SACRAO SPRING 2021 NEWSLETTER

SACRAO| SPRING 2021

SPRING 2021 NEWSLETTER Southern Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers

Message from the President

WHAT'S INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Happy Spring! 2021 is flying by! I'm sure that by now, the Spring semester is winding down for everyone. The COVID-19 vaccine is widely available, and return to normal

is

looking

a

bit

familiar.

In-person

commencement activities are back, pass/fail grading

Message from the President Message from the PresidentElect

has taken a back seat, remote learning, and remote

Message from the Past

work are declining each day, as most of us return to

President

work. In fact, our institutions are now preparing for

Treasurer's Report

the Fall 2021 semester that looks a lot more like Fall

Honorary Members

2019. When thinking back to one year ago, we were

In Memorium

just starting to realize personally and professionally what

was

registrar

coming

our

professionals,

way. new

As

admissions

challenges

and

arose,

FACRAO on the Go OACRAO asks, "What Mask Do

disguising themselves as opportunities to stretch our

You Wear?"

collective wisdom and solve problems we had not even

Call for Articles, Journal

thought of before. If your institution is anything like

Board Editors

mine,

your

service

as

admissions

and

registrar

professionals played a large part in guiding it through the pandemic. Like always, we all play the role of

Call for awards and recognition

quietly but transparently meeting the demands and

Save the Date

responsibilities of our respective areas. Thankfully, we

2021-2022 SACRAO Executive

have our SACRAO colleagues to lean on and an

Committee

organization that promotes service and sharing.

SACRAO| SPRING 2021

Our first-ever SACRAO virtual conference is officially over, but like the year 2020, not forgotten! The SACRAO 2021 Goodwill Conference emphasized the commitment of service to the organization by the entire Executive Committee.

In an unprecedented year, resilience and a renewed appreciation for family, homes, jobs, health, and life have prevailed.

SACRAO is no exception, as we were able to offer a free virtual conference.

While we did not offer the usual 90+ concurrent sessions, we did preserve many of the great things about our in-person conference, including 18 great concurrent sessions, two outstanding plenary sessions, numerous

forums,

opening

session,

town

hall,

business meeting, many corporate partner sessions, as well as a strong corporate partner presence. Despite the uncharted territory for the Executive Committee, with lots of hard work by many people, the SACRAO

If you have not taken time to access the conference video recordings, you still can! Log in to the SACRAO website.

Under "2021 Conference" click "Program 2021" and navigate to the session you want to view. Sessions that are available will have an active link. A few sessions are

Goodwill Conference of 2021 was a success!

not

available,

due

to

technical

difficulties. We hope the recordings will I would like to thank once again all the countless individuals that gave so willingly of their time to plan, organize, present, and attend the first-ever virtual conference. The SACRAO Program Vice-Presidents worked tirelessly with their committee chairs and the chairs with their respective committees through a tremendous amount of uncertainty and brought great sessions to the 2021 conference. Many thanks to Blake Bedsole, Megan Mitchell, Tennyson Smith, Cynthia Terry, and Edward Trombley. I would also like to thank our many corporate partners who stood by us this

year

by

presenting

sessions

and

providing

provide continued benefits for you and serve as a reference. We are indebted to the

institutions

represented

on

the

Executive Committee for providing Zoom and Teams capability for offering the conference. Thanks to the University of Kentucky, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, University, School

of

North Virginia Medicine,

Carolina Tech Texas

State

Carilion State

University, and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

sponsorships to support the conference. Many thanks to

Hope

Reynolds

for

masterfully

managing

the

corporate partners for the 2020 and 2021 conferences.

We can blame the pandemic for lots of things that “fell through the proverbial cracks”, but to miss an opportunity to

To make the conference available for those who were unable to attend, we posted session recordings to our website. Another first for SACRAO!

recognize the outstanding presenter for the 2020 conference in Alexandria, VA,

SACRAO| SPRING 2021

is inexcusable, especially since our members and others give of their time to prepare and present at SACRAO. I’m hopeful that this individual knows how valued she is by SACRAO. The President's Outstanding Presentation Award goes to Brenda Schumann from the University of Texas at Austin, for her presentation “Planning for the Future: Office Succession Planning.”

Other SACRAO members were presented with awards at the SACRAO 2021, as well as those honored for their selfless service to the organization. Be sure you check out the rest of the Newsletter!

