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NCES Opens Public Comment on Redesign of Its Data Collections, Including IPEDS
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is asking the public how it should redesign its portfolio of studies—the administrative data collections and sample surveys that include the Integrated Postsecond...Read Moreabout: NCES Opens Public Comment on Redesign of Its Data Collections, Including IPEDS -
AIR Releases 2025–26 Annual Report
As the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) marks its 60th anniversary, its 2025–26 Annual Report is now available. The report looks back on a year when AIR’s community grew larger and more connected ...Read Moreabout: AIR Releases 2025–26 Annual Report -
Your Retention Rate Dropped. Or Did It?
Why a single year can’t answer that question—and what three simulations show about how long it actually takes to know your retention rates are changing.An interactive version of the article can be found here:...Read Moreabout: Your Retention Rate Dropped. Or Did It? -
Stop Building Dashboards. Start Building Grant-Winning Pipelines.
Why the next generation of funded workforce programs will be built on ETL pipelines, not just good intentions.If your institution has ever lost grant funding for a workforce program that everyone agreed was a good idea, ...Read Moreabout: Stop Building Dashboards. Start Building Grant-Winning Pipelines. -
Making Room for the Future When the Present Is Full
The irony of a short piece with this title is that I almost didn’t make the time to write it. My top priority right now is getting a position for my team posted and starting the hiring process as soon as possible. ...Read Moreabout: Making Room for the Future When the Present Is Full -
Get to Know Our Community: Wells Ling
At AIHEC, my work focuses on managing AIHEC’s internal institutional research data system known as the American Indian Measures of Success (AIMS). This data collected from each of our member institutions is then le...Read Moreabout: Get to Know Our Community: Wells Ling -
Speaking the Language of Decisions: KPIs from Base Camp to Summit
Every workplace sits atop mountains of data distributed across bespoke and commercially acquired systems. For executive leaders, achieving data-driven decision-making is an ongoing quest, in which they are deeply depende...Read Moreabout: Speaking the Language of Decisions: KPIs from Base Camp to Summit -
Building Analytics as an Institutional Capability
IntroductionUniversities aspire to become more data-informed, yet many organize analytics in ways that make achieving that goal difficult. Analysts distributed across functional units tend to develop reports independentl...Read Moreabout: Building Analytics as an Institutional Capability -
From Interest to Service: Introducing AIR’s Nominee Evaluation Guide
Every AIR leader begins somewhere. For some, it starts with a colleague recognizing their potential. For others, it begins with a personal decision to step forward, contribute to the profession, and serve a community tha...Read Moreabout: From Interest to Service: Introducing AIR’s Nominee Evaluation Guide -
From Risk Scores to Action
Building a retention watchlist that staff can actually useRetention models often produce more names than a student-success team can reasonably review. At that point, a technically strong model can still fail as a decisio...Read Moreabout: From Risk Scores to Action -
When a Survey Can Ask Why: AI Follow-Ups in Student Affairs Assessment
Anyone who has coded open-ended survey data knows the frustration of a response that signals something important but does not provide enough detail to inform action. A student might share, “The sessions weren&rsquo...Read Moreabout: When a Survey Can Ask Why: AI Follow-Ups in Student Affairs Assessment -
AIR Joins Higher Ed Groups in Comments on Federal Accreditation Rule
The Association for Institutional Research (AIR) has joined the American Council on Education (ACE) and more than a dozen other higher education associations in a comment letter on the U.S. Department of Education's prop...Read Moreabout: AIR Joins Higher Ed Groups in Comments on Federal Accreditation Rule -
IPEDS 2026-27 Data Collection Now Open
The fall 2026-27 collection for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) opened September 16, 2026. A few support resources are new this cycle, so keyholders will want to get oriented before the fall de...Read Moreabout: IPEDS 2026-27 Data Collection Now Open -
Behind the Missing FVT/GE Data: What We’re Hearing from Practitioners
