Articles published in the biannual AIR Professional File volumes are journal-length publications grounded in relevant literature that synthesize current issues, present new processes or models, or share practical applications related to an institution’s data function, including institutional research and institutional effectiveness.
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2025 Winter Volume
Article 176: A Machine Learning Approach to Predicting Master’s Degree Completion at the University of Texas at San Antonio
Fikrewold Bitew and Lauren ApgarArticle 177: Survival Analysis of Transfer Students
Shulin Zhou, Yihui Li, Margot Neverett, Beverly King, Kyle Chapman, and Sharon McNair
Archive
The following volumes are available to members and non-members. The full AIR Professional File and IR Applications archives are unavailable at this time. This content should be available soon. If you need a specific publication in the meantime, please contact publications@airweb.org.
2024 Summer Volume
Explore this special issue: Building More Inclusive Systems for Who Counts
Article 168: Federal Postsecondary Data Limitations for Indigenous Students and for Tribal Colleges and Universities
Jameson D. Lopez, Kyle X. Hill, and Jana Hanson
Article 169: A Framework for More Intentional and Equity-Minded Race Data Disaggregation
Nathan Lieng, Jason L. Morín, Que-Lam Huynh, and Janet S.
Oh
Article 170: Disrupting Quantitative Monoracism in Institutional Research: Critical Considerations for Multiracial Categorization
Jacob P. Wong-Campbell,
Ashley Gerhardson, Marc P. Johnston-Guerrero, and Naunihal Zaveri
Article 171: “Students Want to Feel Safe, Safety Breeds Inclusivity”: How Universities Implement Data Collection Methods for Undocumented Students
Cynthia N. Carvajal, Felecia Russell, and Yadira Ortiz
Article 172: Accurately Representing Identity in University Data Systems: Collecting and Utilizing Chosen Name, Gender Identity, and Gender Pronouns
Casey
Gogno, Scott Burden, and Wyntre Stout
Article 173: Introducing the Nonbinary Sex Category in Institutional Data: The Case of a Successful Public University
Paulina Berríos, Estefanía
Álvarez, Karen Gutiérrez, and Antonia Santos
Article 174: Building More-Inclusive Institutional Research for Disabled Populations in the Campus Community
Kathleen Clarke and Adam R. Lalor
Article 175: The Intersectionality of First-Generation Students and Its Relationship to Inequitable Student Outcomes
Brent M. Drake
Spring 2024 Volume
Article 165: In Search of Institutional Servingness: Institutional Characteristics and Outcomes of Minority-Serving Institutions
Jacqueline Mac, Kandi Bauman,
Karen Bussey, Esen Gokpinar-Shelton, Shane Schellpfeffer, and Claudine McLaren Turner
Article 166: Convergence Issues for Disability Measures at Public 2-Year Institutions
John Zilvinskis
Article 167: Will Fit Work Here? Using Multiple Data Sources to Adapt a Student–Institution Fit Instrument to a New Institutional Context
Steven S. Graunke
Fall 2023 Volume
Explore this special issue edited by Henry Zheng and Karen Webber featuring four articles on artificial intelligence and advanced analytics:
Article 162: Centering Student Voice in Developing Learning Analytics and Artificial Intelligence–Embedded Supports
Emily Oakes, Yih Tsao, and Victor Borden
Article 163: Advising at Scale: Automated Guidance of the Role Players
Influencing Student Success
Randhir Rawatlal and Rubby Dhunpath
Spring 2023 Volume
Explore this special issue featuring three articles from NCES data institute teams:
Article 158: Does the Starting Point Matter? Analyzing Bachelor’s Degree Attainment for Adult Students by Institutional Type
