A federal judge in Massachusetts has issued a preliminary injunction affecting ACTS reporting deadlines for a subset of institutions. Based on the April 24 ruling:The Department of Education may not enforce any...

Introduction: Agentic AI as the Next Frontier of AI DevelopmentArtificial intelligence is advancing quickly, and many IR/IE practitioners and data analytics professionals may feel as though the ground is shifting beneath...

When Institutional Knowledge Walks Out the DoorIn many institutional research offices, crucial knowledge lives primarily in the memories of individual staff. Institutional knowledge includes not only technical details&md...

The Association for Institutional Research (AIR) and the Urban Institute are partnering on a national study examining how colleges and universities are implementing the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (AC...

With our recent AIR elections just passed and the results certified by the Nominations and Elections Committee (NEC), I want to congratulate our newly elected Board and NEC members. AIR as an organization will benefit gr...

My interest in institutional research emerged from a broader engagement with economics and public policy, particularly questions related to access, equity, and outcomes in education. I was initially drawn to understandin...

Sam Michalowski Ph.D. is now Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Planning at Fairleigh Dickinson University following his service in the role on an interim basis.Celebrate achievements, prom...

From LinkedIn Some in the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) community may not have seen that the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) contract was awarded to a new contractor—AEM C...

On April 17, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing a new federal framework for higher education program accountability. The proposal would establish the Stu...

A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a new temporary restraining order (TRO) on April 13, 2026, further extending the ACTS reporting deadline to April 24, 2026, for a define...

The Association for Institutional Research (AIR) has joined a coalition of higher education organizations in submitting comments on the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed regulations for the new Workforce Pell...

On April 7, 2026, a federal court in Massachusetts issued a new temporary restraining order (TRO) affecting the timeline for the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) data collection.The order extends th...

On April 4, 2026, a federal judge in Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction affecting the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) reporting requirements for a subset of institutions. This ruling bui...

As of April 1, 2026, a federal judge in Massachusetts has expanded the temporary restraining order (TRO) affecting Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) reporting deadlines, based on a March 31 ruling.Th...

IntroductionIn Institutional Research (IR), key performance indicators (KPIs) such as first‑year retention, graduation rates, time to degree, and credit hour production have long served as cornerstones of accountability,...

The Institute for Higher Education Policy has launched a national initiative—NCES Next: Building a Stronger Federal Postsecondary Data System—to rethink how federal higher education data are collected, struct...

I work with a team of statisticians and data scientists to develop advanced analytics that support our institutional mission and progress toward Indiana University’s strategic plan. Our analytics range from the cla...

On March 24, 2026, a federal court in Massachusetts held a hearing on a request for a preliminary injunction related to the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) data collection. The case, brought by a c...

AIR is monitoring a recent legal development that may affect the timeline associated with the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) reporting requirement.A federal judge in Massachusetts has issued a tem...

According to guidance confirmed with leadership at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), institutions that are unable to meet the March 18, 2026, deadline for submitting data to the Admissions and Consumer...