The U.S. Department of Education recently announced that more than 1,900 institutions have not reported or have underreported data required under the Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment (FVT/GE) regulatio...Read Moreabout: Behind the Missing FVT/GE Data: What We’re Hearing from Practitioners -
Taming the IR/IE Queue: What Works and What Doesn’t
The Challenge If you search through a bookstore, a video tutorial library, or your favorite search engine for ideas on being more productive, you will find more content than you could possibly digest. I know this be...Read Moreabout: Taming the IR/IE Queue: What Works and What Doesn’t -
Less Frustration, More Concentration: 5 Quick Tips for Excel
Excel is a core tool for Institutional Research and Effectiveness (IR/IE) offices, but small friction points may disrupt your concentration and break your workflow. As it’s easy to miss useful features amongst the ...Read Moreabout: Less Frustration, More Concentration: 5 Quick Tips for Excel -
Get to Know Our Community: Allyson Meyers
For me, the most rewarding part of IR is seeing the direct, real-world impact data has on student success initiatives and support programs—especially those serving diverse and marginalized students. Some of my favo...Read Moreabout: Get to Know Our Community: Allyson Meyers -
AIR Urges NCES to Treat IPEDS Data Quality as a Shared Responsibility
On August 14, AIR submitted comments on IPEDS Technical Review Panel (TRP) #72, urging NCES to recognize that high-quality IPEDS data depend on both strong institutional practices and federal reporting processes that set...Read Moreabout: AIR Urges NCES to Treat IPEDS Data Quality as a Shared Responsibility -
IPEDS Technical Review Panel Releases Data Quality Recommendations; Public Comments Open Through August 14
A summary of the latest IPEDS Technical Review Panel (TRP 72), IPEDS Data Quality: Practices, Strategies, and Structures to Support High-Quality Submissions, is now available for public review. The comment period remains...Read Moreabout: IPEDS Technical Review Panel Releases Data Quality Recommendations; Public Comments Open Through August 14 -
Data and Using AI for Analysis: What to Do and What to Keep in Mind
A practical guide for researchers and Institutional Research (IR) professionals navigating the AI-assisted analysis landscapeAs universities increasingly provide access to large language models (LLMs) for faculty, studen...Read Moreabout: Data and Using AI for Analysis: What to Do and What to Keep in Mind -
From Members to Leaders
Every year, Association for Institutional Research (AIR) members are encouraged to nominate themselves or a colleague for leadership opportunities. Yet many members hesitate—not because they lack the qualifications...Read Moreabout: From Members to Leaders -
Designing Your AI Co-Analyst: Principles for a Trusted Qualitative Analysis Workflow
Qualitative analysis remains one of the most time-consuming tasks in institutional research. Generative AI tools can quickly synthesize large volumes of open-ended responses, but many IR professionals are understandably ...Read Moreabout: Designing Your AI Co-Analyst: Principles for a Trusted Qualitative Analysis Workflow -
Ready or Not, Start a Data Glossary
Counting students at an institution sounds simple—until you actually try to do it. That’s what I thought when I started my Institutional Research (IR) career. I quickly learned just how many ways a “stu...Read Moreabout: Ready or Not, Start a Data Glossary -
Get to Know Our Community: Arun Sharma
I work at the Boston College Lynch School of Education and Human Development as the Reporting and Systems Manager. I help our community make data-driven decisions including implementing new technological infrastructure a...Read Moreabout: Get to Know Our Community: Arun Sharma -
Holistic Census Reporting: A Data Strategy in Five Acts
The 2020s have been transformative for Institutional Research (IR). In previous decades, training an IR analyst to support the fall enrollment census alone may have covered 80% of the job. Today, term snapshots are no lo...Read Moreabout: Holistic Census Reporting: A Data Strategy in Five Acts -
ACTS QC Report Deadline Extended to August 12
The deadline for institutions to review and confirm their ACTS Quality Control (QC) reports has been extended to August 12, 2026 (previously July 31). Institutions should log in to the IPEDS collection system to review t...Read Moreabout: ACTS QC Report Deadline Extended to August 12 -
FSA Updates NSLDS Professional Access for OBBBA Implementation
Institutions preparing for the 2026 Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment (FVT/GE) reporting cycle will encounter several important reporting changes as the U.S. Department of Education implements provision...Read Moreabout: FSA Updates NSLDS Professional Access for OBBBA Implementation -
