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Detailed schedule of sessions are listed below. Room locations and presenter information is available in the mobile app.  

Presentation Date Presentation Time Presentation Name Description
Monday, February 6th  8:00 AM - 8:45 AM Smart & Customer Friendly Academic Scheduling Processes  Academic scheduling practices must evolve right alongside higher education itself. 
Paving Pathways for Student Success Discussion of how one private institution in GA began its outreach to technical colleges to create articulation agreements for multiple schools and multiple programs.
7 Fundamental Strategies to Building Confidence During Uncertain Times Demographic cliffs. A debt-averse generation that questions the value of college. Steepening competition. In these uncertain times, we'll show you the seven fundamental strategies to building confidence in your enrollment. We'll walk you through the science, structure, and strategy that will set your enrollment operation up for success.
Centralizing Scholarship Administration to Meet Student and University Needs The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is at the national forefront of re-engineering scholarship processes to maximize the awarding of scholarship funds and meeting strategic enrollment goals. This session will present a first-hand case study of how UNC Charlotte launched its new University Scholarship Office and the impact of this innovative resource. Participants will learn how the University determined the need for a stand-alone scholarship office, what challenges were identified and overcome, and how the office supports enrollment management, financial aid, and donor stewardship functions. Attendees will also view customized technology which streamlines the scholarship application and administration processes.
You've got a friend in you - Strategies for building up when it's easy to tear down I'd be willing to wager if anyone talked to you the way that you talk to yourself, you wouldn't want to spend much time around them. At times it's easy to beat ourselves up and tear ourselves down for the mistakes we make as we often think of ourselves as being nothing more than a culmination of our successes and failures. However, the reality is we are so much more than what we do. In this session I'll be sharing some strategies I've used to help navigate some of those pitfalls to equip myself to learn and grow from my mistakes rather than allowing them to diminish my perceived value and worth. After laying some ground work and sharing the strategies I've utilized I'll be opening up the discussion so the group can share strategies that have worked for and helped them.
Modernizing a Paper-Based Office of the Registrar Sweet Briar College is a women's college with an enrollment around 450. Learn how the presenter, who became registrar in May 2021, modernized an office where all processes were tracked using paper and pencil. Serious challenges included the loss of key staff to COVID and the need to hire immediately. Better degree audit practices, reviews of business processes, and renewed customer service protocols became the  north stars for the invigoration of the office.
“The Buyer’s Guide to Curriculum, Catalog, and More!” Curricular management software plays a critical role in higher education planning, assessment, and student engagement efforts. If your institution is considering the purchase of software to support curriculum, catalog, or a broader integrated system, join us for this session on best practices for software analysis. We will cover the specific topics, sections and questions to include in your evaluation and details that can make all the difference when comparing software systems. Leepfrog has spoken with over a thousand institutions to learn what they are looking for in a solution. Through our experience, we have seen some outstanding and unique best practices that we can share. All session participants will receive RFP examples which may save time and effort when considering your own purchasing process.
What to Expect When You're Moving to a New Institution Navigating the higher education industry can be intimidating, especially when it involves breaking out of your comfort zone and moving to a new institution. Come enjoy the feedback and experiences of a registrar who has advanced her career over the years through multiple roles at several institution types. Learn about what you should expect, and how you can better prepare yourself for big changes and avoid common transition mistakes.
Monday, February 6th  9:00 AM - 9:45 AM Cambridge Advanced AS & A Levels in the South There are now more US high school students enrolled in Cambridge courses than are enrolled in IB courses, and the number of exams taken is expected to grow by 18% this year alone.  But despite this growth, many colleges and universities know little about this advanced academic program and the impact these student can have on a college campus.  This session will provide an overview of the Cambridge International program, share the growth in state credit-by-exam policies, and highlight transcripts and results information critical to the registrar and admissions office.  Attendees will also hear the findings and recommendations from an ACE Credit review and come away with an understanding of these courses and exams and what resources are available for developing a credit-by-exam policy.
Strategic Communication Throughout the Funnel Creating a strategic communication strategy that balances relational and transactional communication while using various modes of communication can seem, well....intimidating. At Jacksonville State University, we have spent the past four years developing a successful communication strategy. Less than five years ago, we launched our first ever communication plan and today have a team member dedicated to improving our communication processes. In the past few years, we have seen tremendous enrollment growth and welcomed our largest freshman class in university history. In this session, we will discuss what has worked for us and what we learned to improve. As we enter this post-pandemic era of college recruitment, how can we alter our strategic communication strategies to ensure we are all serving and reaching students in the most effective way possible?
