Spring Newsletter, April 1, 2007
President's Letter NEACRAO Turns 60 What a milestone! NEACRAO, conceived in 1947 so officially a part of the baby-boomer era, is turning 60 this year. Just like so many of those reaching this age of change, reflection and growth, the organization is engaging in a revitalizing effort. In 1947 when we first gathered, the “Voice of America” began broadcasting in the Soviet Union and President Truman passed the “Truman Doctrine” in an effort to fight the spread of communism while today our battle is with terrorism and our men and women are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Saab produced its first automobile and today we are experimenting with new alternatives to fuel our vehicles. ENIAC, one of the first computers, weighed 27 tons and took up 1800 square feet. It had to be shut down to be refurbished and upgraded (okay -- so some things never change -- ). If you believe “life begins at 60” look to Ben Franklin who at 83 added to a long list of inventions with something every midlifer can use--bifocal glasses. The NEACRAO leadership recently put on some proverbial glasses to take a close look at how we have been doing, using both sides of the lenses to first focus on the past, so we could evaluate and take the best of it, and then to gaze forward toward creating a new and bright future. One wake up call we had was realizing the last conference at the Newport Marriott cost almost $20,000 more than the year before and we found our financial reserves were low. This prompted us to look at annual meeting costs over the last several years as well as attendance, membership, and budgets. The news is mixed; it comes as no great surprise that costs have been steadily rising even while we sometimes have more vendor requests than we can accommodate, loads of counselors coming to Reverse College Day, rave reviews on our keynote speakers, high ratings on the session presentations, and capacity attendance at summer workshops. We are committed to giving the membership what it needs and building on those strengths that only a regional organization can offer. To do this we needed to revisit our fee structure, look at ways to reduce costs, and make sure we were delivering services professionally and effectively. This is an ongoing process and we welcome feedback on any of the changes that we implement. So what I hope to communicate at this important juncture is that NEACRAO is strong at 60 and that the leadership invites you to join with us in celebrating and participating in this important year of reflection and rejuvenation. You will be seeing a new look, some new ideas, and new energy while we hold onto the traditions that have made us strong. The “60’s” is often referred to as the “second adulthood” when people reinvent themselves. It seems to be the time for NEACRAO to do the same, however, unlike an individual, it is a group process. So when you are asked to participate, your voice needs to be heard. This means: When your membership renewal arrives, renew immediately and update your contact information if necessary. When asked to facilitate a session, or nominate a colleague, or encourage someone else to join or participate in NEACRAO, please make the effort. If you have thoughts, ideas, suggestions for programming, or are willing to volunteer and are not sure where to start, please contact any of the NEACRAO officers (listed on our web page) and we will connect you with the right person(s). And come to Waterbury, Connecticut this November to join in our 60 th annual meeting and attend the President’s birthday party reception. There is an exciting program being developed, with many surprises to be announced later this year that should make the experience of networking and growing professionally well worth your while. Warm regards, Meredith Braz, NEACRAO President
		MARK YOUR CALENDARS! NEACRAO volunteers are hard at work planning for a very exciting annual meeting at the Connecticut Grand Hotel in Waterbury, CT. November 7-9, 2007
		NEACRAO Leadership Nominations for 2007-2008 NEACRAO leadership roles are now being accepted. If you have been an active, involved member of NEACRAO with leadership experience, and have an interest in serving, or know of a colleague who should be considered, please submit a nomination today.
		NEACRAO Announces Dues for 2007-2008 Membership: $200 (includes three individual members) Each additional individual member: $15 Early Bird Special--get $25 off the total bill if you pay within 90 days of the date on the invoice! Bills will be going out in early May to the designated member at your home institution. (To find out who that person is, go to NEACRAO's website. Your email address is your User ID. If you've forgotten your password, click the forgot password link and a new password will be mailed to you. Select "MEMBERS DIRECTORY" and then do an advanced search. Type in your home institution. The person who has a red asterisk after their name will be receiving the bill. If you think a different person should be receiving the bill, please contact Patti Stimpson, NEACRAO treasurer.
		IN THE NEWS ... On Our Campuses and in Our World of Higher Education AACRAO's Barmark Nassarian, Associate Executive Director, weighs in on the growing investigation of colleges’ ties to the lenders. See article "Cuomo's Smoking Gun" in the April 5th online edition of INSIDE ED. On May 23, Mr. Bush will be the commencement speaker at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, in New London, Conn. The president traditionally speaks at a different military-service academy each year. (the following are articles from the March 27, 2007 Chronicle of Higher Education) TECHNOLOGY FOR ACCOUNTABILITY New software helps colleges manage the mountains of data required to assess student learning and other measures of institutional effectiveness. ALUMNI PERK? The New York Times may get more than it bargained for by allowing people who have e-mail addresses that end with .edu free access to its subscription-only content.
