New England Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers

Spring Newsletter, April 9, 2009

President's Letter

Greetings!

It’s so nice to welcome spring again!  As I write this, I can’t help but think that spring is the time we experience warmth and renewal as we delve into the detail of our daily work…early registration, orientation planning, commencement planning, and next fall’s enrollments!  Ah…the cyclical routine is comforting indeed! Hopefully somewhere along the line you’ll be able to plan and take a vacation!

A few weeks ago, the Executive Board and Council met to discuss goals and objectives for the upcoming year to include agenda items such as: planning for 2009 – 2011 annual meetings, increasing communications with NEACRAO members, promoting an increase in member participation, offering greater professional development opportunities, and keeping dues and meeting costs low. One of our major topics of discussion was to confirm our location for the annual meeting this year.  We are pleased to announce that the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland, Maine will be the location of the next annual meeting on November 4, 5, and 6, 2009.  Please save the dates!!

We also had to decide the location of our 2010 and 2011 annual meetings.  After having our 2008 and 2009 annual meetings in “northern” New England (north of the Massachusetts border), the board decided to meet in southern New England for the next two years… and hope to establish that pattern of meeting places going forward…two north, two south.  We’re very excited to announce that the 2010 and 2011 meetings are confirmed for the Newport Marriott in Rhode Island.  The executive Board and Council are excited about visiting Portland, Maine for the first time this fall, and returning to Newport next year! 

The 2008 annual meeting in Manchester was a success!  Our thanks go out to the Council members, our presenters, our exhibitors and you – our members for your participation and attendance.  Now that we’ve all had time to settle back into our routines after the annual meeting, I hope each of you has taken time to reflect on what was helpful to you at the conference, and hopefully, incorporate some of those things into your daily work. Additionally, I invite you to reflect upon the benefits of attending our meeting and becoming involved in our volunteer organization!  I invite you to contact any of our members to learn more about how you can contribute and benefit.  Here’s our team:

Executive Board:

 

President:

Irene Rios (Albertus Magnus College)

Immediate Past President:

Patrick Sullivan (UMass Amherst)

President-Elect:

Kathy Posey (Bennington College)

Secretary:

Linda Kean (Babson College)

Treasurer:

Donald Dykes (US Coast Guard Academy)

VP Professional Development:

Susan Petrosino (Central CT State University)

VP Registration and Records:

Anita McFarlane (Endicott College)

VP Admissions/Enrollment Mgt:

Mary Dunn (Salem State College)

Editor/Webmaster:

Barbara Casey (Williams College)

Archivist/Parliamentarian:

Charlie Toomajian (Williams College)

 

 

Program Chairs:

 

Reverse College Day:

Karen Schedin (Becker College)

 

Marcia Rosbury-Henne (Holyoke Community College)

Registration:

Patti Stimpson (University of New Hampshire)

 

Ari Kaufman (Berklee College of Music)

Local Arrangements:

Mary Meserve (Bates College)

 

Ozzie Smith (Berklee College of Music)

Exhibits:

Dan Schockley (Roger Williams University)

 

Cori Nevers (Sacred Heart University)

Program:

Benet Phillips (Saint Anselm College)

 

Keith Ingalls (Springfield College)

 

NEACRAO is an organization completely run by volunteers.  Thank you all for your work and dedication!

 

Finally, if you are attending the AACRAO Conference in Chicago in the next few days, be sure to contact Kathy Posey at Bennington College (kposey@bennington.edu).  She is organizing a meet and greet gathering for NEACRAOans attending the conference.

 

Until next time…

Be well!

Irene.

Irene Rios

Irene Rios, NEACRAO President

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

2009 Annual Meeting
& Reverse College Day
Portland, ME
NOVEMBER 4-6, 2009

portlandBuilding on over 60 years of experience as a leader in higher education, our 62nd annual meeting will be held November 4-6, 2009 in Portland, Maine at the Holiday Inn By the Bay, the largest convention facility in the state. Winner of many Awards, the hotel ranks in the top 10% of Holiday Inns around the globe.

Portland is an old seacoast town. It is also a funky city filled with galleries, one-of-kind boutiques and shops, and incredible restaurants serving everything from New England clam chowder, lobster rolls and Maine seafood to nouvelle cuisine.

Portland stands as one of the few working waterfronts left in the United States, acting as New England’s largest tonnage seaport and second largest fishing port.

Portland is Maine’s largest city with 66,000 full time residents; however it swells to 2 million if one includes annual visitors and part-time residents.

At every turn, Portland is an experience for everyone.

Hope to see you there!

Barmak Nassirian, Associate Executive Director of AACRAO has agreed to be the KEYNOTE SPEAKER at NEACRAO’s 2009 Annual Meeting, Portland, ME
NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Barmak Nassirian has served as Associate Executive Director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) since 1998. Nassirian has been active in higher education policy for nearly two decades, focusing on access and financing issues, educational privacy, and federal regulations.

 

He is regular speaker at AACRAO’s annual meeting. For those of you who have not had the opportunity to hear him speak, you are in for a treat!