Experience matters: Introducing the new uAchieve Student Planner/Audit Looking for ways to accelerate your students’ paths to graduation to maximize academic success? CollegeSource is excited to present an in-depth look at the future of student planning with completely re-designed uAchieve, our comprehensive hosted student success solution. uAchieve 5.0 includes ground-breaking term planning, degree audit and graduation tracking, transfer evaluation and course scheduling—everything students need to stay on track and reach their goals. The next generation of uAchieve continues to leverage the most accurate degree audit software in higher education used by schools of all sizes, accommodating the most sophisticated curricula and transfer evaluation rules. uAchieve also includes powerful analytics (such as course demand forecasting) while giving students the ability to run "what-if" scenario planning options to explore alternate program(s) of study. And our unique Degree Discovery service help you discover credentials across your student base you may not have realized were already earned, without time-consuming manual effort. Join us to learn about the future of student planning and how it can work for you.
Playing Nice in the Sandbox, Multiple Higher Education Vendors CAN Work Together! This session includes best practices for creating collaborative environments for multiple higher education vendor/partners to work together. Learn how Piedmont University was able to develop positive communication channels that encouraged open discussions between partners in order to generate solid results for their institution. Discuss how to overcome a scarcity mentality‚ with multiple vendors.
The Evolution of Today's Registrar The Registrar (Notarius), a role that started in higher education back in the 15th century, has steadily evolved throughout the centuries. In fact, research tells us that after 1890, there was a definite trend toward the establishment of an Office of the Registrar. While it has always been the case that Registrars perform a variety of duties. These days we are expected to do more than ever before, but how do we negotiate with the administration to promote us deeper into the administration as an Assistant Vice President or Assistant Provost? This session will discuss strategies that Registrar’s can use to underscore value in the position, as well as self-marketing for success. What steps can a today’s Registrar take to move from the traditional “gatekeeper” role, to one the institutional deems irreplaceable?
The Value of Diversity in College Admissions Understanding diversity within the landscape of higher education is complex. The U.S race and ethnic demographics are trending towards the most diverse we have ever seen. Colleges want to cultivate diverse communities where students thrive, not simply survive. What does this mean for educators as we navigate an ever-changing landscape of legal precedents, current events, and evolving expectations of what diversity, equity and inclusion actually mean in practice? Assessing the ways in which we cultivate diverse campus communities and acknowledge institutional values, marginalized populations, our own biases, and effective inclusive strategies. This session will explore the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the context of higher education.
The Impact/Importance of Recruiting Readmitted Students to Finish their Degrees The terms "stop-outs" and "readmits" both describe a special population of students we know all too well: students who enrolled, stopped out, and are now interested in returning to complete their degrees. This session will review the impact and importance of recruiting readmitted students to finish a degree and a review of UNC Charlotte's adult and readmitted student initiatives. Information will be shared on the best practices for working with readmitted students, advising strategies to strengthen recruitment and retention, and readmit policies that encourage timely graduation. This interactive session is foundational for those currently working with or developing a program to work with students who are readmitting to complete their degrees.
Paradigm Diplomas, Done Right: A Comprehensive Credentialing Solution Paradigm – The Complete Online Platform: 30+ Years’ Experience. Diplomas, Certificates, Covers, Digital & More. Speed (up to 24-hour turnaround). Accuracy. Quality. DirectShipTM. MyReOrderTM. MyHoldTM. Phenomenal Customer Service! Scalable CLR. When integrity matters, make the Paradigm shift.
Banner/CAPP Degree Audit – User Round Table A general round table discussion for institutions that use Banner’s CAPP Degree Audit program. Identify and interact with other users of the CAPP Degree Audit tool in Banner baseline. No formal presentation is planned. This session will be whatever participants want to discuss.
Monday, February 6th  10:30 AM - 11:15 AM Weathering the Storm: Shifting Tides and Changing Landscapes in International Enrollment Learn how one university addressed the shifting tides and changing landscapes in international enrollment. While the "tried and true" tricks of the trade become less and less effective, ETSU explored new avenues to increasing net tuition revenue, merging staff and teams, and developing new partnerships around the globe. You really can teach old dogs new tricks!
Upspeak: What it is & Why to [Not] Do It Communication is a much needed, critical skill that all admissions and registrar professionals need to possess. Whether you are dealing with prospects, students, parents, faculty, staff, or administrators, you want to always relay information in a confident and factual manner. Upspeak is a bad speaking habit that conveys the message you aren't sure of what you are talking about even if you are the expert on the subject. Come learn what upspeak is, why you need to stop it, and how you can learn to avoid it.
Must-Have Ingredients for a Successful Texting Approach Learn about must-have ingredients for a successful digital communication and student engagement strategy.  Better understand how to create texts that get responses, incorporate two-way texting alongside AI chatbots and AI-enabled live chat, and use conversation data to create a holistic view of every student.
Medical Sciences Registrar Medical Discussion Medical school registrars will discuss challenges and hot topics facing medical school registrars. Topics can include but not limited to adherence to the University academic calendar and medical school deadlines, registration, course scheduling, student self-services tools, etc. Additionally, the process and/or collaboration between main campus and medical school in addition to hot topics facing medical schools.