		Just for fun Road Trip!! For a really offbeat look at the United States, visit this site and just soak up the pure campiness of it all ...http://www.roadsideamerica.com
ANNOUNCEMENTS: NEACRAO SUMMER WORKSHOPS TO FOCUS ON SAFETY AND SECURITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION The Committee on Ethics and Professional Development will be offering workshops over the summer that will have two components. The morning session will be a presentation using role playing and real life examples concerning safety and security in student services offices. The afternoon session will be a hands-on self defense demonstration taken from real life situations presented by the attendees. A self-defense professional will offer advice and techniques to ensure the safety of the staff members and others in the office. The presenter will also address office arrangement as it pertains to the safety of the office personnel. A session is currently planned for August 9 in Waterbury, CT. The exact location is yet to be determined. A second session is still in the planning process and will be offered somewhere in the New Hampshire area. These workshops will be geared toward the clerical staffs who work within any of the student services areas of higher education. Please keep an eye out for a brochure that will provide further details regarding the workshops. CONFERENCE: SYNTHESIS OF RESEARCH ON ADVANCED HIGH SCHOOL COURSEWORK IN SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS May 11, 2007, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Phillips Auditorium 60 Garden Street Cambridge, MA 02138 This NSF-sponsored conference will bring together researchers who have investigated various aspects of AP courses. The following scholars are scheduled to present their work: Barbara Dodd, University of Texas at Austin Chrys Dougherty, National Center for Educational Accountability Kristen Huff, The College Board Kristin Klopfenstein, Texas Christian University William Lichten, Yale University Pamela Paek, Charles A. Dana Center, University of Texas at Austin Philip Sadler, Harvard University Robert Tai, University of Virginia Kathleen Thomas, Mississippi State University This conference intends to initiate a dialogue between researchers and practitioner communities—high school science teachers, guidance counselors, college admissions officers—who might find the research results useful. Conference topics of particular interest to college admission officers include the equivalence of AP courses to college courses, and whether and how to adjust high school GPA by the level of courses taken. Conference attendance is free, but please register with us because space is limited. If you are interested, please contact Gerhard Sonnert, Ph.D. at gsonnert@cfa.harvard.edu by April 20.	David Pritchett Serving in Iraq For many of you familiar with AdAstra and its room scheduling and analytical software, you probably also know David Pritchett, their New England sales representative. David has been a frequent vendor at our conference for a number of years. David has been an active member of the Alabama National Guard, as you may have noticed by his always short haircut. In October 2006 David and his unit arrived in Iraq to begin their one-year tour of duty. Major David Pritchett commands the group known as Task Force Dragon and they are a security group who provide vital convoy and installation security support to coalition forces within Kuwait and Qatar. TF Dragon will be in Iraq until at least next October. The NEACRAO Council would like to send a care package to David and his unit from our members. If you’d like to have items included in our care package, please send them to me at: Susan Petrosino, Central CT State University, 1516 Stanley Street, New Britain, CT 06050 or you can bring items to the conference and we’ll send another package to support other troops still serving in Iraq. If you’d like to know the types of things that our soldiers are asking for, please go to the following website: http://www.asoldierswishlist.org/. Please keep in mind that chocolate melts as they are going into their hottest summer months in the dessert. But, M&M’s do melt in your mouth, not in the package! I’d like to ship our package(s) by June 15, so please send me any contributions by then. We’ll also welcome any contributions you bring to the November conference.
	Revolution Renewed! NEACRAO hosts AACRAO in Boston The theme of the 93th Annual Meeting of AACRAO in Boston was “Leading the Higher Education Revolution: Your Call to Action” and over 3,000 Registrars and Admissions Officers heeded the call, making it one of the largest AACRAO conferences to date. Mother nature held back the snow long enough for attendees to travel to the Hynes Convention Center in Beantown. President Angé Peterson welcomed attendees to Boston and the conference got underway on a humorous note Wednesday night with political satirist Mark Russell. Over the four days of the conference, attendees had over 250 workshops and sessions to choose from on a wide range of topics. For those unable to make the conference you’ll want to note that AACRAO has created a web site for members to download session handouts: go to www.aacrao.org/boston and click on the “Handout” link to the left. General Sessions on timely topics such as “Online Learning,” “Succession Planning,”“Globalization,” and a “Department of Education Update” gave attendees the latest information with which to think ahead strategically. A packed house greeted Emmy Award wining journalist Bill Moyers for his closing session entitled, “Whatever Happened to the American Dream?” Thanks go to Heather Smith and Louise Lonabocker, both past NEACRAO and AACRAO Presidents, and for this event, Co-Chairs for Volunteers. Heather and Louise noted that we had over 100 Volunteers to stuff tote bags, help at the Registration and Hospitality Booths and with signage and the Daily update. Special thanks go to Patti Stimpson, Donna Campbell, Mark Powers and Patrick Dwyer. Heather summed it up best, “The meeting was great, the speakers were great, and the weather could not have been any better. People loved Boston and our members couldn't have been more helpful or welcoming.” Clearly, it was a successful and memorable Annual Meeting!
FERPA Quiz You get a frantic phone call from an individual who says that he is a student's father and must get in touch with his daughter immdeiately because of a family emergency. Can you tell him when and where her next class is today? Yes. No. Click here for answer.		Tech Corner Camtasia from TechSmith is affordable, PC based video-editing software that makes creating high fidelity videos a breeze. If you want to capture an application session for training, this is a great tool for this purpose and fairly easy to learn. Click here to see how Williams College is using this software to explain online registration to students. If you have tips or tools of the trade that you would like to share with your NEACRAO colleagues, please email info to barbara.casey@williams.edu.
NEACRAO Newsletter, April 2007- Association Co-Editors: Barbara Casey, Williams College; Mary Meserve, Bates College @2007 The NEACRAO newsletter is published three times a year, in April, August and October. Contributions from members (articles, editorials, letters, re-prints-with permission-and drawings/cartoons) are welcomed. Please email items for publication to: Barbara Casey or Mary Meserve.