Your

Program

Vice

Presidents,

Chairs,

and

Committee Members are hard at work developing

If you have a suggested topic or wish to

another outstanding program for you in Little Rock,

participate in a session, you don't need to

AR, in 2022, but they need your help and input.

have the entire session proposal together,

Please take a moment and reach out, if you can

but it would be helpful to the program

assist in any of the following ways.

planners to know what topics are of interest

and

whether

you'd

like

to

You would like to be a presenter for the

participate. At this stage, it is just a

upcoming

a

proposal or idea. The program planning

contact

team will be reviewing submissions in

session

annual

meeting.

proposal,

Please

providing

your

submit

information, session title, and brief description.

late June.

You would like to participate as a panelist.

Please submit a session proposal, providing your

There were many great takeaways from

contact information, the contact information of

the 2021 conference that we hope to build

your fellow panelists, session title, and brief

on this year and future conferences. One

description.

of

You have an idea for a presentation. Please

capability that allowed us to deliver the

provide the details of your idea. And, we'll work

conference content and gave so many

on developing further.

across our Southern Association region

You would like to be a facilitator, introducing

the opportunity to attend. Another is the

the speaker(s), monitoring time, and otherwise

commitment

assisting.

presenters

Please

provide

your

contact

which

is

the

to that

Zoom

and

timely speak

Teams

topics

to

our

and higher

information.

education focus and the broader issues

You would like to be a member of a program or

facing our country. Many thanks to Doug

standing committee. Please complete the I'm

Shapiro

Available form (login required) or reach out to

Clearinghouse

Jonathan Reece, President-Elect.

French from Wake Forest University.

from

the and

National Dr.

T.

Student Nathaniel

SACRAO| SPRING 2021

ANOTHER PLUG! If you are interested in getting

The Program Vice-Presidents, Program

more involved with SACRAO, please complete the

Chairs,

I'm Available Form online. It is only through your

Members are already hard at work

involvement that we are successful!

developing

and

Program

a

presentations

strong for

our

Committee schedule

2022

of

Annual

Finally, I look forward to seeing each of you in

Meeting in Little Rock, AR. There are

person in Little Rock, AR, February 6-9, 2022,

lots of opportunities for discussing staff

where

The

mental

health,

Executive Committee will be meeting in late June to

student

success,

plan the conference program, so you will begin to

processes as we move away from 2020.

see more conference details this summer. Thanks to

As awful as 2020 and the start of 2021

each of you for serving our profession at such a

have

high level! Feel free to reach out to me at any time.

opportunities

we

will

be

Rockin'

on

the

River!

kim.taylor@uky.edu.

been,

remote and

there to

challenges, streamlining

have

reexamine

been current

practices and ask very basic questions like “why.”

Sometimes a shakeup in our

Kim Taylor SACRAO President

normal routine can inspire us to think about things in a new

Message from the President-Elect

and different light and, in many cases, for the better.

May is the start of summer. Flowers are blooming, and the pollen is beginning to subside, and you can

I understand that we still have a long

begin

also

way to go, and many states are still

commencement time on many of our campuses. This

under travel advisories and curtailed

is the time when we get to see the fruits of our

budgets. We hope that by February 2022,

spending

efforts

as

time

students

outdoors

walk

again.

across

the

It’s

stage

(or

virtually watch from a screen) to receive their hardearned degrees. For many of us and many of our students, this last year has been anything but

you and your colleagues will be able to join us in Little Rock, AR, for what we hope will be a reconnection with each

normal. The important thing is that we persevered,

other

and

an

and here we are, ready to start a summer of

professionally.

opportunity

to

grow

reimagining and preparing for the next academic year. Many campuses are talking about returning to

If you have an idea for a session topic,

a traditional Fall 2019 experience, but there will

would like to present on a topic of

inevitably be remnants of 2020 still in the mix.

As

we

move

into

summer,

SACRAO

is

interest, participate as a panelist, or also

reexamining many of the processes and services that we provide to our membership. We, too, are looking for a return to a new normal.

simply would like to facilitate a session, we would welcome your involvement.

SACRAO| SPRING 2021

I encourage you to complete an I’m Available Form (login required) on our website so that we can add yours to our collective wisdom. But don’t wait for someone to reach out to you. I encourage you to contact one or more of our Program Chairs or Standing Committee Chairs. Be proactive. SACRAO is nothing without its collective wisdom and insights from members just like you.

