2025 NASPA Conferences on Student Success in Higher Education

• General Interest (50 minutes): The most common educational opportunity at the virtual conference usually consists of presenting a program, data, research, or theoretical concept, followed by audience questions and a brief discussion.

• Learning Lab (30 minutes): Designed to give participants actionable ideas and tools to take back to their campus. Presenters will share ideas for 20 minutes and 10 minutes for questions.

• Scholarly Papers (50 minutes): Provide an opportunity for presenters (usually 1-2 scholarly papers are presented in a panel setting) to briefly share a synopsis and critical findings from scholarly documents during a 50-minute education session. Scholarly papers often focus on the results of quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods studies or report the findings of studies that use historical and philosophical methods.

• Emerging Research Symposium (50 minutes): Provide an opportunity for presenters to share and discuss work-in-progress research in an informal dialogic setting. Presenters can use this space to gain feedback and insight to expand or receive feedback on their research, regardless of the research project stage. 50-minute sessions will consist of no more than two research projects. Each research project will have 15 minutes to discuss their work with 10 minutes for discussion. Presenters are encouraged to provide resources with a brief research project overview. Powerpoint presentations are not required.

• Emerging Research Symposium (75 minutes): Provide an opportunity for presenters to share and discuss work-in-progress research in an informal dialogic setting. Presenters can use this space to gain feedback and insight to expand or receive feedback on their research, regardless of the research project stage. 75-minute sessions will consist of no more than three research projects. Each research project will have 15 minutes to discuss their work with 10 minutes for discussion. Presenters are encouraged to provide resources with a brief research project overview. Powerpoint presentations are not required. 

• Roundtable Discussion (50 minutes): Less formal ways to engage other attendees around a central topic or program area. Roundtable discussion sessions will be held concurrently throughout the event in a specific space. Facilitators usually briefly introduce a topic (5-10 minutes) and then lead a discussion with several prompting questions.

• Extended Learning (75 minutes): This format provides additional time for audience engagement or discussion. It is also appropriate for panel discussions, skill demonstrations, practice, or multi-institutional case study presentations. There are a limited number of extended general interest session opportunities.

• Product Educational Session (50 minutes): Third-party organizations and companies have an opportunity to present relevant educational content to conference attendees. Presentations typically include institutional partners sharing educational practices or technology.

• Pre-conference Workshop (Half-day, 3-hour): Half-day workshops are offered before the beginning of the conference and are designed as highly specialized opportunities to discuss and engage in a specific topic or program. Participants must pre-register for an additional fee.

• Pre-conference Workshop (Full-day, 6-hour): These are full-day programs held prior to the conference. They are usually coordinated directly with the applicable conference committee or a related NASPA constituent group. Full-day pre-conference workshops require participants to pre-register for an additional fee.

Meetings and Networking Events Space Request: NASPA Constituent Groups, Knowledge Communities, and/or Divisions are welcome to submit a space request for meetings, networking events, or receptions. Please note that space is limited at the conference venue, and not all requests can be guaranteed a meeting space.

Program reviewers rely on a well-written description to enhance their understanding of the presentation's content and goals. The conference planning committees encourage program proposals with proven practices and content that will engage participants in fruitful discussions and provide meaningful content for them to bring back to their campuses.

Successful proposals should include: 

• A lengthy description of the session content that you will present.

• Your program must align with the conference themes outlined in 'Conference Themes & Learning Outcomes.' This alignment will guide your presentation and ensure it contributes to the overall conference objectives. Identification of the program format (e.g., lecture, panel, debate), including methods for participant involvement (e.g., discussion, effective practice sharing, case study analysis).

• Discussions of replicability: to what extent can the information presented in this program be replicated at other institutions?

• Evidence of the conceptual foundation for proposal content, including ways the program content is grounded in research, relevant experience, a cogent model, or appropriate theory.

• Program proposals should clearly connect to the research, framework, model, or theory discussed in them.

• References to relevant research, models, or theory must be listed in the "References" section. 

Follow the Program Submission Guidelines for additional tips.

For questions about proposal submission, contact SSHE – sshe@naspa.org.

Refunds will be given for cancellations less a $50.00 processing fee. Cancellation/refund deadline less a $50.00 administrative fee is Friday, April 25, 2025. In addition, a processing fee of $50.00 per registration will be charged for credit cards declined. Please allow 30 business days for processing. To inquire about the status of a refund after 10 business days, please send an email to refund@naspa.org.

Substitutions are allowed by individuals within the same institution/company. Substitutions should have the same member classification so that the payment is an even exchange transfer of payment. Additional charges may apply if the membership status is not the same. Please email your request for the substitute attendee to refund@naspa.org.

Please note, individual NASPA memberships are non-refundable and non-transferable.

Additional registration questions? Please contact the NASPA office at 202-265-7500 or via e-mail to registration@naspa.org. For a comprehensive listing of NASPA registration policies, please visit this page.

Looking for make the case to use your professional development funding toward attending the NASPA Conferences on Student Success? 

The justification letter templates below will provide you with a starting point to outline the benefits of attending NASPA Conferences on Student Success, including the benefits for you, your colleagues, students and campus. We are confident this will help you get one step closer to joining us in Boston. 

• Download the Template for Members
• Download the Template for Non-Members

Not sure if you are a member? email membership@naspa.org to find out.