Pre-conference Workshops
AACRAO’s Technology & Transfer Conference kicked off in Austin, Texas with Part 1 of the Registrar 101 & FERPA Workshop on Saturday, July 11. Lara Medley, Colorado School of Mines and Kimra Schipporeit, University of Nebraska Kearney, led the Registrar 101 portion of the workshop, and shared with attendees the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to be successful in the registrar profession. FERPA Expert and AACRAO Senior Fellow, LeRoy Rooker, showed attendees how to apply FERPA within the context of their work. The trio continued the discussion on Sunday.
A new workshop on Reverse Transfer on Sunday morning attracted a standing room-only crowd. During their pre-conference workshop, Michelle Blackwell, University of North Carolina, Scott Owczarek, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Brenda Selman, University of Missouri, and Shelby Stanfield, University of Texas at Austin, reviewed the efforts underway in their respective states. Reverse transfer—a new hot button issue on many campuses—provides a means to award associate degrees to early-transfer students in a low-cost, scalable, and sustainable manner. The panelists discussed some of the challenges faced, the lessons learned, and creative ideas put in place to facilitate reverse transfer.
Extended Transcript Track
AACRAO, along with NASPA and other higher education groups, have been working to develop a framework for an “extended” transcript, which represents a broader range of educational experiences than are currently embodied by the academic transcript. Aseries of sessions will be presented at the conference, and participants have the opportunity to help review, refine, and finalize the extended transcript framework.
In the first session of the extended transcript framework project, presenters Tom Black, Stanford University, Mike Reilly, AACRAO, and Joellen Shendy, University of Maryland-University College discussed the sessions in Extended Transcript Track. "We're not just working on an extended transcript, but a comprehensive student record," said Reilly.
Following that session was a discussion led by Joellen Shendy and Rodney Parks of Elon University on experiential transcripts and competency reports from a registrar perspective.
Opening Plenary: The ACCelerator: Providing an Innovative Way to Teach and Learn
The 2015 Technology & Transfer Conference opening plenary on Sunday afternoon was delivered by Stacey Güney, Director – Highland Campus ACCelerator, Austin Community College. Güney spoke tabout the vision, challenges, operation, and results of the campus’s learning center. [Read our full interview with her here.]
Opened in Fall 2014, the Highland Campus of Austin Community College is home to the ACCelerator, a 32,000-square-foot high-tech learning lab and the world’s largest “learning emporium,” which provides access to 600+ computer stations for individualized learning. The central computer lab, which is the highlight of the facility,has already served over 7,000 unique students in over 80,000 visits. The immersion of student services throughout all aspects of this new environment has resulted in a state-of-the art center for innovative learning, training excellence, and community. Learn more about the ACCelerator in the AACRAO Connect interview with Stacey Güney.
Welcoming Our Attendees to Austin
Immediately following the opening plenary, attendees were treated to an opening reception in the exhibit hall. While sampling food and drinks, attendees were able to preview the exhibit hall and learn about the most useful, cutting-edge, and cost-effective products for their institutions.
Stay alerted on conference updates and contribute to meeting discussions by downloading AACRAO Engage, available on your iPhone or Android devices, or use our conference hashtag “#aacrao” on Twitter.