The NEAIR 2006 Conference Proceedings is a compilation of papers presented at the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania conference. Topics include: Policy Analysis, Grading Policy, State Higher Education Accountability Program, Performance Assessment, Freshmen Transfer Risk, Assessment, Degree Completion, First-Year Academic Success, Effectiveness in Institutional Research, CCSE, NSSE, Student Retention, Sexual Orientation and Transgenderism, U.S. News' Peer Assessment, Graduate Program Prestige Ratings, Integrating Business Students, and Retention and Financial Aid. Papers in this document include: (1) The Pluses and Minuses of Policy Analysis: Predicting the Impact of a New Grading Policy (Michelle Appel and Chad Muntz); (2) The Qualitative Narrative Report of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education's System Accountability Program, 2005-2006 (Thomas Armstrong, Lou Bohl-Fabrian, Jim Moran, and Khalil Yazdi); (3) Toward a More Realistic Approach to Community College Performance Assessment: An Analysis of the Environmental Correlates of Maryland Two-Year School Student Outcomes, 2000-2005 (Karl Boughan); (4) Considering Leaving Before They've Even Started: An Examination of Freshmen at Risk for Transfer (Yiting Chang, Nava Lerer, and Kathryn Talley); (5) Challenging Opportunities for Institutional Researchers to Excel in Assessment (Anne Marie Delaney); (6) A Thumb on the Scale? Ability, Income, and Degree Completion in a Public University (Michael J. Dooris and Marianne Guidos); (7) Predicting Academic Success in the First-Year (Chad L. May); (8) In Their Own Words: Effectiveness in Institutional Research (William E. Knight); (9) Studying Student Learning at Two-Year and Four-Year Institutions with CCSSE and the NSSE (William E. Knight, Corby A. Coperthwaite, and Mary Ann Coughlin); (10) Do Academic Integration Programs Have a Casual Impact on Student Retention? A Study of a Developmental Mathematics Course Using Discrete-Time Survival and Regression-Discontinuity Analysis (Sally A. Lesik); (11) Students and Sensitive Issues: Disclosing Sexual Orientation and Transgenderism (Heather S. Roscoe and Dawn Geronimo Terkla); (12) The Grass Is Always Greener: Analyzing Stability and Change Over-Time in U.S. News' Peer Assessment Survey Scores (Kyle V. Sweitzer and J. Fredericks Volkwein); (13) MDs and PhDs, EdDs and MBAs: Comparing Graduate Program Prestige Ratings Across Professional Schools (Kyle V. Sweitzer); (14) Penn State's First-Year Seminar in Business: Integrating Student Transition with the World of Business (Kyle V. Sweitzer and Vicki L. Baker); and (15) The Impact of Financial Aid on Freshman Retention (Mindy Wang). (Individual papers contain references.) [Abstract modified to meet ERIC guidelines.]