Process Review to Reduce Barriers Students, faculty, and staff encounter barriers when meeting the requirements of the Admission and Registrar’s Office set forth by accreditation, policy, procedure, and state and federal agencies. Process reviews involving many aspects of the department can provide “eye opening” opportunities to improve efficiency. This session will engage in how to review processes to ensure barriers are highlighted and examined to promote effectiveness and ease of use by constituents.
Doing a Lot with a Little: Discussion Panel with Small Schools Small institutions experience challenges and setbacks that their larger counterparts are often immune to - so it's NOT always easy working at small schools. Enjoy a panel of small-school colleagues who will share how they successfully navigate the challenge of doing more with much less. Topics will range from resources, to staff roles, to student populations, and more.
Making Connections and Growing Networks Come learn how important it is to build your network with various groups of people. In Admissions, you will likely  be interacting with anyone from prospective students, to parents, members of the community and high school administration. Building relationships is key, but how can that impact your campus? Come to this session to find out!
How to Create a Student-Centered Experience While Engaging Faculty & Staff Providing a student-centered experience is critical, but doing so while meeting the needs of faculty and staff can be challenging. The HighPoint student success suite provides an agile experience across the board to help faculty and staff meet students where they are at.
Monday, February 6th  1:30 PM - 2:15 PM Evaluating Military Credit for Non-Traditional Learners Learn how Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Worldwide Campus evaluates undergraduate military credit to include credit from the Joint Services Transcript (JST), Community College of the Air Force transcript (CCAF), and other military documentation submitted at the time of application. Embry-Riddle's Worldwide Campus supports mostly non-traditional adult learners, more than half of which apply as Active Duty Military or Veterans. We will share our best practices for working with this unique population of students and how you can incorporate this type of credit into a transfer student portal.
Navigating Internal Audits & State Audits Increased attention on accountability in higher education has, over time, translated to an increase in audits. Whether internal, at the state-level, from the VA, or the Department of Education itself, audits are a major source of stress and anxiety. Learn from one institution’s experiences and pick up some ideas on how to better prepare for an audit ahead of time, and how to navigate audits on your campus with auditors in person and virtually.
Registrar's Role in Commencement The Registrar's role in commencement varies across institutions and may vary from ceremony to ceremony depending on the needs of a university's student body and administration. At Western Carolina University, the Registrar's Office maintains a role from identifying candidates who should apply for graduation all the way through getting them across the stage and through the official conferral of degrees. Our office is the central point of communication urging students to apply on time, and managing digital and print marketing efforts to ensure that students know when they should apply for graduation. We also check degree audits and communicate directly with students if they are on-track or if we identify missing areas that would prevent them from graduating or participating in the commencement ceremony. We maintain the ceremony lists and manage the use of the Marching Order system. On commencement day, we are responsible for issuing student name cards, and our staff works to make line-up as stress-free as possible on our participating candidates. Our staff are available to collect post-graduation e-mail addresses, mailing addresses, and phone numbers, give out Latin Honors cords, assist with regalia, and provide extra bobby pins and Band-Aids! Our Registrar and Conferral Specialist have served on the platform party to assist with the distribution of diploma covers and all of our staff work extra hours on commencement weekend to assist with line-up each term. In this presentation, we will cover how our staff support commencement at WCU. We will leave ample time for questions and cross-campus comparisons.
Making the Most of MS Teams Many institutions utilize Microsoft products, and in doing so, offer Teams as a tool for instant messaging across campus. Teams can offer so much more than just a quick question to a colleague. Come learn about other Teams features and opportunities to leverage the application for communication and collaboration.
Regional Recruitment: Lessons and Opportunities Regional recruiters allow institutions to strategically provide a steady presence across their state or region. Regional recruitment can enhance service to students, families, and schools while reducing travel costs. While there are many positive reasons to consider regional recruiters, there are also challenges and important considerations to keep in mind. We do not claim to have perfected our process, but we are happy to share the resources we have amassed and the lessons we have learned while building our in-state regional team for the University of Arkansas Office of Admissions. We hope to hear your ideas and experiences, as well.
Transfer Students Need Love Too The transfer student journey is as unique as each student, changing timelines, credits earned from multiple institutions, and developing  academic and career goals. With the growing significance of transfer students, it’s even more important to prioritize and advocate for them. At Arkansas Tech University, we believe in personalizing the transfer student experience. Let us share with you how we developed Transfer Enrollment, a communication plan specifically for transfer students, and new initiatives designed specifically for transfer students.