Andrea Chambers,
Hollie Daniels, John Dooris, Arlyn Y. Moreno Luna, and Sean Riordan
Article 159: How Do Hispanic-Serving Institutions Serve Latinx Students? A Panel
Analysis of Institutional Characteristics and 6-Year Graduation Rates
Sooji Kim, Sarah Parsons, Kimberly Y. Franklin, Alyse Gray Parker
Article 160: Examining Factors That Influence BIPOC Students’ Enrollment in STEM Postsecondary Majors
Trang C. Tran, Jon Williams, Kyndra
V. Middleton, Angela Clark-Taylor, and Christen Priddie
Spring 2022 Volume
Explore this issue:
Article 156: Generalizability Theory and Its Application to Institutional Research
Paul W. Sturgis, Leslie Marchand, M. David Miller, Wei Xu, and Analia Castiglioni
Article 157: Process Tracing for the Institutional Researcher
Haroon Atcha
Fall 2021 Volume
Explore this issue:
Article 154: Using State Workforce Data to Report Graduate Outcomes
Author: Matt Bryant
Article 155: How Noncredit Enrollments Distort Community College IPEDS Data:
An Eight-State Study
Authors: Richard M. Romano and Mark M. D’Amico
Spring 2021 Volume
Explore this issue:
Article 153: Student Trajectories for Enrollment Forecasting, Management, and Planning
Author: R. Alan Bowman
Article 152: The Use of a Viability Index as a Better Measure of Departmental and Program Strength
Authors: Andrew L. Luna, Sherry Kendrick, and Melissa Johnson
Fall 2020 Volume
Explore this issue:
Article 151: Brain Drain in Maryland: Exploring Student Movement from High School to Postsecondary Education and the Workforce
Authors: Amber Bloomfield, Bess A. Rose, Alison M. Preston, and Angela K. Henneberger
Article 150: Rethinking Completion Analytics to Better Support the Student Experience across Diverse Ecosystems
Author: Jeffrey L. Cornett
Spring 2020 Volume
Explore this issue:
Article 149: Community College Business Intelligence: A Case Study at Lone Star College–Tomball Campus on a Business Intelligence Approach to Community College Challenge
Author:
Leezet Llorance
Article 148: National Trends in Federal Student Loan Borrowing by Income Group and First-Generation Status
Authors: Monnica Chan, Jihye Kwon, David Nguyen, Katherine M. Saunders, Nilkamal Shah, Katie M. Smith
Fall 2019 Volume
Explore this issue:
Article 147: Enrollment Projection Using Markov Chains: Detecting Leaky Pipes and the Bulge in the Boa
Authors: Rex Gandy, Lynne Crosby, Andrew Luna, Daniel Kasper, Sherry Kendrick
Article 146: Perception Isn’t Everything: The Reality of Class Size
Authors: Mark Umbricht, Kevin Stange
Spring 2019 Volume
Explore this issue:
Article 145: From Data Crisis to Data-Centric
Authors: Rebekah Anderson, Nichole
Rip
Article 144: University-Wide Assessment Days: The James Madison University Model
Authors: Dena
A. Pastor, Kelly J. Foelber, Jessica N. Jacovidis, Keston H. Fulcher, Derek C. Sauder, and Paula D. Love
Summer 2017 Volume
Explore this issue:
Article 143: Constructing a Peer Institution: A New Peer Methodology
Author: Steve Chatman
Article 142: A Case Study to Examine Three Peer Grouping Methodologies
Author: Mary Lou D’Allegro
Article 141: Needle in a Haystack: Finding Learning Improvement in Assessment Reports
Authors: Keston H. Fulcher, Kristen L. Smith, Elizabeth R. H. Sanchez, Courtney B. Sanders
Article 140: Institutional Data Quality and the Data Integrity Team
Author: Katherine A. McGuire
Fall 2016 Volume
Explore this issue:
Article 139: Mining Text Data: Making Sense of What Students Tell Us
Authors: John Zilvinskis and Greg V. Michalski
Article 138: An Alternative Approach: Using Panels to Survey College Students
Authors: Shimon A.
