Post-secondary institutions are feeling pressure from the top down to predict trends based on enrollment, student retention, and graduation rates. Student success measures have become a baseline for developing strategic ...

What are the best ways to engage faculty in IR projects? This question often starts good conversations that don’t always have clear answers. Of course, the answers differ among institutions and across the breadt...

AIR is pleased to announce updated IPEDS video tutorials for the 2020–21 winter and spring collection periods. Funded and approved by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statist...

How many years of relevant work experience should the leader of an IR/IE office have? From the 2018 AIR National Survey of IR Offices, we learned that the average office leader has spent 18 years working in higher e...

In these times of uncertainty, disruption, and financial constraints, AIR and the AIR community are called to be forward-looking and responsive—open to new ideas while remaining attentive to our core purpose and va...

We live and work in highly complex times, and institutional research is directly impacted. It used to be there was a major innovation every decade or so followed by a period of stability. Not so anymore. Today, the...

IPEDS TRP Summary Open for Comment Suggestions from IPEDS Technical Review Panel #60, “Monitoring Emerging Issues in Higher Education” are posted at https://edsurveys.rti.org/IPEDS_TRP/Default.aspx and are cu...

AIR's Leah Ewing Ross and Stephan Cooley are featured in an episode of the Assessment Institute's new podcast series, Leading Improvements in Higher Education. Podcast episodes profile peopl...

AIR, EDUCAUSE, and NACUBO have published a case study highlighting how University of California, San Diego, is embracing the "Change with Analytics" statement, jointly released by the three associations, on its journey t...

In light of the changes and disruptions throughout 2020, what do you anticipate the future of IR to look like?  There is no doubt that we have frequently heard people using superlatives to describe...

Rhyan had the opportunity to speak with Kate Akers, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Advanced Data Analytics at Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. Her office coordinates with ins...

There are so many leadership models out there—in the business literature, in the psychology literature, in education to name a few—and the models range from servant leadership to autocratic to charismat...

Data governance structures in higher education can lead to a lack of understanding of the value of data within an institution. According to the most recent American College President Study, college and un...

We are often asked, "How many staff should our IR/IE office have?" In the 2018 AIR National Survey of Institutional Research Offices, we asked Office Leaders to provide the average staff FTE per type of staff role (see b...

While the office routinely uses Tableau dashboards to share data with the campus community, there are also projects where an infographic may be a more visually compelling alternative. The office has invested in two tools...

Sudden change and its impact on the way we go about business highlight existing challenges and yet can give rise to new opportunities, too. Learn More

There are many features in Microsoft Excel that go unnoticed. One of these features allows you to add flair to your data visualization with relative ease. When creating column charts in Excel, we often utilize the defaul...

Debbie Dailey retired as Director of Institutional Research and Effectiveness at Birmingham-Southern College. Read more about her accomplishments by viewing her 2020 AIR Outstanding Service Award profile.  ...

In these uncertain times you should know that you are not alone. Whether your concerns center around the pandemic, financial constraints, enrollment matters, or social unrest, AIR is here to support you and your work. As...

One of my favorite books is “The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right” by Atul Gawande. In this book, Dr. Gawande explains that in our ever-changing world, many processes are complicated with inter-co...