Partnering for Impact: IR, Student Success, and Academic Advising
Introduction: Data as a practical guide for student supportHigher education institutions now have access to far more timely and actionable student data than even a decade ago. The challenge is no longer whether informati...Read Moreabout: Partnering for Impact: IR, Student Success, and Academic Advising -
From Frustrating to Useful: Getting Better Answers from AI
Have you tried using generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, or Gemini, and been underwhelmed? You might have found the responses generic, hallucinatory, or unusable without significant rewriting. Did you know most la...Read Moreabout: From Frustrating to Useful: Getting Better Answers from AI -
From AIR Forum to the Future
A month out from AIR Forum, I am still drawing on the many takeaways from presentations and conversations, sharing them across my campus and beyond. Being at Forum this year, especially in Washington D.C., has never felt...Read Moreabout: From AIR Forum to the Future -
Get to Know Our Community: Brandon Signorino
I am part of a team of five folks at Butler; each of us has certain areas we focus on. My primary areas of responsibility include internal employee data (both staff and faculty) along with any external reporting based on...Read Moreabout: Get to Know Our Community: Brandon Signorino -
Developing a Data Strategy for Your Institution: Steps for Best Practice
In today’s rapidly changing higher education landscape, making decisions grounded in accurate, timely data is essential. Competition for enrollment, scrutiny of outcomes and student ROI, budget constraints, regulat...Read Moreabout: Developing a Data Strategy for Your Institution: Steps for Best Practice -
Using Tableau Data Management to Simplify Ongoing Processes
Data Management is a suite of features designed to help organizations manage Tableau content and data assets within Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud environments. As of September 16, 2024, Data Management is integrated i...Read Moreabout: Using Tableau Data Management to Simplify Ongoing Processes -
Celebrating Excellence: Honoring AIR’s 2026 Award Recipients
Each year, AIR recognizes individuals whose scholarship, leadership, and service have advanced the field of institutional research and strengthened the community that supports it. These honors carry particular significan...Read Moreabout: Celebrating Excellence: Honoring AIR’s 2026 Award Recipients -
AIR Submits Comments on Proposed STATS and Earnings Accountability Framework
AIR recently submitted formal comments to the U.S. Department of Education in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Accountability in Higher Education and Access Through Demand-Driven Workforce Pell, including...Read Moreabout: AIR Submits Comments on Proposed STATS and Earnings Accountability Framework -
AIR Announces the Edward L. Delaney, Jr. Rising Star Award & Scholarship
The Association for Institutional Research (AIR) is pleased to announce the renaming of the AIR Rising Star Award as the Edward L. Delaney, Jr. Rising Star Award & Scholarship. This designation honors the life,...Read Moreabout: AIR Announces the Edward L. Delaney, Jr. Rising Star Award & Scholarship -
A Final Reflection—and an Invitation to Lead
Hello everyone,Over the past two years, I have taken every opportunity to exhort you to join our volunteer leadership at AIR, and for good reason. My last three years as a Board member, in particular the last two as the ...Read Moreabout: A Final Reflection—and an Invitation to Lead -
Share Your Experience: National Study on ACTS Implementation Now Open
AIR, in partnership with the Urban Institute, invites Institutional Research and Effectiveness professionals to participate in a national study examining how colleges and universities are responding to the Admissions Con...Read Moreabout: Share Your Experience: National Study on ACTS Implementation Now Open -
Massachusetts Court Blocks ACTS Deadline Enforcement for Certain Institutions
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...Read Moreabout: Massachusetts Court Blocks ACTS Deadline Enforcement for Certain Institutions -
Agentic AI Development in Higher Education and Implications for Institutional Research
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...Read Moreabout: Agentic AI Development in Higher Education and Implications for Institutional Research
About eAIR
Since 1987, eAIR has been the trusted newsletter for institutional researchers and data-informed leaders. Each issue brings you the latest perspectives, news, and practical resources to help you succeed in a changing higher education landscape.