Randy L. Swing

Randy L. Swing is the Executive Director of the Association for Institutional Research (AIR), a professional association of more than 4,000 institutional researchers, planners, and decision makers representing over 1,500 higher education institutions around the world. Prior to joining AIR, Swing served as Co-Director & Senior Scholar at the Policy Center on the First Year of College. He has worked with research teams in Japan, and served as an advisor to the Quality Assurance Agency of Scotland. He has authored articles, chapters, monographs, and books, including Higher Education Assessments: Leadership Matters (2010), Achieving and Sustaining Excellence in the First College Year (2006) and Proving and Improving: Tools and Techniques for Assessing the First College Year (2004). He is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences on institutional change, assessment, retention, and undergraduate student success. He serves on the editorial/review boards for the Journal of General Education, The Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, and Innovative Higher Education. For two decades prior to 1999, he held various leadership positions at Appalachian State University in assessment, advising, Upward Bound, and Freshman Seminar. He holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Georgia, MA and ED.S from Appalachian State University, and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina - Charlotte. Swing began postsecondary education as a first-generation college student at Davidson County Community College in Lexington, NC.