IRP at SAIR 2026

The Georgia Tech Office of Institutional Research & Planning (IRP) participated in the 53rd Annual Conference of the Southern Association for Institutional Research (SAIR), which took place October 24-27, 2026, in Little Rock, Arkansas. This year's conference theme was "Tricks and Treats for Improving Institutional Efficiency."

IRP staff contributed five presentations and workshops covering institutional research operations, leadership, project management, documentation practices, artificial intelligence, and data analysis.

IRP Staff Presentations

Jason Wang

• Excel Basics for Institutional Research (Pre-Conference Workshop)
  An interactive workshop introducing Excel fundamentals for institutional research, including data management, analysis, documentation, and practical applications of Microsoft Copilot.

Samantha James

• Institutional Research Project Management: Building Scalable, Structured, and AI-Enabled IR Operations (Pre-Conference Workshop)
  A hands-on workshop exploring project management techniques for institutional research, including structured intake, scope definition, stakeholder alignment, and AI-supported workflows.
• Field Notes for Institutional Research: Documenting Decisions, Methods, and Meaning (Pre-Conference Workshop)
  A GAIRPAQ Highlight Session examining how structured documentation and AI-assisted tools can support consistency, transparency, and institutional memory.
• How Do I Say No? Discussing Strategies for Saying No to Stakeholders (Panel Discussion)
  A discussion of approaches for setting boundaries, managing competing priorities, and navigating difficult stakeholder conversations within higher education.

In addition to their individual sessions, Jason Wang and Samantha James jointly presented Developing an Effective Team in Institutional Research: A Dual-Leadership Model Grounded in Practice, which explored how complementary leadership approaches can strengthen team effectiveness, leadership alignment, and sustainable performance across higher education.

These presentations reflected IRP's ongoing work in institutional research operations, leadership development, documentation practices, and the practical application of AI within higher education.