 

AACRAO News

 

LEROY ROOKER RETIRES FROM U.S. EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

The renowned LeRoy Rooker, Director of the Family Policy Compliance Office at the U.S. Department of Education will retire after more than two decades of distinguished service. LeRoy is best known to the NEACRAO community for his FERPA presentations at our annual meetings as well as numerous workshops throughout all regions. LeRoy asked AACRAO to pass along the following message: “As the saying goes, All good things must come to an end. It is hard to believe that 21 wonderful years as Director of FPCO have gone by so quickly. In recent years, my sons, Ron and Stephen, have grown up much too quickly as well, and I determined awhile back to spend more time with them before they embark on their college adventures. That decision, of course, means some changes for me. Having completed the arduous process of publishing the new FERPA regulations in December, this seemed to be the moment to make my move to new but less time-consuming career challenges. Consequently, January 3, 2009, is my last day in my capacity as director. As I think back on the highlights of my time at FPCO, I am especially grateful for the many friendships I have gained through my interaction with the wonderful AACRAO community. There are far too many for me to express my appreciation individually for their years of friendship; consequently, I would appreciate your forwarding this email to the AACRAO membership. I am looking forward to staying involved with the education community and continuing those friendships. I will provide more details in the near future. In the meantime, my new email address is rooker.ferpa@gmail.com.  Thanks again for being such great friends.”

 

Reminder:

A new development since the annual meeting is that the updated FERPA regulations were released. If you haven’t already had the chance to view them, the AACRAO website has a nice summary available (click here to view): These changes will definitely impact how we conduct business, so you will want to make sure that you review the changes.

NEACRAO—A REMINDER ABOUT WHO WE ARE

The New England Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers was founded in 1947 and is a regional organization of AACRAO, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. NEACRAO is a professional organization open to registrars and admissions officers in any accredited college, university, or other post-secondary institution in New England. The purpose of the Association, as noted in the bylaws, shall be to "promote the advancement of education, particularly higher education, and the professional enhancement of administrative areas of higher education pertaining to admissions, records, registration, and closely related functions such as financial aid and institutional research, among institutions of higher learning."

Getting Involved in NEACRAO

NEACRAO places a special emphasis on getting its membership involved in the association. NEACRAOans serve as session presenters, session facilitators, work on program committees, or serve on the Executive Board. These provide wonderful professional development opportunities to members and also give the organization a continuous supply of experienced members from which to elect its leadership. Getting involved is easy. Just submit the interest form to volunteer for a committee. Committee Interest forms are available online.

 

Benefits of Getting Involved…

 

BEST PRACTICES

Many of the presentations at the annual meeting demonstrate practices that have been successfully implemented. You will benefit from information sure to generate ideas you can use

right away.

 

PEER-TO-PEER LEARNING

Most sessions at the annual meeting are developed and presented by your peers -- professionals who are passionate about the roles we have in the management of higher education. Question periods and cracker barrels give you the opportunity to discuss how your colleagues handle issues you have in

common.

 

GETTING INVOLVED

NEACRAO is a volunteer organization. Committees are always looking for new members to join. The ideas and efforts that lead to successful meeting sessions and move our organization forward come from the many members who volunteer their time and energy. Committee service is also a great way to get to know your colleagues throughout the region.

 

TRENDS

What's next and why? Working on developing a presentation or serving on a panel gives you

a chance to interact with and gain insight from experienced practitioners and leaders in our field. You'll get the future perspective you need to act wisely.

 

NETWORKING

You are not alone! NEACRAO is an active, vibrant community with members from large universities to small community colleges throughout the six New England states. It's your chance to add new

contacts to your collegial network.

 

HANDS-ON SOLUTIONS

The Exhibitors at our annual meeting are a valuable complement to the conference program. Our exhibitors work closely with higher education institutions and are eager to help you find

the best practical solutions to your administrative challenges.

 

COLLEGIAL ENVIRONMENT

The NEACRAO Annual Meeting is unlike other events where the pace is hectic without time during the conference for interpersonal opportunities. That's why so many of our attendees return year after year. They enjoy the collegial atmosphere and appreciate the easy access to presenters and exhibitor representatives.

(contributed by MSACROA 2009)

 

 

AACRAO in Chicago
April 13-16, 2009

Charting the Path to Institutional and Student Success

In the past, NEACRAO has hosted receptions at the AACRAO conferences. Unfortunately, this is not something we can do this year. However we would like to see our NEACRAO friends who are able to attend the conference. On Wednesday, April 15 at 6:15 pm, Kathy Posey, President-Elect of NEACRAO,  invites you to gather together with fellow New Englanders in the lobby of the Hilton Chicago. At that time we can gather in groups to make plans for the evening. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact her (kposey@bennington.edu))!

NEACRAO Dues for 2009-2010 Remain the Same as Last Year!

Membership: $225 (includes three individual members)
Each additional individual member: $15.

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 Co-Chair, Registration.

IN THE NEWS ...
On Our Campuses and in Our World of Higher Education

Community Colleges Anticipate Boom in Baby-Boomer Students  (April 6, 2009, Chronicles of Higher Education)

Community-College Leaders Confront a Challenge: Enrollments Are Up but Money Isn't -  (April 5, 2009, Chronicles of Higher Education)

Academic Ethics in a Cut-and-Paste World (April 6, 2009, Chronicles of Higher Education)

NEACRAO Leadership in 2009-2010

Nominations for 2009-2010 NEACRAO leadership roles are now being accepted:

·        President-Elect

·        Vice President Professional Development

·        Nominations and Elections Committee

 

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 Newsletter, April 2009- Association Editor: Barbara Casey, Williams College, Williamstown, MA 01267

The NEACRAO newsletter is published three times a year, in Spring, Summer and Fall. Contributions from members (articles, editorials, letters, re-prints-with permission-and drawings/cartoons) are welcomed. Please email items for publication to: Barbara Casey.