The AIR National Survey of IR Offices is a comprehensive, longitudinal study of the institutional research and effectiveness (IR/IE) data function within U.S. higher education institutions. The study collects information about IR office structure, leadership, resources, and effectiveness. 

This study seeks to better understand and improve IR office operations and efficacy in support of the effective, ethical, and impactful use of data within higher education institutions. 

National Survey of Institutional Research Offices

2024 AIR National Survey

The 2024 AIR National Survey collected information about office structures, leadership, staffing, resources, and activities from 552 U.S. degree-granting institutions. The 2024 study also included new questions to gather insights within the following areas: the roles and responsibilities of institutional effectiveness offices as distinct and separate from those of institutional research offices; the adoption and use of artificial intelligence within IR/IE offices; the maturity levels of the data function within institutions; and the prevalence of the “chief data officer” role and the core responsibilities. To ensure comparability and data quality, this report excludes incomplete responses as well as those from for-profit institutions, administrative units, international institutions, private not-for-profit 2-year institutions, and institutions located in U.S. territories due to low response rates in these categories.

Briefs

  • IR/IE Office Work
  • IR/IE Office Staff
  • IR/IE Office Staff Salaries (coming soon)
  • IR/IE Office Organizational Structure (coming soon)
  • IR/IE Office Leadership and Management (coming soon)

2021 AIR National Survey

The 2021 AIR National Survey collected information about organizational structures, leadership, staffing, and core work functions from 1,142 primarily non-profit colleges and universities across geographic regions, sectors, and institution sizes. The 2021 survey also collected information on data capacity and data literacy, IR contributions to student success, and emerging trends in remote work. Demographic information on office leaders and staff—including gender and race/ethnicity—were collected for the first time during this administration. 

Briefs

Benchmarking Reports

This series of benchmarking reports provides a further level of disaggregation for those needing information at the survey question level. These reports provide comparative reporting by factors like major institutional sector, U.S. region, and total student FTE. In addition, there is a longitudinal comparative report between like items from the 2018 and 2021 surveys. 

2018 AIR National Survey

The 2018 AIR National Survey gathered information on organizational structures, leadership, staffing, and core work functions from 1,167 primarily non-profit colleges and universities across geographic regions, sectors, and institution sizes. The 2018 survey also collected information on resources and clients of the IR Office.

Briefs

2015 AIR National Survey

The first AIR National Survey was conducted in 2015 with funding support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 2,053 responses were collected from mainly non-profit colleges and universities across geographic regions, sectors, and institutional sizes. Survey topic areas included organizational structures, staffing, and scope of responsibilities. 

Survey Instruments and Reports