By Quintina Barnett Gallion, Associate Executive Director, Strategy and Planning, AACRAO, Live from #AACRAO2026
At the 111th AACRAO Annual Meeting in New Orleans, the Strategic Planning Committee of the AACRAO Board of Directors took to the podium to introduce a first look at the Association’s newly approved strategic plan for 2026-2031.
The Board-approved plan—finalized in February 2026 after months of member surveys, listening sessions, and stakeholder engagement—outlines four ambitious goals designed to guide the work of AACRAO over the next five years. What made the session especially notable was the conversation that followed.
When the floor opened for questions, attendees zeroed in on a theme that’s surfaced consistently throughout the planning process:
Are small colleges seen? And will AACRAO be there for them?
The Plan at a Glance
The 2026-2031 Strategic Plan sets direction across four interconnected goals:
- Goal 1 calls on AACRAO to elevate shared understanding of the enrollment and academic services ecosystem—positioning the association as the primary, evidence-based voice in the field.
- Goal 2 centers applied research, with a focus on advancing ethical, interoperable, and AI-informed institutional practice.
- Goal 3 commits to nurturing an inclusive professional community—building credentials, deepening state and regional partnerships, and supporting lifelong career development.
- Goal 4 establishes AACRAO as a coordinated advocacy leader on higher education policy, aligned with national, state, and regional needs.
The plan carries forward the same mission, vision, and values as its predecessor. What’s new is the sharpened focus on visibility, the professional community—across all institution types—and the principles of learning mobility.
The Question That Kept Coming Up
Survey data gathered in January 2026, prior to the Annual Meeting, had already signaled that members wanted to see small colleges, Tribal colleges, and community college professionals more explicitly reflected in the strategic direction of AACRAO. At the Annual Meeting session, those concerns became a live conversation.
Attendees asked directly:
- Will the new plan make room for institutions without large offices, deep budgets, or a team of specialists?
- Will the professional development offer actually apply to someone wearing four hats at a small liberal arts college or a tribal institution?
These are fair questions. The Board representatives assured that these questions are heard.
Why This Matters Now
The shift to a new membership dues model and the expansion of digital community spaces like the AACRAO Exchange have already begun opening doors for professionals at smaller institutions. State and regional association feedback gathered in late 2025 reinforced that community college professionals, in particular, feel underrepresented, and that a perceived gap in relevance makes national membership a tougher sell.
The 2026-2031 plan’s emphasis on deepening state and regional collaboration (Goal 3, Strategy B) and advancing accessible professional credentials (Goal 3, Strategy A) offers concrete entry points for addressing this gap.
And Goal 4’s advocacy framework explicitly envisions connecting national policy priorities with state and regional realities—where small colleges often feel the effects of policy most acutely.
What Comes Next
The Annual Meeting marked a moment of socialization—leadership heard the room. The next phase of work involves AACRAO staff developing specific, funded tactics aligned to each goal, a process designed to move the plan from aspiration to action.
That process is where the concerns raised in New Orleans are translated into resources, content, and support that actually land in the inboxes and workflows of professionals at institutions of every size.
Want to weigh in on what the next five years of AACRAO should look like for you? Read the full 2026–2031 Strategic Plan
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