Sarraf, Sarah Hurtado, Mark Houlemarde, and Xiaolin Wang
Spring 2015 Volume
Explore this issue:
Article 137: Two Heads are Better than One
Authors: Julie Carpenter-Hubin,
Jason Sullivan, and Joan M. Herbers
Article 136: Applications of Social Network Analysis in Institutional Research
Author: Ning Wang
Spring 2014 Volume
Explore this issue:
Article 135: Institutional Research and Athletics Reporting
Authors: Kyle V. Sweitzer, Jennifer Hoffman, and David Horton Jr.
Fall 2013 Volume
Explore this issue:
Article 134: Unrealized Educational Expectations: A Growing or Diminishing Gender Gap? It Depends on Your Definition
Authors: A. Seifert, Ryan S. Wells, Daniel B. Saunders, and Bryan Gopaul
Article 133: Tracking the Discount: Tuition Discount Rates, Net Tuition Revenue, and Efforts to Inform Institutional Practices
Authors: Natalie Pullaro Davis and Kenneth E. Redd
Article 132: A Case Study to Examine Peer Grouping and Aspirant Selection
Authors: Mary Lou D’Allegro and Kai Zhou
Spring 2013 Volume
Explore this issue:
Article 131: Programs for Engagement and Enhancement
Authors: Xinxing
Anna Zan, Sang Won Yoon, Mohammad Khasawneh, and Krishnaswami Srihari
Article 130: Alternative Estimates of the Reliability of College Grade Point Averages
Authors:
Joe L. Saupe and Mardy T. Eimers
Article 129: A Comparison Study of Return Ration-Based Academic Enrollment Forecasting Models
Authors: Xinxing Anna Zan, Sang Won Yoon, Mohammad Khasawneh, and Krishnaswami Srihari
Editors
Iryna Muse, Editor
Iryna Muse currently serves as Assistant Vice Chancellor for System Analytics and Business Intelligence at the University of Alabama System (UAS). Prior to joining the UAS, Iryna worked in IR roles at Auburn University, Indiana University—Bloomington, and Indiana State University. Overall, she has over 18 years of experience in institutional research and has been a member of AIR since 2004. The area of specialization of Iryna’s Ph.D. program was research methodology; and she taught research methods and statistical analysis at both undergraduate and graduate levels. During her institutional research career, Iryna initiated numerous research projects for decision support. Some of these projects resulted in peer-reviewed and invited presentations and publications that emphasized appropriate statistical methods for institutional research data. Iryna received the AIR Charles F. Elton Best Paper Award on three different occasions. She has reviewed manuscripts for Research in Higher Education, AIR Professional File, American Educational Research Journal, Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Universal Journal of Education and General Studies, Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, Social Forces, and Sociology of Education. Aside from her reviewer experiences, she served as a publication chair at the Indiana Association for Institutional Research. Iryna holds equivalents of Ph.D. and master’s degrees in Sociology from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine and was a recipient of fellowships from the Fulbright Junior Faculty Development Program and from the Democratic Education Project (Queen’s University, Canada).
Inger Bergom, Assistant Editor
Inger Bergom is an institutional researcher in the Boston area and has worked in higher education since 2007. Prior to her institutional research roles, she was Senior Researcher at the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education and taught organizational theory and practice in higher education at the graduate level. She also served as an evaluation consultant at several universities to support evaluations of NSF-funded grants. Inger earned a Ph.D. and M.A. in Higher Education from the University of Michigan, specializing in evaluation and assessment, learning and teaching, and faculty work. At U-M, she received training in research methods and survey design from the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) and served as a research assistant for several multi-university research projects including the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education and a national study of engineering education. Inger has served on the eAIR editorial task force and the NEAIR grants committee, and her co-authored papers have been published in peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Higher Education, Review of Higher Education, and Journal of Engineering Education.
Instructions for Authors
Authors are encouraged to submit journal-length publications (approximately 5,000–10,000 words; including figures, tables, and references) for consideration. All submissions undergo a peer-review process led by the Editor. Authors may find the rubric used in the peer review process to be a helpful guide. Submissions may be emailed to publications@airweb.org in the form of Word documents. Please include contact information for all authors.