As you finalize the Spring semester, I wish you all the best and a relaxing and reenergizing summer. Take time for yourself and spend some time with family and friends. This has been a tough sixteen months and certainly one that hasn’t lent itself to addressing your mental health. I hope you’ll get an opportunity to take a

Jonathan Reece

break this summer.

President-Elect

Thank you for the opportunity and faith you’ve shown in me, allowing me to serve as your President-Elect this year. Feel free to reach with any comments, questions, or suggestions. I look forward to serving you.

Message from the Past President Returning to Normal...and Striving to Improve!

These have been an interesting couple of years. Shortly after I became President-Elect, we learned that SACRAO had suffered a significant financial loss at our conference that depleted our financial reserves. We immediately initiated cost-cutting measures in order to begin our recovery. The next year, thanks to the great work of Hope Reynolds and the Alexandria, VA LAC, we regained our previous year’s losses. Then shortly after the conference, a pandemic struck, and our world turned upside down.

SACRAO had to postpone its in-person conference at Little Rock for a year. The Executive Committee decided to launch our first-ever virtual conference: the "Goodwill Conference." conference!

A

record

847

people

registered

for

the

SACRAO| SPRING 2021

After two exceptionally difficult years, we are hoping that things will move toward a sense of normalcy. We have a good team serving on the Executive Committee, and we have put together other strong committees to serve the needs of SACRAO.

As we get back to business, we want to offer the SACRAO membership the opportunity to establish two new positions on the Executive Committee: Treasurer-Elect and Corporate Partner Liaison. These are service roles that other professional organizations are already using.

A strong, well-trained treasurer is vital to ensure that we handle our finances responsibly. Our current practice is for a brief transition from one treasurer to the next, which sometimes leaves significant gaps in understanding. With a Treasurer-Elect, we will have a one-year training period so that the new treasurer gets to experience the full cycle of transactions and responsibilities and will know what to expect.

After a year, the treasurer-elect becomes treasurer and serves for the next two years. In their second year as treasurer, they would train the next treasurer-elect.

The Corporate Partner Liaison will help build and continue a strong relationship between SACRAO and our corporate partners. The better we understand our corporate partners, the better we can serve them, and the better they can serve our members. Corporate partner support is crucial to keep our conference registration fees low.

The Executive Committee will post a more detailed description of each position, and the membership will have the opportunity to vote on whether or not to add them. We look forward to hearing from you on these important positions.

Steve McLeod Immediate Past President

SACRAO| SPRING 2021

Treasurer's report SACRAO Account Balances as of May 4, 2021: Checking: $12,556.97 Savings: $192,218.52 LAC 2023: $5,490.35 LAC 2022: $5,097.28 Total:

$215,363.12

Hi All! I look forward to working with and serving all of you as the SACRAO Treasurer for 2021-2023. The only expenses incurred outside of the regular administrative overhead (i.e. Quickbooks expenses) was $670 in speaker appreciation gifts following the 2021 Virtual Conference. Please be watching for your membership renewals. The 2021 budget has been set and can be viewed

online

by

visiting

2021

Approved

Budget

-

Feb

23

2021.xlsx

(sacrao.org).

If you have any questions regarding the SACRAO accounts, please don’t hesitate to email me via sacraotreasurer@gmail.com.

I appreciate the opportunity to serve you over the next two years!

Jessica Brock SACRAO Treasurer

SACRAO| SPRING 2021

Congratulations to Honorary Members We would like to thank and congratulate our honorary members. At the 2021 conference, these members received awards in recognition of their service.

Michelle Forbes

Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center - Law Registrar and Director of Student Academic Services Michele Forbes, who has been an active member of LACRAO, SACRAO, and AACRAO, received both the distinguished service award and honorary membership for her countless years of service to SACRAO. Michele retired from LSU Law Center in 2020 after 36 years.

Wayne Banks

Southern Arkansas University Tech – Registrar Wayne Banks, who has been a member of ArkACRAO, SACRAO, and AACRAO, received both the distinguished service award and honorary membership for his dedication and years of service to SACRAO. Wayne plans to retire from Southern Arkansas University Tech in June 2021.

Louis D. Hunt, Jr., Ph.D.

