Abstract
The Freshman Survey commonly known as CIRP is a comprehensive institutional assessment tool, which measures entering freshman characteristics and provides useful student profile data. Through forty question statements, CIRP collects: population characteristics (e.g., age, race, gender, income), student expectations of the college experience, high school experiences, student degree goals and plans, perceptions of family finances, student attitudes, values, lifestyles, and reasons for attending college. The CIRP data may be used for tracking changes of student groups over time when combined with other data collected throughout the student college career. This review discusses data collection strategies, identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the instrument and suggests key constituencies who might find it useful. Overall, this review concludes that developing a profile of students at entry enhances an institution’s ability to provide resources in areas of perceived student need, hence helping to better shape students’ college experiences in all points of contact with the college or university.