The NEAIR 2008 Conference Proceedings is a compilation of papers presented at the Providence, Rhode Island, conference. Papers in this document include: (1) Assessing Institutional Effectiveness: The Mission Engagement Index as a Measure of Progress on Mission Goals (Ellen M. Boylan); (2) Building, Sustaining, and Developing Research University Faculty (Michael J. Dooris, David H. Monk, and Rodney A. Erikson); (3) Coffee & Conversation: Gathering Information from our Graduates (Peter Feigenbaum); (4) Does Financial Aid Status Affect Student Performance, Retention, Persistence, and Academic Success? (Corby A. Coperthwaite); (5) Enhancing Parents' Role in Higher Education Assessment (Anne Marie Delaney); (6) Improving Response Rates through Better Design: Rethinking a Web-Based Survey Instrument (Marin Clarkberg and Marne Einarson); (7) Moving Data into Action: The Application of Institutional Research to Enhance Student Success (Kimberly Puhala and Kevin B. Murphy); and (8) Utilizing Student Class Schedules to Predict Persistence During the First Semester of College (Paul Prewitt-Freilino, Greg Rogers, and Lynn Fawthrop). Individual papers contain references, tables, and figures.