North Carolina State University - Senior Vice Provost for Enrollment Management and Services Dr. Louis Hunt, who served as President-Elect, President, and Past-President of SACRAO in 2016-2019, received both the distinguished service award and honorary membership for his numerous years of service to SACRAO and higher education.

Louis will retire from North Carolina State University in June 2021.

SACRAO| SPRING 2021

In Memorium John "Tom" Thomas Stewart, Jr.

John (Tom) Thomas Stewart, Jr., our 1987-88 SACRAO President and also a former FACRAO President, passed away on Saturday, May 1, 2021.

Tom began his career in academia teaching math at Miami Dade College.

After a year of teaching, he became the college’s first campus registrar at the College’s South, currently the Kendall Campus. He was instrumental in bringing technology to the admission and registration process, leading to the opportunity for students to use an automated telephone registration system. Tom was also a leader in creating the standards that allowed academic transcripts to be transferred over the internet between colleges and universities.

Tom was a SACRAO Distinguished Service Award Recipient, Certificate of Appreciation Recipient, and an honorary member of both SACRAO and AACRAO upon his retirement from Miami Dade College in 2003.

He recorded testimony of his time in SACRAO as one of our PastPresidents. The video can be viewed at this link: SACRAO 1988 President.

Arrangements

have

been

made

with

Crevasse’s

Simple

Cremation,

Gainesville, FL. Online condolences may be left by visiting the guestbook at: https://www.crevassesimplecremation.com/obituary/john-stewart-jr

SACRAO| SPRING 2021

FACRAO on the Go: Meeting Members Where They Are What a year it has been all around! As the pollen begins to subside and our degree candidates walk across stages either virtually or in person, we look back at a most unusual past year and forward to exciting challenges ahead.

FACRAO has taken the lemons presented by COVID and made lemonade with the implementation of a series of monthly virtual events. From August 2020 through April 2021, we had four structured presentations on topics ranging from “Dancing in the Rain” to “Technology in Higher Education,” in addition to four open round table discussions that allowed FACRAO to connect with admissions and registrar peers from across Florida.

We will also hold our first-ever virtual FACRAO

conference

on

June

7-8.

The

“Virtual Reality” themed event will feature plenary sessions, breakouts, a round table, and a virtual vendor hall with opportunities for

interaction,

as

business

meeting.

gathering

with

well We

our

as

look

our

annual

forward

colleagues

to

from

universities and state colleges around Florida to share best practices, learning from each other, and setting the course for the coming year.

Our plan is to continue to provide virtual programming throughout the coming year. In addition, we are beginning work on plans for our 2022 annual conference. The conference will be June 5-8 at the beautiful oceanfront Plaza Hotel in Daytona Beach. We look forward to resuming in-person meetings and hope many of our members will be able to join us!

Diana Hull FACRAO President, 2021

SACRAO| SPRING 2021

OACRAO asks, "What Mask Do You Wear?"

From October 28 to 30, OACRAO held our Annual

Fall

Conference

in

a

virtual

format. Our theme was pertinent to the issues surrounding everyone in higher education throughout the pandemic, and sessions included: ·Recruiting During a Pandemic ·Transfer

Articulation

Tricks

and

Treats ·Impact of Individual Career Academic Planning on Higher Education ·Electronic Grade Change Forms ·International Admissions Processing ·OSRHE Policy Updates ·SACRAO Update ·And, more!

To view the recorded Zoom sessions for each session of this conference, please refer to OACRAO Fall Conference. We covered many topics and aspects of current issues and are in the planning phases of our 2021 Annual Fall Conference.

Additionally, OACRAO hosted our 2021 Spring Policy Workshop held virtually on March 30.

Dr. Kyle Foster, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the Oklahoma State Regent’s for Higher Education, presented an informative session at this event. A video recording of the session in its entirety can be found here: OACRAO Spring 2021 Workshop.

Ross Mehl OACRAO Communication Coordinator/Webmaster

SACRAO| SPRING 2021

Call for Articles for The SACRAO Journal Submissions are now being accepted for The SACRAO Journal.

The Editorial Board welcomes manuscripts for publication in SACRAO’S

academic,

refereed

publication,

The

SACRAO

Journal. Members of SACRAO are encouraged to submit articles that pertain to their professional and research experiences regarding issues and innovative practices in the profession.

