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AACRAO Annual Meeting

Implementing Success

The AACRAO Annual Meeting is an opportunity to learn, network, and advance higher education. Professionals from a variety of higher education disciplines gather together at AACRAO's Annual Meeting to engage and discuss the ever-changing landscape of higher-ed.

Collaborate with a worldwide, higher education network as it comes together to explore, engage, and learn. Each year higher education professionals face new and unique challenges in their work and AACRAO's Annual Meeting is the place to find solutions to those challenges.

Call for proposals

AACRAO invites content experts to submit workshop, session, or roundtable topics highlighting best practices, ideas, and solutions, helping shape higher education.

The Call for Proposals is closed.

2023 AACRAO Annual Meeting Anthem

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Explore Past Meetings

Schedule at a Glance

Updated as events and sessions are confirmed. | All sessions in Mountain Time (MST).
  • Saturday, March 25

    Registrar 101/FERPA Workshop (Day 1 of 2)
    Ticket Required
    8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

    Registrar 201 Workshop (Day 1 of 2)
    Ticket Required
    8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

    International Institute (Day 1 of 2)
    Ticket Required
    8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

    Developing and Implementing a CLR Half-Day Workshop
    Ticket Required
    1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

  • Sunday, March 26

    Friends of Bill W.
    7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.

    Registration Open
    7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

    Prayer Room Open
    8:00 am - 8:00 pm
    Homestead 3

    Speaker Lounge Open
    10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

    AACRAO Bookstore Open
    8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

    Registrar 101/FERPA Workshop (Day 2)
    Ticket Required
    8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m

    Registrar 201 Workshop (Day 2)
    Ticket Required
    8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

    International Institute (Day 2)
    Ticket Required
    8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

    Strategic Planning for Registrars Full-Day Workshop
    Ticket Required
    8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m

    State & Regional Officers Half-Day Workshop
    Ticket Required
    8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

    SEM Core Concepts Half-Day Workshop
    Ticket Required
    8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

    National Network of Law School Officers Board of Directors Meeting
    8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

    AACRAO SPEEDE Committee Business Meeting
    9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

    Program Committee Coordinators' Meeting
    (2022-2023, 2023-2024)
    by invitation
    9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

    Luncheon for Professional Activities Committees Chairs
    (2022-2023, 2023-2024)
    by invitation
    11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.

    FERPA 2.0 Half-Day Workshop
    Ticket Required
    12:00 pm - 3:00 p.m

    Net Tuition Revenue 101 Half-Day Workshop
    Ticket Required
    12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

    Meeting for PAC Chairs & Members of Professional Activities Committees
    (2023-2024)
    by invitation
    1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

    NNLSO Welcome Reception
    3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

    Experience AACRAO
    By invitation for First-time Annual Meeting attendees
    3:15 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
    Sponsored by National Student Clearinghouse

    Opening General Session
    Keynote Speaker: BD Wong, Actor & Activist
    4:45 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.

    Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall
    (cash bar & hors d'oeuvres)
    6:45 p.m. - 8:15 p.m.

  • Monday, March 27

    Friends of Bill W.
    7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.

    Registration Open
    7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

    Speaker Lounge Open
    7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

    Prayer Room Open
    8:00 am - 8:00 pm
    Homestead 3

    NNLSO Breakfast and Opening Session
    8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

    AACRAO Past Presidents' Breakfast
    by invitation
    8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

    AACRAO Joint Caucus Session - Intersectionality
    8:00 a.m. - 8:50 a.m.

    AACRAO Book Store Open
    8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

    Exhibit Hall Open
    9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

    Educational Sessions & Roundtable Discussions
    9:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.

    AACRAO Women's Caucus Meeting
    9:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m

    Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall
    9:50 a.m.- 10:15 a.m.

    AACRAO Live Podcasts: For the Record (By the AACRAO Bookstore)
    Hosted by: Sarah Reed
    10:00 a.m.- 10:30 a.m.

    Corporate Showcase Presentations
    10:15 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

    Educational Sessions & Roundtable Discussions
    11:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

    Graduate & Professional Schools Luncheon
    Ticket Required
    12:00 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.

    Nominations & Elections 2022-2023 Committee Luncheon
    by invitation
    12:00 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.

    TAICEP Brown Bag Lunch
    12:00 p.m. - 1:20 p.m.

    AACRAO Live Podcasts: H.E.A.R.D (By the AACRAO Bookstore)
    Hosted by: Tashana Curtis, Portia LeMarr and Ingrid Nuttall
    1:00 p.m.- 2:00 p.m.

    Educational Sessions & Roundtable Discussions
    1:30 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.

    AACRAO Latinx Caucus Meeting
    1:30 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.

    Monday Plenary General Session
    Keynote Speakers: Renise Walker, Colorado Workforce Development Council | Sean Murphy, Walmart.org
    Facilitated by: Melanie Gottlieb, AACRAO
    Sponsored by Walmart
    2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

    AACRAO Live Podcasts: Transfer Tea (By the AACRAO Bookstore)
    Hosted by: Loida González Utley
    3:30 p.m.- 4:00 p.m.

    Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall
    3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

    AACRAO Black Caucus Meeting
    4:00 p.m. - 4:50 p.m.

    Educational Sessions & Roundtable Discussions
    4:00 p.m. – 5:50 p.m.

