Southwest Association of Student Assistance Programs

The Southwest Association of Student Assistance Programs invites submissions for high-quality concurrent sessions for the SWASAP Annual Conference.  

The 53rd Annual SWASAP conference will be held from November 3-6, 2024 in Little Rock, AR. The priority deadline for proposal submission is September 20, 2024.  Notifications of accepted proposals will be made on October 11, 2024. 

Our theme for the conference is "TRIO Forward: Activating A Growth Mindset".  We encourage our concurrent session presenters to incorporate this theme in their presentations.

Concurrent Sessions should be 50 minutes in length and 10 minutes for questions. We will have laptops and projectors available if needed.  We prefer that you bring your presentation on a USB drive.

While our session themes are flexible, ideally, they will encompass presentations that blur traditional boundaries between functional areas and across 2-year, 4-year, and multiple TRIO programs. Although you'll have the opportunity to designate a broad target audience when submitting your proposal, we challenge you to consider how your insights might be applied to a more experienced group of TRIO professionals.

Suggested concurrent session themes are as follows (but not limited to):

Al - Incorporating best practices for both students and professional

Cross-cultural communication

Conflict resolution

Diversity and inclusion in professional communications

TRIO trends and issues

Partnerships and collaboration: Communicating the value of your program to your immediate community & in the region.

Technology and better uses of applications for programs

Special challenges and opportunities

Helping students through current events

Self-advocacy/self-care: Insisting on healthy working conditions

Mental health & wellness for students and TRIO employees

Talent Development

Roundtable discussions regarding TRIO program specific issues

Deadline September 20. 2024