Preference is given to articles authored by SACRAO members, but articles from outside the membership will be considered based on revelatory findings that advance the work of SACRAO members. Active Journal Editorial Board members may not submit articles for publication; book reviews and commentaries

by Board members may be published at the discretion of the Editor.

The manuscript should be submitted with the stylistic rules and guidelines delineated in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed., 2010). All manuscripts are accepted with the understanding that The SACRAO Journal Editorial Board reserves the right to edit for clarity, syntax, and style. At the discretion of the Editorial Board, authors may be asked to shorten or lengthen articles.

Manuscripts submitted for publication must be original material, which has not been simultaneously submitted for publication elsewhere. Length of manuscripts, including references and tables, should range from about eight to 20 double-spaced, 8.5x11-inch pages. Abstracts are limited to 125 words. Authors should retain a copy of the manuscript to guard against loss.

We are also accepting book reviews, best practice articles, reflections related to the profession, and much more. If you are interested in submitting, please email your manuscript or article to Diana Hull at dhull@ufl.edu.

Call for Journal Board Editors If interested, please fill out the “I’m Available” form online or email Diana Hull at dhull@ufl.edu.

SACRAO| SPRING 2021

Call for Awards and Recognition NOMINATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR:

Distinguished Service Award Honorary Membership Certificate of Appreciation Multicultural/Emerging Leader Annual Meeting Scholarship Recipients

Please complete applications and nomination forms online by October 15, 2021 at:

https://sacrao.memberclicks.net/forms-docs

SACRAO| SPRING 2021

Save the Date

Welcome to Little Rock, AR -- The Natural State!

The Arkansas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (ArkACRAO) invites each of you to step back from your day-today stress and experience the 75th Annual SACRAO Conference, February 6-9, 2022, at the Little Rock Marriott Hotel and Statehouse Convention Center.

Rockin’ on the River (Part II) is your chance to relax and recharge alongside your fellow SACRAO colleagues in the heart of Arkansas.

Located within walking distance from our joint conference location is the Downtown River Market, the premier entertainment district, as well as the Bill Clinton Presidential Center, museums, locally-owned dining options, and so much more!

We hope to see you there!

SACRAO| SPRING 2021

2021-2022 SACRAO Executive Committee KIMBERLY TAYLOR - PRESIDENT UNIVERSITY REGISTRAR, UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY JONATHAN REECE - PRESIDENT-ELECT UNIVERSITY REGISTRAR, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHARLOTTE STEVE MCLEOD - IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT ASSOCIATE DEAN, HARDING SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY BLAKE BEDSOLE - PROGRAM VP FOR RECRUITMENT, ADMISSIONS, AND ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT VP OF ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT, ARKANSAS TECH UNIVERSITY ED TROMBLEY - PROGRAM VP FOR TOPICS IN HIGHER EDUCATION REGISTRAR, EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY WORLDWIDE

TENNYSON SMITH - PROGRAM VP FOR DISTINCT POPULATIONS AND PROGRAMS DIRECTOR OF RECRUITING, SHELTON STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE CYNTHIA TERRY - PROGRAM VP FOR PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT UNIVERSITY REGISTAR, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM EVAN REICH - PROGRAM VP FOR RECORDS AND ACADEMIC SERVICES REGISTRAR, TRIDENT TECHNICAL COLLEGE MELISSA HYATT - VP OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATE UNIVERSITY REGISTRAR, TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY KAREN BECKETT - VP FOR STATE/REGIONALS AND MEMBERSHIP UNIVERSITY REGISTRAR, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI WAYNE BANKS - VP FOR PROGRAM AND EVALUATION REGISTRAR, SOUTHERN ARKANSAS UNIVERSITY TECH DIANA HULL - VP FOR COMMUNICATION AND RECOGNITION SR. ASSOCIATE UNIVERSITY REGISTRAR, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA JULIE TAYLOR - SECRETARY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS AND ENROLLMENT INNOVATION, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA JESSICA BROCK - TREASURER DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS, ARKANSAS TECH UNIVERSITY CHRIS RIGGINS - LOCAL ARRANGEMENT CHAIR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF TRANSFER RECRUITMENT, UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS HOPE REYNOLDS - IMMEDIATE PAST LOCAL ARRANGEMENTS CHAIR SENIOR DIRECTOR OF ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT AND ASSISTANT REGISTRAR, VIRGINIA TECH CARILION SCHOOL OF MEDICINE