The Chesapeake and Potomac Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (CAPACRAO) was established in 2012 and serves institutions of higher education in Maryland and the District of Columbia. CAPACRAO is dedicated to developing and perpetuating a vibrant network of resources and learning opportunities. Like many other state and regional organizations, Covid-19 greatly affected CAPACRAO’s 2020 programming. The organization‘s leadership quickly identified new ways to connect and support its members and corporate partners in a virtual setting.
In the spring, CAPACRAO started offering weekly happy hours for various constituent groups including Admissions, Records, Financial Aid, and Transfer. CAPACRAO wanted to provide a platform for these groups to brainstorm and share how Covid was affecting their institutions and operations. Each meeting drew in diverse individuals from a variety of institutional types and filled a need that was clearly missing at that time. During the summer, CAPACRAO continued to host a weekly series, offering lunch and learn sessions in lieu of an in-person annual conference. Topics included professional development, employee management, virtual commencement management, best practices during Covid, change management for new systems and process integrations as well as several corporate partner speakers. The sessions were well-attended and promoted good dialogue. In the fall, CAPACRAO hosted monthly happy hours with virtual board games. The organization continued to distribute monthly newsletters with relevant content for members and increased engagement with members and vendors through social media.
To further help our membership, all events and benefits were free to attend, and the Executive Board voted to offer 2020-2021 FY membership for all 2019-2020 member institutions at no cost due to financial hardships expressed by some member institutions. Additionally, the Executive Board voted to adjust its corporate partner cost structure by offering la carte pricing in lieu of traditional bronze, gold, silver, platinum level sponsorships. Throughout the calendar year, CAPACRAO was committed to offer diverse virtual programming while engaging a variety of members and corporate partners. The CAPACRAO Executive Board is grateful to its standing committee members, membership institutions and corporate partners for their continued collaboration and support of CAPACRAO and looks forward to offering more in-person and virtual professional development and networking opportunities in the year ahead.
Executive Board:
President: Shari Christie, Bowie State University
President-Elect: Reginald Garcon, University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Past President: Johnika Nixon, Prince George’s Community College
VP for Communications/Secretary: Danielle Worsham, University of Maryland College Park
VP for Programming: DeMetra Crawford, Montgomery College
Treasurer: Otu Obot, Prince George’s Community College
Treasurer-Elect: Phaedra Brown, University of Maryland School of Nursing
VP for Membership & Technology: Sheena Jackson, University of Maryland School of Nursing
Standing Committees:
Legislation & Policy: Vacant
Awards & Resolutions: Vacant
Professional Development: Dr. Reginald Garçon, Washington Adventist University
Communications: Danielle Worsham, University of Maryland College Park
Local Arrangements & Program: Cassandra Moore, Anne Arundel Community College