| Session Title |
Abstract |
Presenter(s) |
Institution(s) |
| Leave it: Maintaining your mission-driven focus while leaving work at work |
We do important work and often the problems we have can feel like life or death to the students, faculty, staff, and parents we are serving. It is easy to focus on the larger mission and ignore burnout for now, because ‘I’m helping’. But when helping others is hurting you, eventually you’ll be no good to anyone. Let's talk about some practical tools we can employ to continue to serve our mission while protecting ourselves from burnout and all of the dangerous things we know come along with it. |
Chelsea Peoples |
University of Nevada Las Vegas |
| From Supporting Role to Star Performer: Building Self-Led Professional Development Plans |
In today’s fast-changing higher education landscape, departments thrive when employees take an active role in their own growth. This round table session will focus on how our departments can encourage employee development. Participants should come prepared to share what has worked, what they are trying, and what questions they have for others. |
Laura Schonberger |
University of Phoenix |
| PACRAO DDC Book Club: (Insert book title here) |
The PACRAO DDC will be hosting a Book Club discussion on [Insert Book Title Here- TBD]. Attendees are encouraged to read the book in advance, but all members are welcome to join and participate in conversation. |
Diversity Development Committee |
N/A - PACRAO DDC |
| A Framework for the Gap Between Good Intentions and Good Decisions |
Most leaders are not making bad decisions because they do not care. They are making them because good intentions and good outcomes are not the same thing, and the distance between them is wider than most of us want to admit. Drawing on research in cognitive science, organizational behavior, ethics, and leadership wisdom, this session introduces a five-part practical framework for understanding where decisions go wrong and how to build the habits and structures that close the gap. |
Gaby Asamsama-Acuna |
Ventura College |
| Breaking Character: Challenging “We’ve Always Done It This Way” |
Higher Ed is full of long-standing practices, policies, and processes that were created for a different era of students and institutions. Yet many campuses continue to rely on traditions simply because they are familiar. This interactive roundtable invites you to examine assumptions behind “the way we’ve always done it” and explores what it means to rethink systems through the lens of access, efficiency, and today’s student experience. |
Ron Venegas |
La Sierra University |
| Be a Goldfish: Leading with Steadiness through Tension, Disagreement, and Growth |
Leadership is often associated with confidence and decision-making, yet far fewer conversations focus on what happens after conflict. Even after the dust settles, leaders are often left navigating the emotional weight of difficult conversations and pushback. How do leaders move forward without becoming guarded or resentful? This reflective session shares personal leadership lessons inspired by Ted Lasso and the “Be a Goldfish” philosophy, exploring emotional regulation, steadiness, self-awareness, and leadership growth in the aftermath of difficult experiences. |
Allison Pitcher |
San Diego State University |
| The Appeals Lab: Navigating the Complexities of Academic Record Appeals |
Academic record appeals at Portland Community College and other institutions are high-stakes touchpoints for student retention. Whether handling retroactive withdrawals or late drops, these processes often pit policy against student hardship. Through real-world scenarios, small-group discussions, and peer best practices, participants will discover strategies for supporting students, delivering difficult news, and balancing equity with institutional integrity, regardless of where final decision-making authority lies. |
Jason Pinkal, Adam Lucero, [email protected], Student Records Coordinator, Portland Community College |
Portland Community College |
| Our Burnout Journey: Where have we been & How are we doing? |
Roundtable: We will discuss topics and lessons from the previous Sessions in the Burnout Series. This session can also serve as a review for those who haven't seen previous sessions or just want the information fresh for this year's session |
Chelsea Peoples |
University of Nevada, Las Vegas |
| More Than a Side Quest: Elevating Student Staff for Career Readiness |
Front-desk student assistants are a strategic workforce incubator. This session redefines the student lifecycle through three pathways: The Successor, The System Advocate, and The Skill Exporter. Featuring powerful video testimonials from former student staff, this narrative presentation highlights the human element of intentional mentorship. Attendees will see how elevating student workers ensures leadership continuity and sparks a lifelong interest in higher education. Engage in a live audit of your training models and leave with a "Monday Morning Challenge" to transform your office culture. |
Liz Beth Sanchez |
UC Irvine, Registrar's Office |
| "Florals? For Spring? Groundbreaking:" Surviving and Thriving the Current Enrollment Trends |
Channel the high-fashion, high-stakes energy of The Devil Wears Prada for a dynamic educational conference session that tackles leadership, mentorship, and adapting to a tough environment.In an ever changing enrollment market, learn from two seasoned professionals the ways in which to navigate pitfalls, manage up as well as down, set expectations for stakeholders and still attempt to meet enrollment goals. |
Paulette Palafox, Lisa Lanks |
Santa Clara University School of Engineering |
