What is critically missing in higher education in India is the continuously maintained, institution-level data, which is an invaluable database for research as well as for honing policies and monitoring their outcomes. This paper chronicles one administrative and scholarly experiment recently launched in Cotton College State University in Guwahati, Assam. The first year's results of the ongoing experiment are revealed and the future potential of this kind of research to engage with questions, such as the fairness and effectiveness of examination and evaluation systems, and the correlation of a student's academic performance with prior education and social background, is recorded. The capacity for comparative research and of using research results to meet student needs better, improve the performance of "at risk" students, or enhance the quality of education and of institutions for production of human capital is noted.
