meet that goal and link state practices to promote student success.  They have surveyed states’ use of assessment and student learning outcomes, their policies on student transitions (such as from high school to college or from a two-year to a four-year institution), and policies on accreditation.

Another major initiative of NCHEMS is their information center at http://www.higheredinfo.org/ which provides a state by state breakdown of state spending on higher education, demographic information, and student success results.  The parameters of student success are defined mainly in terms of graduation rates, but there is also information about increases in earnings for college graduates so success is also defined in monetary terms.