Slate in Action: Case Studies on Using Slate to Work Smarter Join this session to learn how two types of institutions leverage Slate to achieve the unique goals of the campus constituents they serve. Representatives from Western Carolina University and North Carolina State University will share their experiences building out processes in Slate to manage admissions, specifically focusing on application building, reading, events, and communications. This session will cover a wide range of Slate experience levels from implementation best practices through to building populations to enhance security and permissions. In addition to discussing how they structure their Slate instances to support multiple instances and internal clients, presenters will talk about projects that are on the horizon as they grow with Slate. 
Monday, February 6th  2:30 PM - 3:15 PM I Want My Life Back! Taming the Outlook Monster Are you drowning in email? Missing deadlines? Is your calendar a mess? Then this is the session for you! The goal of this session is to share tips and tricks that will help you organize the electronic madness and make Outlook work for you.
Streamlining the Course Substitution Process We have streamlined our process of course substitutions into a workflow platform so that course substitutions are submitted, reviewed and approved/denied in a more efficient and timely manner.
College, Community and Culture: The Pre-College Experience Helping students achieve higher education is the name of the game. To answer this call, NC State University hosts three Pre-College Programs that are based on three core pillars: exposure to college academic and social experiences, preparation for the college application process, and fostering community within a cultural lens. Join our admissions staff to learn more about these programs that have served over 1,000 students from historically underrepresented backgrounds. 
How a Single Credential Management Platform Can Make a Difference at Your Institution What efficiencies could you create in the Registrar’s office if there was one platform to manage all credentials including transcripts, diplomas, certificates, CLRs, and badges? A comprehensive credential system is becoming essential to creating a simple, consistent learner experience across digital and print requests, all while freeing up time for more strategic projects. Hear how institutions have saved time and money moving to a comprehensive platform and how they are better serving their students with a modern credential experience. 
Integrate Your Academic Operations for Student Success Colleges and universities looking to meet the evolving demands of students and thrive, even survive, in this new postsecondary education landscape must examine the back-office processes that facilitate education delivery to students, known as academic operations. Integrating these often-siloed processes allows your institution to sustainably operate and support on-time completions for students.
Hot Topics: Transfer Credit Articulation Transfer credit articulation is a labor of love, and with students coming to campus with more prior college hours than ever, the work of transfer credit articulators is more important than ever. Come introduce colleagues to ideas that work, share your concerns, and learn from others. All levels of expertise are welcome. 
Feels Like Home – Establishing a Regional Recruitment Presence From the Ground Up Institutions are constantly challenged to build an innovative recruitment presence across their respective state and region. Why not incorporate regional-based recruiters to drive competition? While securing a remote-based admissions branch can ultimately enhance a university's overall services and reduce travel expenses, cleverly carrying this process out can also produce its challenges. Come network and experience how a Division II school has not only expanded its regional recruitment efforts over the years but increase success across the board - from yield to retention to workplace satisfaction. Although the process remains a continuous opportunity for improvement, learn about the obstacles and strategic recommendations that make the university's culture still feel like home to the off-campus team of recruiters. 
Credential Evaluation Fundamentals: Spotlight on China This session will explore international credential analysis "Best Practices" that college and university admissions officers should apply when evaluating international secondary and tertiary-level documents for acceptance eligibility and potential transfer credit, including verification fundamentals, information on digital credentials, and tips on fraud detection. We will also discuss the differences between year-counting and benchmarking, clarify the methodology and research behind an evaluation report, and examine general principles of credit conversion, grade conversion, and GPA calculations.  We will apply all of these principles to explore the Chinese education system, as China is one of the largest senders of international students to the United States.  The session will include detailed information about how to obtain the correct documentation from Chinese students, how to read key characters on Chinese academic documents, and how to evaluate Chinese credentials for purposes of making admission decisions.
CRM Roundtable Discussion - Slate This roundtable discussion will allow SACRAO members to connect with other institutions using the same the Slate CRM system. Facilitated discussions will allow institutions to consider best practices and learn how other institutions are making the most of the same CRM.
CRM Roundtable Discussion - TargetX/Salesforce This roundtable discussion will allow SACRAO members to connect with other institutions using the same the TargetX/Salesforce CRM system. Facilitated discussions will allow institutions to consider best practices and learn how other institutions are making the most of the same CRM.
Monday, February 6th  4:00 PM - 4:45 PM Athletics 101: What do Enrollment Managers need to know? Student-athletes are a unique group, and most focus is put on the “athlete” part of that title. But every athletic association says they must be students first! Student-athletes are held to more stringent academic requirements than traditional students. Recruiting rules can also throw a wrench into standard admission management plans. Perhaps your Athletics program looks more at the achievement on the field than in the classroom, so there are retention concerns if your institution doesn’t have dedicated athletic tutoring.
Working with Data in Enrollment Management Our institutions track so much information that it is often difficult to know how to use all the data points to work toward solving problems.  What exactly do we look at, how do we define the question and how do we use the data to suggest solutions and approaches that will be effective?  This session will use three concrete examples from different areas of enrollment management to illustrate how to use available data to lead to a specific action-oriented plan.
