By Alex Lojko, AACRAO Director, Membership and Operations
As the 109th AACRAO Annual Meeting came to a close on Wednesday, April 10th, several of the conference’s first-time attendees sat down to share some valuable feedback on their experiences. The roundtable discussion was led by Sasha Suzuki, Associate University Registrar at Wake Forest University and Chair of the Member Engagement Committee, alongside Molly McDermott-Fallon, Assistant Vice Provost and University Registrar at the University of Cincinnati and Co-Chair of Volunteers for Columbus. With first-time attendees making up almost one-third of the meeting’s total attendance, giving attendees a direct line of feedback to the AACRAO staff, Board, and Program Committee is more important than ever.
One topic on nearly everyone’s mind was socialization and networking. It can be difficult for first-time attendees to get started at the meeting, especially if they are the only attendees from their institution. While there was positive discussion of opportunities to connect in the Whova app, some reported that the multitude of community posts and discussion threads for meeting colleagues could be overwhelming. First-time attendees suggested more structured events, particularly during meal times, to meet new people and allow conversations to continue beyond the session room.
First-Timer Events
There was also a discussion on Experience AACRAO, an event held on Sunday that welcomes first-time attendees in a college fair-style venue that introduces them to AACRAO’s engagement opportunities. This event is itself a product of feedback received from members over the years on making the conference more accessible for first-time attendees. The first-timers at the roundtable spoke highly of the event, commenting that it was a helpful introduction to the association and an easy way to learn directly from AACRAO staff and the members involved in the various caucuses and committees.
As far as the sessions themselves, the first-time attendees made it clear that they valued discussion, adding that it was one of the major driving factors for attending an in-person conference. There were suggestions that more sessions adopt a workshop feel as it would allow for more specific questions to be addressed. It would ensure that a wide variety of perspectives could be represented, as a presentation may only be targeted to one type of institution. From presentations of all types, however, it was clear that the roundtable attendees had plenty of takeaways from the sessions, with some commenting on the long lists of changes and improvements they would be taking back to their offices.
Your feedback continues to strengthen our association, and we encourage all attendees to complete the post-meeting survey. The AACRAO staff and Program Committee will review it in preparation for next year’s Annual Meeting in Seattle.