UAIR Makes An Impact at the 2026 AIR Forum
UAIR staff once again represented the University of Arizona on the national stage at the 2026 Association for Institutional Research (AIR) Forum. Held this year in Washington, D.C. at the end of May, the conference brought together institutions from across the country to share innovative practices and explore emerging institutional research trends that are shaping higher education.
Representatives from UAIR's Student Data and Customer Experience teams joined colleagues from peer institutions for a week of professional development, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing.
From Sunset to Success
Rico Silva, Program Manager, and Zuleima Cota, Senior Data Analyst, presented a session focused on managing the lifecycle of institutional reporting tools to meet evolving campus needs. Their presentation highlighted the University of Arizona's student enrollment reporting overhaul a few years ago, including the launch of the CSW-Class Enrollment Detail subject area and the retirement of legacy dashboards that needed re-envisioning.
One of the strongest themes that emerged from audience discussions after this session was the scale of the work completed by the Student Data team. The project represented a significant undertaking and was accomplished while the team continued supporting regular operations and responding to a high volume of daily ad hoc data requests. The Student Data team continues to look for innovative and streamlined opportunities that improve access to student data.
Strategic Data Storytelling
Fallon Murphy, Communications Specialist, presented a session on strategic data storytelling and the critical role communication plays in creating actionable, data-informed insights in higher education. Her session demonstrated how data professionals can move beyond simply reporting data and focus more on crafting audience-centered narratives and impactful data stories that help drive institutional change.
The strong engagement with this session underscored a growing interest across higher education in developing more effective approaches to data literacy and strategic data communications. Attendees expressed enthusiasm for tools and frameworks that help bridge the gap between data insights and campus understanding.
An Opportunity to Learn
Participation in the AIR Forum provides valuable opportunities for UAIR staff to share the innovative work taking place at the University of Arizona while learning from institutions across the country. Beyond presenting, the conference serves as a way to identify emerging challenges in higher education, exchange ideas, and explore new opportunities to advance institutional research.
UAIR maintains organizational membership to AIR for the University of Arizona; if your or your team are interested in becoming AIR members and accessing the group's resources, community, or professional development opportunities, contact us at uair@arizona.edu for more information.