Call for Proposals

March 31–April 2, 2025
Providence, Rhode Island

Presenting at the NERCOMP Annual Conference provides an opportunity to build your professional network and experience lifelong learning with lifelong friends. Presenting a content-rich session individually or as part of a team is a wonderful way to share knowledge, experiences, and ideas. The conference's community-generated program will showcase future directions, best practices, stories of successful collaborations, lessons learned, and solutions to community-wide issues within various program tracks. We welcome your submission! Please read this page carefully before you begin work on your proposal.

Ready to get started? Just follow these simple steps:

1. Find out how to create an excellent proposal by reading this page and the helpful tips in the EDUCAUSE Presenter Concierge pages.
2. Develop a proposal in one of the program theme/focus areas.
3. Choose a presentation format.
4. Submit your proposal between October 30 and November 18. Submitters will be notified about decisions in mid-December.

2025 Conference Theme: Reflecting and Connecting

The theme of this year’s conference is Reflecting and Connecting. We’ll think about what we’ve done and what we hope to do, examining how our history guides us through today’s dynamic landscape. We’ll explore how our work has evolved, both personally and institutionally, and will highlight the importance of collaboration in shaping the future of higher education. Join us as we share ideas, design solutions, and strengthen connections in order to navigate change and encourage innovation in our field.

Conference Tracks

These are more refined topics of interest or audience-specific issues which will help attendees navigate the conference sessions.

• Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in the Digital Age
• Innovation and Emerging Technologies
• Leadership & Change Management
• Libraries and Scholarship in the 21st Century
• Systems and Solutions: Enterprise, Infrastructure, Security, and Support
• Teaching, Learning, and Student Success

Keywords

These are areas of specific interest and will help attendees fine-tune their personalized schedules. Optional: You will be asked to provide three keywords which relate to your presentation.

Delivery Choices

Please note that your proposal will be carefully evaluated and may be accepted for any of the formats below, depending on the scope of content and engagement strategies proposed. If you have questions, please contact Sarah Reynolds, or visit our Presenter Concierge resource page for presentation ideas and resources.

Review the session formats carefully and note that although NERCOMP will make every effort to honor your preference for format, we reserve the right to assign both session and delivery format based on space and program balance.

Session Formats

Facilitated Discussion

Discussion sessions are opportunities for event attendees to share campus challenges and solutions through conversational exchange. By actively engaging audience participants in dialogue about hot topics or broad issues, presenters of these sessions will rely on the collective community experience among session attendees. There is no room for "sage on the stage" in a facilitated discussion session; this is a chance to have organic, topically relevant, peer-to-peer learning experiences at the conference. These will be 45-minute sessions. You may have a maximum of two facilitators for this session type.

Presentation or Panel Session

These sessions are opportunities to share topics of interest, lessons learned, foresight, or evidence of impact related to a conference theme. Presenters, whether one person or a group, should include ways to actively engage the audience in the session, either digitally or in person. Panels should represent two or more opposing viewpoints for a lively group discussion. The best panels and group presentations have diversity in perspectives as well as diversity of panelists—organizationally and demographically speaking. These will be 45-minute sessions. You may have a maximum of four presenters/panelists for this session type.

Demonstrations – (Institutions Only)

This type of session works best if your primary objective is to offer a tour or provide an overview of an innovative product, service, or new idea. Select this delivery format if you work on a campus and want to showcase a product or service you implemented, built, or created. This is a great way to tell your "it worked for us" story. These will be 45-minute sessions. You may have a maximum of two presenters for this session type.

Poster Sessions (Institutions Only)

A poster session demonstrates the use of an emerging technology or innovative practice for teaching and learning, typically in the early stages of development. Presenters may use a laptop, a poster, or both to demonstrate the unique features and functionality of the tool or program and to assist in providing a visual overview of the project. As attendees visit, presenters have the opportunity to discuss the poster topic with them. Therefore, presenters should prepare a few introductory remarks (1–2 minutes) to engage listeners in the subject. These will be 45-minute sessions. You may have a maximum of two presenters for this session type.

A Special Note to Our Corporate Participants

Are you with a corporation and interested in presenting or plan to co-present with an institutional partner? EDUCAUSE values insights from our corporate community. Two options are available for you to contribute your thought leadership to this year's event:

1. Go through the CFP process as outlined above and the NERCOMP program committee will determine acceptance to the program. If your proposal is accepted by the program committee, NO fee will apply to participate in the program, however presenters need to pay for their conference registration. These session slots are highly competitive, and only the highest quality, most relevant, "thought leader" sessions will be accepted.
2. Contact [email protected] to purchase a Conference Partner Package that includes an Industry Insights Session, booth, branding and more. Please visit: https://events.educause.edu/nercomp-annual-conference/2025/corporate-participation. Limited opportunities are available.

Selection Process

Proposals are selected to ensure the conference offers a comprehensive, non-promotional, objective, and diverse program. Proposals that clearly describe innovative and creative work will receive the highest priority in the selection process. Attention will be given to diversity of institutions/organizations, presenters, and geographic location. Note: You may be invited to present in formats other than the one you selected or those noted in the proposal submission form.

The identity of proposal submitters and proposed presenters will be hidden to reviewers. Proposals will be reviewed by the Conference Program Committee and peer reviewers using the following criteria:

• Relevance of Topic: Is the topic of relevance, importance, value, and/or interest to higher education?
• Session Outcomes Achievability: Is there alignment between the stated session outcomes and the proposal description?
• Quality of Submission: Does the proposal demonstrate quality, as measured by accuracy, clarity, comprehensiveness, and depth of demonstrated understanding of the topic?
• Engagement/Knowledge Transfer: Does the proposal provoke discussion, audience engagement, and/or facilitate knowledge transfer and development of new competency?

Guidelines for Submission

• Profile Requirement: An EDUCAUSE Profile is required in order to submit a proposal, present, and register for the event. Please take some time before submitting a proposal to ensure all presenters have profiles and that all information is updated (title, profile picture, bio, etc.). You can search for members in the member directory; if presenters don't have a profile, they will need to create one so you're able to add them within the submission site. Note: Profile information will help reviewers and attendees understand a presenter's qualifications.
• Presenters and Registration: One presenter from each presentation receives a free conference registration. Additional presenters are responsible for registering in advance for the conference, paying the full conference registration fee, and securing and paying for travel and lodging.
• Presenter Commitment: Do not list co-presenters without their commitment that they will participate and that they agree to the terms and conditions for participation.
• Acceptance notifications will be sent mid-December 2024.
• All selected presenters must complete speaker agreement forms in order to be confirmed for a session.
• Proposal submission topics cannot be changed after the review and selection process.
• EDUCAUSE reserves the right to revise presentation titles and/or edit the session description for program publications.
• Session Resources: Presenters will be required to upload their presentation and supporting materials and resources prior to the conference. If selected, you will be provided with further instructions on uploading your presentation materials.