It Takes a Village: Staying Motivated in Challenging Times The past few years have wreaked havoc between our personal and professional boundaries. Staying motivated during challenging times takes support from our co-workers, colleagues across campus, and family and friend groups. Come and hear tips and tricks for how you can stay motivated and help support those around you!
Making Sense of FERPA Take a dive into FERPA and its most common applications. Come prepared to learn, laugh and share your FERPA issues!
NCAA Certification Developing NCAA Certification process is critical to any successful Registrar Office. This presentation will focus on how best to create and support an institution’s NCAA certification process to ensure student-athletes are certified eligible for practice and competition. We all share best practices, use case studies, and provide an opportunity for audience feedback and participation.
Leading a Committee or Task Force As more is required of us, it is not uncommon to find ourselves on a committee or task force. How we approach our roles and responsibilities on that committee or task force can shape the decisions the institution makes and our perspective on our participation. During this session, we’ll discuss how to frame participating on one of these committees, how to address conflict (especially between faculty and staff), and how to stay sane during the whole process.
Tackling Big Ideas with a Tight Budget Across the higher education landscape many institutions face tight budgets, unprecedented staff turnover and the student expectation of personalized, on-demand service. Join us as we showcase examples of how NC State University Enrollment Management and Services has leveraged technology and reimagined staffing with a student-first mentality to tackle big ideas and meet university goals without increasing staff headcount.
Direct from Washington: What is “Hill Day”, and what else is happening in Washington DC??? Direct from Washington DC and the AACRAO office, our presenter(s) will outline AACRAO’s “Hill Day”, an amazing opportunity for institutional representatives from state level AACRAO members to spend a day immersed in higher education policy with US senators and US representatives. In addition, presenters will provide a legislative and regulatory update on the most pressing federal higher ed issues that may soon affect our campuses. This session is sponsored by SACRAO’s Federal Advocacy Committee
Tuesday, February 7th 8:30 AM - 9:15 AM Your Honors College Should be Test-Optional Too Honors Colleges provide an institutions most academically talented minds with access to faculty, staff and resources at a far more engaging level than their non-Honors peers. As test-optionality becomes more and more popular, are we making sure that our specialty programs are following suit? Or are we still allowing them to play by their own rules? How do we define who gets these opportunities in an equitable manner? What metrics do we use to determine this status? Ryan McLaughlin, Director of Honors Admissions & Recruitment at Georgia State University, showcases how changes in admissions policy, including complete removal of standardized testing as an evaluation metric, lead to their Honors College’s most diverse enrollment classes yet.
"How do they do college fairs in…?" Different organizations, different structures, same mission - hosting a successful college fair. This session will be a roundtable discussion on strategies, formats, best practices, and what works (and doesn't work) across the regions! Join us for a robust conversation on college fairs, past, present, and future, led by CACRAO, VACRAO, and WVACRAO leadership.
What to Do with Alumni Who Want to Help Recruit. Using alumni for recruitment efforts can be rewarding, but there are some glaring challenges. Primarily, what are they going to say and who are they going to say it to? Whether this makes you cringe or jump for joy, we have some ideas that could help. In this session we will look at two primary angles: 1) Providing avenues for alums to feel involved even if we are not directly seeking their help. 2) Strategies to consider if we want to be intentional in increasing our opportunities for alums to be involved.
Building a Deeper Bench: Succession Planning and Staff Development Succession Planning can be looked at in many different ways. We decided to focus on preparing employees for success. It is important to have these individuals equipped and prepared for any changes that could occur in the workplace. Succession planning ensures continuity, and recognizes employees' potential and is a significant component of workforce development. Overall this helps with employee retention, productivity, and positive/healthy work environments.
Improve Your FERPA Management Process, Improve Student Retention Modernizing your FERPA management process can not only save your team precious time, it can provide a way for families and parents to better support their student and keep them on track to graduation. Learn how the University of West Georgia implemented a digital process that allows guardians to easily initiate waiver requests, students to approve or deny them with a click, and families to get important information that helps them keep their students on track.
Let students know how their transfer courses transfer Are you tired of telling students how courses will transfer? Reduce your email and call volume by giving students the ability to easily enter coursework (as well as exams, military credit, and other learning experiences) to see how their courses will transfer back to, or away from, your institution. Transferology® was created by the same company that makes TES® and gives institutions a nationwide presence for recruiting students and publicizing transfer information. With staff-facing tools like the Popular Courses and Unknown Equivalency reports, schools can proactively build transfer rules and use real data to make decisions instead of guessing what courses need to be evaluated and wasting precious time. Advisors, recruiters, and transfer specialists can all use this web-based application to improve their daily workflows. With over 300 institutions, 20 million equivalencies, and millions of student users, come see what Transferology can do for you!
