Who Are We?

The Australasian Association for Institutional Research (AAIR), established late in 1988, is a professional body comprising around 230 members. AAIR is incorporated within Australia as a non-profit organisation. It is affiliated with the Association for Institutional Research (AIR), which originated in the United States of America some thirty years ago, and which now commands a membership in excess of 4,400! AAIR is the professional association for institutional research practitioners in higher education and other institutions in Australasia. ‘Institutional research’ is viewed as a range of activities involving the collection, analysis and interpretation of information descriptive of an institution and its activities, including its students and staff, programs, management and operations. The findings of such ‘institutional research’ assist institutional leaders (in both academic and administrative domains) by informing their planning and decision-making. Established in late 1988, AAIR continues to draw members mainly from Australia and New Zealand, with further members from South Africa, the South Pacific region, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, USA, and the African continent. Members contribute to planning, decision making, policy formulation and analysis concerned with the management of tertiary education. The broad aim of AAIR is to benefit, assist and advance research which leads to the improved understanding, planning and operation of tertiary education institutions within Australasia. AAIR has the following principal objectives:

• to raise the level of professional competence and practice in the fields of tertiary education institutional research, planning and analysis in the Australasian region
• to enhance inter-institutional cooperation in the undertaking of comparative institutional research projects
• to assist the professional development of members by:
  • organising an annual conference (the AAIR forum)
  • developing and fostering cooperative links with the AIR and European AIR
  • encouraging regional meetings of members to augment the annual Forum

AAIR is affiliated with the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) in the United States of America, along with other groups located in Europe, South-East Asia, South Africa and Canada. The Australasian Association for Institutional Research Inc. (AAIR) is an incorporated association, regulated by Consumer Affairs Victoria in the State of Victoria, Australia (Registration Number: A0034643U).