Whether you are new to the profession, looking for reinforcement in foundational concepts, or diving deep into the minutiae of challenges commonly faced by Registrar and Admissions professionals, AACRAO's 107th Annual Meeting is the perfect place
to collaborate with your worldwide network of higher education peers.
We caught up with two of our session presenters, Opal Bartzis, Executive Director of Study Abroad at Michigan State University, hosting Study Abroad 101 for Registrars, and Robert Watkins, Special Assistant to the Director at the University
of Texas at Austin, hosting his session Three Year Degrees: Not All Are Created Equal. These sessions are an excellent choice for first-time attendees and experienced members alike. Ms. Bartzis commented on her session saying:
The “Study Abroad 101 for Registrars" has informally become a standard part of the AACRAO Annual Meeting program, as it gives those who are new to registrar’s offices or who may be experienced but are new to study abroad registration and transcripting the basic tools and information needed to successfully support their students and institutions.
Ms. Bartzis will be co-presenting with Tim Burge, University of Nebraska. They will provide attendees with various publications, useful groups, listservs, and other resources to help new higher education professionals navigate study abroad programs
at their institutions.
Ms. Bartzis also outlined the importance of study abroad participation with students and its effect on student engagement, saying:
Research has demonstrated direct connections between participation in study abroad and student engagement, which leads to persistence and on-time graduation, so the benefits are many. And, even though the pandemic has certainly presented challenges to the physical mobility that has been inherent to traditional study abroad programs, many institutions are finding ways to enable programs to carefully move forward in selected locations and are also engaging with innovative forms of global learning such as virtual international internships and domestic study-away programs that include intercultural competencies. The “Study Abroad 101 for Registrars” session presents an opportunity to explore all of these things while sharpening skills with colleagues.
For attendees interested in credential evaluation and international content, Mr. Watkins' session Three Year Degrees: Not All Are Created Equal explores the philosophy behind three-year degrees and their acceptability for admission. Additionally,
this session presents the latest research on the topic, provides guidance for making informed decision-making, and enables attendees to make informed decisions when encountering these degrees.
Mr. Watkins elaborated on his session saying:
In addition to discussing the differences between three-year and four-year degrees for graduate study, Kelly Sumner and I will also describe how three-year degrees can differ from each other. These differences may dictate how evaluators may well approach them differently in terms of policy decisions. Finally, we will also take a look at how some four-year degrees ‘masquerade’ as three-year degrees! We hope to see a lot of our colleagues in Portland!
Interested in learning more about these and other sessions presented at AACRAO's 107th Annual Meeting? Visit our searchable program to explore more than 300 sessions.