NEACRAO 2026 Sessions at a Glance

Note: Sessions listed are as of July 31 - proposals are still being submitted and reviewed. Sessions are listed in no particular order. Times and locations will be published in the program as we approach the conference.

Session Topic	Presenter(s)	Description
Education Abroad Course Approvals: UMass Amherst Case Study	Claire Novotny, Global Education Registrar, University of Massachusetts Amherst	In response to the need to reduce approval time and errors and to create an auditable system that can integrate with transfer credit, I led the UMass Amherst Office of Global Affairs in designing and launching a campus-wide platform for collecting and storing study-abroad course approvals. This session presents a concise case study of that initiative: the institutional problem that was addressed, the cross-campus collaboration and design process, the technical and policy decisions, the rollout/training approach, and the initial outcomes. Attendees will learn how the study abroad course approval workflow designed, how the technology was selected, how campus-wide training and rollout were executed, and how phase two—integrating approvals into the transfer-credit process—will proceed. The session includes concrete examples, process maps and screenshots, and metrics tracked (turnaround time, approval accuracy, staff hours saved), plus practical lessons for institutions contemplating a similar effort.
Communication 9-1-1: Registrar and the Faculty	Kristy Berg, Ph.D., Associate Registrar, Drexel University Quinn Cunningham, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Rider University	Is your program struggling with enrollment? Do you get resistance from faculty not wanting to utilize your degree audit system? Do students have a hard time making their way through your curriculum? Do you and your faculty/department find it difficult to make changes and update your program requirements? Do you need help with degree audit scribing? If you answered YES to any of these questions, we could be the answer you have been looking for. This session will help you: articulate the faculty perspective; recognize friction points in shared academic workflows (e.g., where communication breaks down and why these gaps occur; i.e., catalog edits, program requirements); learn proactive communication strategies for initiating clear and timely communication with faculty; reframe your role as a collaborative partner; and you will be able to draft at least one concrete action step towards improving communication on your campus.
Making the Invisible Work Visible: Practical Process Documentation for Registrar Offices	Donovan King, Assistant Registrar, Wellesley College	Registrar offices manage complex work that depends on a variety of factors all working together in perfect harmony timing: accuracy, policy knowledge, system fluency, and good judgment. Yet many recurring processes somehow rely on a combination of hard earned institutional knowledge and a collection of administrative muscle memory. It is a testament to the people who do this work day in and day out that so much is done so well in these situations, but couldn't it be better for everyone? This session will offer a practical approach to making registrar work more consistent, teachable, and resilient. Drawing from my experience working across K-12 administration, adult education, and higher education registrar operations, I will share methods for identifying vulnerable workflows, documenting process steps, clarifying ownership, building usable checklists, and creating lightweight quality-control points that reduce avoidable errors. This session will also address responsible ways to use AI as a drafting and organizing assistant for internal documentation, while keeping data, policy, and final judgment firmly in human hands. Attendees will leave with a starter framework they can use immediately to convert one undocumented or under-documented process into a clearer, more reliable operations resource.
Data, Process, Teamwork, and Deployment: Honest Lessons from an SIS Deployment	Karri Van Blarcom, Senior Associate Registrar, Wesleyan University, [email protected] Chris Barrett, Workday Student Analyst, Wesleyan University, [email protected]	Implementing or thinking of implementing a new student information system (SIS)? Come hear our hard-earned lessons about what is inevitably a complex, transformative, and rarely linear process involving corners of the campus you never imagined. Drawing from the dual perspectives of registrar and IT teams, this session will explore the realities of preparing for and navigating an SIS implementation—from data quality (spoiler: your data is probably not as clean as you think) and business process redesign to academic regulations, cross-functional collaboration, governance, and change management. Participants will gain practical guidance on what to prioritize early, common pitfalls to avoid, and how flexibility and thoughtful planning can help institutions adapt when surprises arise. We’ll share what worked, what we would approach differently if starting from scratch, and actionable insights to support a successful SIS implementation journey.