    AACRAO LGBTQIA+ Caucus Meeting
    5:00 p.m. - 5:50 p.m.

    Board of Directors' Reception for Honorees
    by invitation
    6:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

  • Tuesday, March 28

    Friends of Bill W.
    7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.

    Registration Open
    7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

    Speaker Lounge Open
    7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

    Prayer Room Open
    8:00 am - 8:00 pm
    Homestead 3

    Plenary General Session: FAFSA Simplification
    Keynote Speaker: Karen McCarthy, NASFAA
    8:00 a.m. – 8:50 a.m.

    AACRAO Bookstore Open
    8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

    Exhibit Hall Open
    9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

    Educational Sessions & Roundtable Discussions
    9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

    AACRAO Live Podcasts: For the Record (By the AACRAO Bookstore)
    Hosted by: Sarah Reed
    10:15 a.m.- 10:45 a.m.

    Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall
    10:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

    AACRAO Business Meeting (General Session)
    10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

    International Luncheon
    ticket required
    12:00 p.m. - 1:20 p.m.
    Sponsored by Foreign Credentials Service of America &  Association of International Credential Evaluation

    Educational Sessions & Roundtable Discussions
    1:30 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.

    Diversity Plenary Session
    2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
    Keynote Speaker: Dr. Cristóbal Salinas Jr.

    Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall
    3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

    Educational Sessions & Roundtable Discussions
    4:00 p.m. – 5:50 p.m.

    AACRAO Asian American & Pacific Islander Caucus Meeting
    5:00 p.m. – 5:50 p.m.

    State & Regional Receptions
    6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

    NNLSO Networking & Social Event
    7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

  • Wednesday, March 29

    Friends of Bill W.
    7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.

    Speaker Lounge Open
    7:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

    Prayer Room Open
    8:00 am - 8:00 pm
    Homestead 3

    Registration Open
    8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

    Educational Sessions & Roundtable Discussions
    9:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.

    AACRAO Native American Caucus Meeting
    11:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.

    Closing General Session
    Keynote Speaker: Roxane Gay, Author & Cultural Critic
    12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

    Program Committee Group Coordinators' Meeting
    (2022-2023, 2023-2024)
    1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

    AACRAO Board of Directors' Meeting
    1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

2023 AACRAO Annual Meeting Featured Speakers and Guests


Sunday - Opening General Session

BD Wong is a celebrated actor and activist with over three decades of excellence on stage, on television, and in film. His experiences as an openly gay Asian-American actor in Hollywood have shaped his career and inform his ongoing advocacy work.

Having faced rejection, typecasting, racism, and homophobia in his journeys through the entertainment industry, he has a sharp perspective on the importance and necessity of diversity and representation in the media and beyond. In his heartfelt, inspirational, and often amusing talks, he addresses issues like racial self-image, the “model minority myth,” moving beyond preconceptions and seeing everyone’s full humanity, the beauty and challenges of owning multiple identities, and the importance of passing the torch of all of the above to younger people.

Monday Plenary Session - Articulating the Value of Learning: Workforce and Higher Education

Renise serves as the Assistant Director of Systems Innovation for the Colorado Workforce Development Council. Serving as an active leader for the CWDC Office, Renise represents the CWDC Office at both state and national conferences and continues to innovate and be a thought leader in the talent development landscape in Colorado and nationally.

Sean Murphy is a Director on the Opportunity team at Walmart.org, where he supports Walmart’s philanthropic efforts in developing the infrastructure needed to empower the development of a skill-based workforce system, which will enable all learning to count.

Tuesday - FAFSA General Session

Karen McCarthy explores the upcoming changes to the FAFSA, including direct data sharing with the IRS and a streamlined Federal Methodology, she will also discuss the latest updates on implementation and NASFAA's Student Aid Index Modeling Tool.

Karen currently works in NASFAA's division of policy and federal relations, providing a financial aid administrator's "on the ground" perspective to federal student aid policy discussions and debates. She began her career in student aid working in the financial aid offices at several large, four-year institutions, including Boston University, Miami University of Ohio, and The Ohio State University. She began work in NASFAA's training department in 1999 before joining NASFAA's policy team in 2010.

Tuesday - Diversity General Session

Dr. Cristobal Salinas Jr. is an associate professor in the College of Education at Florida Atlantic University. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity. He’s published more than 70 manuscripts in print, including 6 books, and has delivered over 250 presentations and lectures.

Dr. Salinas Jr. will present his session What is Latinx? Deconstructing the complexity of the term Latinx. This session examines how the categories of race, gender, and sexuality continue to be the site of analysis for many higher education researchers, effectively filling the void of intersectional approaches to student development and learning theory. This presentation will engage in a dialogue about the importance of Latinx/a/o/* students’ identities and labels that have been (mis)used, (mis)interpreted, and have not been fully examined. The goal is to illuminate how the politics of naming social identities can perpetuate structures of power and work toward transforming higher education through critical naming processes.

Wednesday - Closing General Session

Roxane Gay is an author and cultural critic whose writing is unmatched and widely revered. Her work garners international acclaim for its reflective, no-holds-barred exploration of feminism and social criticism. With a deft eye on modern culture, she brilliantly critiques its ebb and flow with both wit and ferocity.