Our Mission Is to Break Down Barriers to Student Success

Coursedog is the Intelligent Academic Operations Platform, empowering academic administrators to support on-time completions and operational excellence.

Presenter: Lauren Fontana, Coursedog

AI at Work Breaking through Registrar and Admissions Bottlenecks to Deliver Superior Student and Staff Outcomes

Discover how AI and Intelligent Document Processing can eliminate admissions and registrar bottlenecks, speed up transcripts, and improve enrollment. This session highlights real-world use cases where colleges streamline manual processes, cut costs, and enhance the student experience. Learn practical strategies to modernize operations and empower staff with AI-driven tools built for higher education.

Presenter: Kevin Goss, Postal Source

From Interest to Enrollment: Proven Strategies to Drive Growth in Specialized Programs

Discover proven strategies to grow enrollment in specialized programs while staying true to your mission. Using real-world examples from OSF Colleges of Nursing, we’ll explore targeted recruitment, digital marketing, partnerships, and streamlined processes that boost applications, increase yield, and improve retention. Leave with practical tactics to implement at your own institution

Presenters: Austin Blair, OSF College of Nursing

Retention in Action: TRIUMPH & SURGE as Student Success Models

Triton College’s TRIUMPH and SURGE programs demonstrate how structured student contact, balanced programming, and cross-campus partnerships foster belonging and retention for underrepresented students. This session will share practical strategies to design engagement initiatives that strengthen persistence and success outcomes.

Presenter: Denise Jones, Triton College

From Transactional to Transformational - how the "Next Step Days" event has reshaped the Onboarding Experience 

Hear how JJC Admissions Office took a new recruitment approach to build a “Next Step Days” event. The Next Step Days at JJC is an initiative that began in 2022 to assist students who applied to the college and needed assistance on their steps to enrollment. This event is a collaborative effort involving Admissions, Advising, