2023 SoACE Call for Programs

Official Call for Programs | 2023 SoACE Conference

Lagniappe! Come find a "little something extra" in New Orleans, LA! 
Hyatt New Orleans | December 3 - 6

Our Program Committee is challenging the membership to craft proposals that will excel the knowledge of their colleagues across corporate and institutional environments.  Our mission is to not only craft programs that will address our Knowledge Group areas, but also those additional current trending challenges that career services and employer professionals are facing. Topic examples include:

• Chat GPT
• Training New Professionals
• How to navigate the challenges of diversity in higher education
• Retaining talent in the corporate world
• Employer topics

We encourage members to submit Breakout Session, Roundtable Discussion, and Pre-Conference Session proposals that align with our Knowledge Groups and will empower our SoACE members to envision the future of our profession. We welcome all references to the popular LA saying, "lagniappe", or "a little something extra" lingo in your proposals.

With your proposal, be prepared to submit the following:

• Session Title or Roundtable Topic
• Session Description (200 word max)
• Brief Description for Conference App (75 word max)
• Learning Objective (Minimum 1, Applies to Pre-conference & Breakout Session submissions only)
• Presenter CVs and Bios
  • These will help us identify sessions which qualify for NBCC/HRCI continuing education credits.
• Presenter Headshots

SESSION FORMATS
Sessions for the conference can be in one of three formats:

• Breakout Sessions: These one-hour sessions can take various forms, from a single presenter or panel presentation to a facilitated networking discussion. The length of one hour gives time for a more in-depth exploration of a topic. Sessions are assigned on December 4, 5, or 6, 2023.
  • One of our breakout session times will focus on three key constituencies; The Director’s Think Tank which was once a pre-conference workshop will take place during a 60-minute breakout session.  We will balance it with sessions for new/early career professionals and mid-level professionals/managers, as well as employers/recruiters of all levels. We look forward to your proposals for these key populations!

• Roundtable Discussion: Let’s Talk Roundtable Discussions – These 20-minute mini sessions take place during a 90-minute block. Roundtable discussions let participants dip quickly into up to four topics in an open environment for idea sharing, benchmarking and guided discussion. Roundtable hosts/moderators will facilitate discussion and have talking points already established, but not make a formal presentation. Roundtable participants will share contact information for the purpose of recieving post discussion materials.

• Pre-Conference Session: Although each annual conference is preceded by a series of Pre-Conference Sessions, those are typically hand selected & curated by The Board and The Conference Committee. This year we are excited to invite your ideas! 
  • Pre-Conference Sessions allow for an extended amount of time to connect on a specific topic. Think of these as workshops, intensives, ongoing education, professional development, etc. Past examples have been: Competency Development Initiative; Career Services Nuts & Bolts Workshop for New Professionals; Choosing Parenthood While Pursuing a Student Affairs Career.
  • For these sessions we ask that you submit your proposed session agenda.
  • If selected, this session will occur on Sunday, December 3 from 1:30 - 4:00, and will have a $75 registration cost for each attendee. This fee will cover the cost of space & AV rentals, supplies, and light refreshments during your session. 
  • We can add up to 2 sessions to our existing pre-conference itinerary: APEX: The Black Career Services Professional Summit and Emerging Leaders: Preparing for The Road Ahead.

SESSION TOPICS
Topics for any format should address one or more of the SoACE Knowledge Groups. In collaboration with Knowledge Group members, the Program Committee has researched a variety of possible topics of interest to the SoACE membership, in order to give you some ideas:

• Administration: Career competencies/career readiness;leadership and management; graduating student outcomes data and reporting; staffing-related topics; creative funding solutions; tapping into local higher ed and counseling programs to help support your staff/operations; how to present your qualitative successes in addition to your quantitative successes; mentoring and developing program and administrative staff members
• Assessment and Data Analytics: Assessment and strategic planning; graduating student outcomes data and reporting
• Career Advising/Counseling: Emerging career fields; career counseling/coaching certifications; self-assessment tools; innovative career advising techniques or career development theories; job search (basics and advanced strategies); positive counseling/advising techniques; senior/graduation-related programming; virtual site visits with employers; connecting with students during summer orientation; The non-academic job search for grad students; marketing research skills for industry; emotional transition from academic to non-academic career prospects for grad students; assisting alumni career changers.
• Diversity and Inclusion: Advising, recruiting, inclusive programming, and/or strategies that enhance and expand diversity representation related to, but not limited to race, ethnicity, age, class, disabilities, gender, gender identification, religious affiliation, sexual orientation.  Through a collaborative use of best practices, programs, and resources, college and employer members will be able to better address the diverse needs of students and professionals in the ever-changing landscape of higher education and career services.
• Employer: Technologies available to companies for recruiting; domestic & international hiring best practices; diversity outreach best practices; social media to reach passive candidates; best practices for networking with colleges (what works/what doesn't); leadership; recruiting and on-boarding different generations; 
• Employer Relations: Employer development vs. employer relations; database management/CRM technology; relationship development sales models; legal issues in HR; policies; leveraging relationships across departments at a university; virtual site visits with employers
• Experiential Education: Legal issues; effective cost-cutting strategies for intern/co-op offices; successfully merging co-op/intern and career center offices; Co-op vs. Intern: Pros, Cons, Measurements of Success; international internships; experiential education for international students; unpaid internships
• Small Colleges and Universities: Members working for institutions of higher education who’s enrollment is less than 6500 students.
• Technology: Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs); LinkedIn best practices; technology best practices panel; resources for international students; mobile recruiting and social recruiting; Skype/Facetime/other remote interviewing/counseling tools; LinkedIn (new changes and innovative techniques for helping students); MOOCs and their potential role in career advising; providing distance career counseling using online software tools that are FERPA compliant

Sessions must be noncommercial in nature. To maintain the educational integrity of the program, presenters may not use their session as a platform for promotion of their products and services, or for monetary gain.

We very much look forward to receiving your breakout and/or roundtable discussion proposals and we thank you in advance for having the interest and taking the time to submit your program!

If you have questions or any problems accessing the form, please be in touch with the SoACE Office, office@soace.org.