The purpose of the Institutional Planning & Research office is to serve as a resource in coordinating the college's plan for institutional effectiveness and professional development with the requirements of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, to provide consultation and research assistance to others and to accumulate, generate, maintain, and disseminate institutional information to support planning assessment and general awareness efforts for the institution.  Since July 1997, the reassignment of the Institutional Research function has become a separate office at Northeast Mississippi Community College .  The office is staffed with an Associate Vice President and a Senior Research Associate.