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Organizational Membership

Connect to the world of higher education

With AACRAO membership you'll be connected to more than 11,000 members from institutions around the world. Facilitate your professional development by attending discounted meetings, gaining complimentary subscriptions to our College & University journal and more.

Why should you join? State higher education coordinating boards, higher education associations, accrediting bodies and international ministries of education and more can collaborate with our members and lend their voices to discussions about practices in the field. 

Annual Membership Price: $710

Requirements: YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC SECTOR AND/OR A PRIVATE NON-PROFIT ASSOCIATION WHOSE INTERESTS ARE CLOSELY ALIGNED TO AACRAO.  

Develop Professionally

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Professional Competencies

Work on your skills like change management, technical knowledge and professional development and contributions to the field. We have the tools for you.

Online Learning

Strategic enrollment management. Admissions & recruitment. Transfer & articulation.  AACRAO regularly partners with organizations to hold joint discussions. No matter what your focus is, our webinars are loved by our members, and can raise the profile of your work. 

Take the next step in your career

AACRAO's Career Navigator is a wealth of job postings and resources for training. 

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Get Published

AACRAO's professional journals College & University and SEM Quarterly are always accepting articles and have a wide circulation base.

Research Opportunities

Leverage the expertise of our over 11,000 members and contribute to one of the premier sources of practice related research within the global higher education community. 

Join a committee

Do work you're passionate about, with support and mentoring from fellow members. From Caucuses to specialized topics, it's all one community, no matter where in the world your institution is located. 


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AACRAO's bi-weekly professional development e-newsletter

The technification of the registrar's office

Aug 24, 2020, 14:33 PM
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Summary : Addressing staffing and structural questions to meet changing demands.
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The registrar's office sit at the nexus of technology, policy, and customer service, and staff are expected to be experts in all three. Staff must know how a multitude of different systems function on their own and overlap; how to find and disburse information quickly and efficiently; and how to serve students, work with faculty, and run events like graduation. With the dramatic technological revolution of the last few decades, most of the transactional work of the office has been automated.

Registrars now often spearhead major technology initiatives, serve as campus experts on student data security and analysis, and help the institution stay abreast of emerging trends and issues.

To support this change, staff need strong technological acumen, the ability to adapt to and lead change, advanced critical thinking/problem-solving skills, and the ability to communicate effectively regarding complex issues to a diverse campus population.

Some institutions are further along in supporting this shift than others. But all must address critical questions such as:

  • How do we structure our organizations and update our job descriptions to accurately reflect the current needs and attract the right candidates?
  • How do we convey our vision to HR professionals who may continue to harbor a more traditional view of registrar work, allowing us to get staff properly classified and compensated?
  • How do we successfully transition positions out of clerical unions as clerical work dries up?
  • How do we recruit employees with these broad skill sets, and train our current staff to be successful in this environment?
  • How do we enable staff to leverage technology effectively, such that it enhances the customer service experience?

Join the webinar on the "Technification of Registrar Staff," this Thursday, August 27. Leesa Beck from UC Santa Barbara and Mike Andersen from the Navy Postgraduate School as they discuss obstacles and solutions to the above questions, and invite you to share challenges and successes.  



Categories :
  • Change Management
  • Competencies
  • Records and Academic Services
  • Technological Knowledge
  • Technology
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AACRAO's weekly e-newsletter delivering policy and industry news

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Questions? Contact us at membership@aacrao.org or (202) 355-1040