How to create a game-changing student engagement strategy Are you looking for real change when it comes to your admissions processes? Are you tired of having to do more with less? Do you feel frustrated that your teams lose so much time to low-value tasks each week? Do you wish you could do better when it comes to delivering incredible student experiences through the enrollment funnel? Now, imagine if you didn’t have to start every Monday battling an inbox of student inquiries. How about if you didn’t have to manually upload your attendee list data after every event? What about if you could simply ‘set it and forget it’ and know that there was a process that could nurture prospects all the way from engagement to enrollment? If you’re looking for real change, then a student engagement platform is the game changer you need. In our presentation, we’ll walk you through how a scalable technology solution can be the change you want to see when it comes to student engagement. This solution is used by clients to enhance their current CRM or as a stand-a-alone tech component…the choice is completely yours. We’ll show you how to automate, streamline, and connect your existing tools and processes to lighten the load for staff, increase enrollment, and deliver best–in-class student experiences. It’s going to be high energy, fun, and offer real value - don’t miss it!
Evolving the Admissions Office to Make Deeper Connections With High School Students With changing enrollment strategies, institutions across the globe are re-evaluating their admissions and recruitment methods. This session covers a new way enrollment leaders can leverage data gathered from the country’s largest credential exchange to uncover new recruitment opportunities from high schools and then streamline the admissions processes so that they can more quickly admit students.
Tuesday, February 7th 9:30 AM - 10:15 AM Org-M-G: Charting Your Course Through Professional Progression in Higher Education Love or hate your job, do you see yourself in this same position for the next 5, 10, 20 years? What are your professional goals in higher education and how do you make it happen? Starting with the basic questions and knowing the resources available to you is a start in chartering your professional track through higher education.     I. Where am I now?   II. Where do I want to be?   III.  What am I bringing to the table? Looking at professional development opportunities and building skill sets for the career path you want will start your transition through professional positions. See how the experiences in each position better prepares you for that progression to the next position. Presenters will share their professional race around higher education and offer advice through their stories to show how you also can identify your goals, align the timetable, and then hit the gas to make it happen.
Level Up! Exploring "Super Secondary" British-system credentials This session will explore international credential analysis "Best Practices" that college and university admissions officers should apply when evaluating certain international secondary qualifications for potential transfer credit, including verification fundamentals and information on digital credentials. Advanced secondary qualifications from Great Britain, Scotland, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Bahamas and the Caribbean will be examined.
Lessons learned implementing a Transfer Portal for Non Traditional Students Join Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide as they talk about lessons learned while implementing a transfer portal for prospective students. This session will talk about various customizations requested from the vendor to meet the needs of non-traditional students, to include help text, inclusion of military and other non-traditional credit, exam credit, and more. We will talk about the implementation process and best practices pre/post-implementation.
Dual Enrollment as a Pathway to Freshman Enrollment At the University of North Alabama, enrollment leadership embraced the lean methodology using a form of mapping called Rapid Improvement. Through 15 rapid improvement events, cross functional teams created actions that moved from current state to a desired future state. Using closed loop feedback the teams met regularly to assess progress, make changes, and agree to next steps. Over the course of the last two years this work significantly contributed to enrollment growths in dual enrollment and freshman enrollment. The presenter will discuss their method, the challenges they faced, and how the team members’ embraced change.
Live Chat Services! What to Consider & Why You Should Just Do It! The idea of “live chats” can be too much to think of for higher education professionals already drowning in the day-to-day volume of work. BUT – live chat services can help alleviate that burden, provide a better student experience, and therefore increase engagement and facilitate student success. Come learn from an institution already utilizing live chat services. Whether you work with a one-stop-shop, prospective students, or student success areas, live chat services can help you help students.
Data Driven Recruitment and Marketing Join USC Beaufort as they explain how they have utilized their partnership with ENCOURA to establish a data driven recruitment and marketing plan. Focusing on redesigning communications, territory management and expanding into new markets.
“Leveraging your Curricular Management Software to Drive Student Success” Every institution is unique, but a common goal is to help students succeed. Today, more campuses are turning towards technology to improve student engagement, persistence, and completion. Join us for this exciting session to learn how curricular management software (including catalog, curriculum, scheduling, registration, and syllabi solutions) can support student success in areas including career exploration and selection, learning outcomes, choosing the right classes, and more. We hope to see you there!
Excel Pivot Table Workshop Imagine an Excel worksheet of student enrollment figures with hundreds or thousands of rows of data. The worksheet lays out all the data about your students’ academic history, bio/demo, courses and grades. It's a lot of data to deal with — listed in row after row and divided into multiple columns. How can you get easily obtain useful information out of the worksheet? How can you make sense out of all of this data?