| Use Signposting to Stop Fixing and Start Filtering: The “3 H’s" of Intentional Leadership Communication |
Do you jump to solve a problem when your staff member just wants to vent? This common "fix-it" instinct often results in unintentional micromanagement, burnout, and frustrated teams. This session introduces the “3 H’s” - a simple yet transformative framework: Hear, Help, or Handle. By training yourself to pause before acting and encouraging your team to signpost their needs, you will create pathways to reduce unnecessary over-functioning, empower your staff to solve their own problems, and build a culture of clear communication, expectations, and trust. |
Bracken Dailey, Tchad Sanger, [email protected], University Registrar, University of California Santa Cruz |
University of California Riverside |
| Building a PACRAO Workday Community |
Workday Student is a cloud-based Student Information System (SIS) that helps colleges and universities manage admissions, registration, academic records, financial aid, billing, and more. Workday users connect through Workday Community, an online platform for collaboration and knowledge sharing. As more institutions, including Portland Community College (PCC), implement Workday Student, building peer connections is increasingly valuable. Join this informal networking session to connect with fellow users, share successes and challenges, exchange best practices, and expand your Workday network—no matter where you are in your implementation journey. |
Adam Lucero |
Portland Community College |
| Beyond "Herding the Cats": How Collaboration and Standardization Streamlined the Student Experience |
In higher education, decentralized administrative processes create fragmented, manual workflows. This session details the journey of implementing a centralized, SIS-integrated student forms system to unify a diverse campus. We will explore how this initiative shifted the institution from manual data entry to automated processing, empowering staff to focus on high-impact student support. We will discuss the strategies used to gain stakeholder buy-in, the technical integration that ensures policy enforcement, and the tangible impact on student progress, providing a roadmap for building a standardized submission hub that enhances institutional efficiency and the student experience. |
Bracken Dailey, Jeff Williams, [email protected], Associate Registrar - Systems & Compliance, University of California Riverside |
University of California Riverside |
| Recasting Roles: Balancing Day-to-Day Operations with Systems and Project Management |
The modern Registrar’s Office must balance daily operations with complex technical management and policy analysis. This session outlines a strategic reorganization that established a dual-leadership model, splitting focus between day-to-day functions and a new Systems and Compliance division. We will discuss the triggers for this change and how technology transforms, rather than eliminates, job roles. Participants will learn the benefits of separating functional oversight from technical management and gain strategies for reclassifying roles to shift staff from transactional tasks to high-level analytical work, ensuring long-term operational success. |
Bracken Dailey, Jeff Williams, [email protected], Associate Registrar - Systems & Compliance, University of California Riverside |
University of California Riverside |
| From Script to Screen: Managing Curriculum Change Across Campus(es) |
Curriculum and catalog processes often involve a large cast of stakeholders, multiple rounds of review, and countless revisions before reaching their final form. In this session, the University of Washington will share how they improved transparency, collaboration, and process visibility across the curriculum lifecycle, helping academic changes move from proposal to publication with greater transparency, consistency, and stakeholder engagement. |
Tina Miller |
University of Washington |
| Using AI to Enhance Academic Policy Clarity & Efficacy |
This session will provide insight into methods for leveraging AI to improve an institution's academic policies. Areas of focus include enhancing the comprehensibility of policies, the ability of staff to quickly find and act on relevant policies, and the institution's ability to evaluate whether its policies are having the intended impacts on student success. |
Joe Tate |
University of Phoenix |
| Choosing Flexibility: How Hybrid and Remote Work Became a Key to Team Success |
As institutions across higher education continue to evaluate return-to-office expectations, leaders are faced with critical decisions that impact employee engagement, retention, and organizational performance. This session explores how our organization intentionally chose to maintain hybrid and work-from-home options rather than require a full return to the office—and how that decision became a key contributor to our success. |
Kris Thrasher, Nader Abinader |
University of Phoenix |
| Beyond the Deadline: Reforming End of Term Process to Protect Student Success |
Grade submission delays create direct barriers to student success. At California State University, Fullerton, late grades resulting in "Report Delayed" (RD) statuses trigger a cascade of manual interventions that impact NCAA certification, financial aid, and degree conferrals. This session examines the transition from a historically lengthy 10-day grading window to a streamlined firm deadline model. Discover how to leverage downstream "pain points" to partner with faculty, the Academic Senate, and campus leadership, ultimately transforming end-of-term processes to better serve our students. |
Shelly Hsu, Sara Martinez |
Cal State University Fullerton |