Our Transfer Credit Portal ... soup to nuts on what it is and how we did it!	Patrick Sullivan, Registrar, University of Massachusetts Amherst Janet Danylieko, Associate Registrar for Degree Completion and Transfer Credit, University of Massachusetts Amherst	UMass Amherst has transformed our business processes using new tools to speed processing of transfer credits. We will detail what we found when we looked under the hood of our old process and our metamorphosis from less than wonderful to state of the art. We will cover new tools we implemented, the challenges we encountered, and lessons learned along the way.
Registrar Roundtable
Making it Personal	Michelle Mahoney, Senior Admissions Counselor, Mount Wachusett Community College; Kurtis Graeff, Senior Admissions Counselor, Mount Wachusett Community College	Session Description: Learn how admissions can create a personalized experience for students during the enrollment process. From first outreach through course registration and beyond. Through real examples and collaborative discussion, attendees will learn practical strategies for making admissions more personal while still using data to improve efficiency and student retention. Learning Outcomes: -Gain understanding of best practices in creating an individualized experience for students -Learn how to create personalized events focused on admissions and recruitment with the goal of improving student engagement and retention in the enrollment process Topics Covered: 1) Personalized Outreach and Engagement Call campaigns- hear directly from admissions staff Providing different meeting/info session options such as in person, Zoom, and phone Meeting perspective students in the community to meeting in the admissions office 2) Individualized Events on Campus Hosting high school groups and CBOs Rebranding event names “VIP Visit Day!” Communication campaigns Personally calling perspective students to attend events 3) Using our CRM to Communicate more Efficiently Supporting students from inquiry to application and registration Cross departmental CRM for internal communications and tracking Using CRM for data tracking to easily look at what a student still needs to complete in the enrollment process 4) Going Beyond Standard Admissions Responsibilities Admissions Counselor/Coordinator unofficial specialties Warm hand offs to other offices on campus Course registration- partnership with the Advising department 5) Real Stories: The Impact of Personalization Examples of successful student outcomes 6) Breakout Session & Discussion Reflection question: How do you make students feel welcomed, supported, and connected? Share with your group how you and your institution create personalized experiences for students. Discuss what strategies have been successful, what challenges you face, and one idea or practice you would like to bring back and implement after this conference.
CRM implementation soup to nuts	Jon DiNuzzo, Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Admissions, Bridgewater State University
Admissions Roundtable
Making the Grade: Securing and Navigating your First Role in Management	Walter Wrigley, Associate Registrar, Boston College	This session is intended for both registrar and admissions professionals who would like to become managers or who were recently promoted into management. It will touch on ways to prepare for management early on in your career, ways to earn a spot in management, and how to succeed as a first-time manager. It will be a presentation but will require audience participation to encourage engagement.
Inclusion by Design: Navigating Institutional Belonging and Student Persistence in a Shifting Higher Education Landscape	Stephanie Akunvabey, AVP of Opportunity & Institutional Excellence, Pace University	Higher Education institutions are navigating increasing complexity: evolving political climates, shifting student demographics, heightened public scrutiny, enrollment pressures, and growing student needs. In this enivronment, institutions are searching for ways to remain inclusive while also balancing compliance, operational realities, and institutional mission. This session explores what it means to remain student-centered and inclusion-focused in the current moment. Participants will examine how institutional assumptions, operational structures, and competing pressures can unintentionally create barriers for students, particularly first-generation, working, parenting, internationals, and underrepresented communities. Success in this climate requires intentional collaboration across admissions, registrar, advising, financial aid, and student affairs to build support systems that support both student persistence and institutional sustainability. Participants will learn practical strategies for advancing inclusive practices while sustaining institutional effectiveness.
Herding Robots: Keeping Up with AI as Policy Chases Practice	Eric LePage, Assistant Vice President of AI & EdTech Innovations, Bridgewater State University	Somebody on your campus is using AI right now. Possibly in the next cubicle. The question isn't whether AI is on your campus, it's how we guide responsible adoption. Join Eric LePage, Assistant Vice President of AI & EdTech Innovation at Bridgewater State University, for a candid, upbeat look at how BSU developed its Administrative Use of AI Policy, why "version 1.0" is never the end of your policy story, and how the university is channeling the vibe-coding boom into useful campus apps while keeping confidential and FERPA data safe. You'll leave with practical policy ideas, real examples of day-to-day AI use, and a chance to share how your institution is navigating its own version of Mr. Toad’s Wild AI Ride!