Tuesday, February 7th 2:00 PM - 2:45 PM Creating a Service Culture in Admissions Learn the ideal formula for creating a service culture in admissions. This session will take attendees on a journey that simplifies the topic of customer service. With complete comprehension and precise execution, this formula is an aid for increasing enrollment and will ensure admission professionals leave all constituents with an exemplary service experience.
Keeping Course Program of Study Implementations "On Track" Federal course program of study (CPoS) requirements, are daunting, yet unignorable. As of Fall 2022, many institutions are bracing themselves for their next state audits and monitoring official changes to auditable items. If you're mid-implementation or watching your colleague institutions from afar with the fear of audits in mind, come for tips and advice on what to do, whom to involve, when to get things done, and how to ultimately survive your CPoS implementation. Note UTRGV is a Banner school using Degree Works, but information to be shared is translatable to other SIS users.
Living with Alzheimer's Honorary member Dennis Dulniak will share experiences of Alzheimer's and dementia  from his seven-year journey with wife Nancy who was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's at age 62. As supervisors, we need compassion to recognize the personal effects of increasing caregiving responsibilities by our staff and any serious decline in cognitive performance among our staff and Loved Ones that maybe early signs of dementia. Dennis will present dementia basics, key data points, warning signs, communication techniques and lessons learned as well as his new Nana's Books Foundation to educate our youth and communities on Alzheimer's, dementia and other disabilities.
Course Cross-Listings: Usage, Definitions, and Considerations Are course cross-listings an ongoing problem at your institution? Do you routinely have to explain to administrators and faculty why certain combinations should not be allowed? The University of Alabama recently approved new guidelines to streamline the use of cross-listing across campus. This session will discuss the events that led to the implementation of these changes, the process by which definitions were developed, and lessons learned from the process.
Partnering with Business & Industry to Enroll Adult Learners In the last two years, Jacksonville State University has partnered with chambers of commerce and local industry to offer tuition scholarships to adults in the workforce. In this expansion of last year’s session, we’ll share how JSU has grown its relationships with chambers of commerce and one of the largest employers in our region, how we overcame initial challenges, and how we’re tackling new challenges. Learn how JSU has met post-traditional students where they are, and share how your institution is doing the same!
Orientation During Record Enrollment New Student Orientation at the University of Arkansas onboarded the largest ever freshman classes for two consecutive years‚ and during a pandemic. Come to this session to learn what worked well, what did not work so well, and how we look to adapt moving forward.
Partnering with Financial Aid: Administering Adds, Drops, and Withdrawals We need your partnership in the financial aid office to stay in compliance. This session will provide an in-depth explanation of student withdrawals on topics such as required financial aid recalculations, school attendance, official and unofficial withdrawals, determining the date of withdrawal, and enrollment reporting. Case scenarios involving recalculation rules for financial aid, census dates, and modules as students add and drop courses will be discussed.  
Clearinghouse 101 Whether you’re new to your position or could simply use a refresher, this session is intended to demonstrate how the National Student Clearinghouse is more than just a “process”.  Come learn about why we were founded, what we do for you and your students with the data we collect, and how that data powers a full suite of services available to your institution.  This session will cover the myriad of ways the NSC, as your non-profit partner, serves the higher ed community and helps your students succeed. 
Tuesday, February 7th 3:00 PM - 3:45 PM Beat the Burnout with Digital Transformation Burnout is nothing new, but its prevalence at an organizational level prompted the WHO in2019 to declare it an "organizational phenomenon". As we all know, COVID only exacerbated burnout and this has been a contributing factor to the "great resignation" and a widespread labor shortage. While a lot of the research around burnout focuses on how to help individuals to cope, we know that organizations play a crucial role in preventing organizational burnout by addressing systemic factors that affect the prevalence of burnout: workload, role clarity and autonomy, co-worker relationships, recognition and rewards, fairness and values alignment. In this session, we will look at how digital transformation can address these factors and look at some specific examples from Colleges and Universities that have used Wait Well to provide a more supportive working environment for their Admissions and Enrollment Management staff.
But Are They Always Right? Rethinking Customer Service in Higher Education Customer Service is a hot topic debate in the higher education community. While some believe that customer service has no place in the classroom, others are embracing a new kind of customer service that enables students to get the most out of their educational experience. This session will examine the top reasons why students leave their educational institutions and address how good customer service policies can help mitigate poor student retention.
Graduate Enrollment Management Best Practices This session will address best practices in a blended office of undergraduate and graduate admissions. We will go over the operational business policies and procedures that we have created at Sam Houston to support our graduate program faculty and staff. We will delve into how we utilize cross-divisional teams to manage and provide structure for not only our graduate colleagues, but our admissions staff as well.  We will present on resources that we utilize.
