Institutional Analysis & Planning's (IAP) core activities centre on gathering data, interpreting and accurately reporting data from multiple sources, supporting academic initiatives of the institution, and contributing to strategic planning initiatives.

The gathering of information manifests primarily in surveys, environmental scans and the mining of data warehouses. The reporting activities are directed both internally, primarily to the faculties and schools, the Office of the President and the Office of the Provost, and externally to Alberta Education, Campus Alberta Quality Council (CAQC), and to various benchmarking or accreditation sources such as Maclean's magazine and the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). In addition, IAP provides support to faculties and schools related to degree development and program review. 

Reporting takes on many forms at the university, and IAP is the main source of information for the university’s internal and external requirements. Reports to the Ministry include Learner and Enrolment Reporting System (LERS), Application Submission Initiative (ASI) and the Annual Report. Reporting to CAQC includes annual reporting and academic program reviews for degrees.