Surviving in the Full Throttle World of Recruitment Recruiters, aka Road Warriors, carry big loads for their institutions and often with little opportunity for a breather – especially during the peak of recruitment seasons and college fairs. Whether new to the profession or well-traveled, recruiters must equip themselves with tools to demonstrate stamina, maintain high levels of energy, and guard their mental health. This session offers tips and tricks for surviving in the full-throttle world of recruitment.
A Monthly Newsletter from the Registrar Since 2018, I have published a monthly one or two-page newsletter for students enrolled at our institution.  The newsletter is emailed to all student email accounts, and is sent out the last week of each month.  The topics address the most common questions students have in the following month about policies, procedures, deadlines and tasks.  A conference session would cover how I got it set up and approved, who my proof-readers are, and the different ways the newsletter is used by different constituencies.
Evaluation Time! Incorporating AACRAO's Core Competencies and Professional Proficiencies Into Staff Evaluations One of the most stressful times of the year is staff evaluation time. AACRAO's Core Competencies and Professional Proficiencies provide an excellent framework to provide feedback to your staff in replace of (or in addition to) your current evaluations. Using them is also a way in which you can find weaknesses in your organization and begin to grow your staff professionally. During this session, we'll discuss the Core Competencies and Professional Proficiencies and how you might incorporate them into the evaluation process.
Nontraditional Students | The Future of Higher Ed Enrollment and How to Prepare As the number of traditional college-bound students also decreases, many institutions are turning to nontraditional students as the next wave of innovation and growth in the industry. This demo-intensive session will provide an overview of challenges currently faced across the industry as well as techniques for more effectively engaging with nontraditional candidates to increase enrollment yield.
Tuesday, February 7th 4:30 PM - 5:15 PM Grading Policies Discussion Panel Incompletes, In-Progress Options, Remedials & More
Financial Aid for Admissions Counselors An experienced financial aid administrator, who now works as an admissions counselor, shares financial aid experiences and communication tactics to help bridge two important departments within any college or university.  This session will provide admissions counselors with 'ah-ha' moments where a student may have a specific situation that needs personal financial aid attention to assist with the completion of the FAFSA.  This session will provide upcoming 2023-24 FAFSA changes to be aware of when speaking to students and families about financial aid.  We will discuss terminology and acronyms that admissions counselors can be familiar with and understand.
Supporting and Mentoring Student Workers Presentation by former Manager of GMU's Document Center that employs student workers. Presentation will touch on how to manage an office with high and constant turnover (maintaining professional standards and morale), specific needs of student workers, how to mentor workers whose current job is not their career.
Moving Strategic Enrollment Planning from Theory to Action We have an abundance of great ideas for growing enrollment, but severely limited resources--we cannot do it all! Determining which ideas to put the highest collective efforts of the institution behind can be both challenging and politically fraught. This session will discuss how to transition from big-picture strategic enrollment planning to specific institutional initiatives that will yield the highest return on investment for growth that is more than just incremental along with the greatest cross-campus collaboration.
Friend or Foe? Navigating Vendor Relationships There are countless vendors available to higher ed professionals, and considering their services alongside your institution's needs and budget is tricky business. Matters can get even stickier when vendors over-promise, leaving institutions under-impressed. Come hear from a seasoned professional who's worked with plenty of vendors of all types to determine whether vendors are friends or foes!
Excuse me‚ you have toilet paper on your shoe: How to Make a Better Impression through New Hire Onboarding Remember when your Mom said you only have one chance to make a first impression? The same holds true for your institution when it comes to onboarding your new employees. A fabulously executed onboarding process instills confidence in the candidate that they chose the right place to work, showcases your office culture, and helps set the tone for a successful work environment that produces the outcomes you expect. Come to this session to get some of the best ideas for not only a buttoned-up process, but one that is fun and engaging. Creative ideas and examples will be shared.
Eliminating Silos and Building Connection Explore why silos inhibit organizational and ultimately student success. Through the use of EdTech and embracing a collaborative mindset, institutions can effectively reduce staff workloads and provide greater operational efficiency to achieve the primary student-centered goals of “get them in”, “get them through”, “keep them connected”.
Wednesday, February 8th 9:40 AM - 10:25 AM 4-Year Institution Admissions and Recruitment Forum  
2-Year Institution Admissions and Recruitment Forum  
4-Year Instituiton Registrar Forum  
2-Year Institution Registrar Forum  
Enrollment Management Forum  
Wednesday, February 8th 10:40 AM - 11:25 AM Birds of a Feather: Ellucian / Banner / CAPP / Degree Works  
Birds of a Feather: Slate  
Birds of a Feather: PeopleSoft Academic Advisement Module  
Birds of a Feather: Target X  
Birds of a Feather: Salesforce  
Birds of a Feather: 25Live Users  
Birds of a Feather: Ad Astra Users  
Birds of a Feather: Jenzabar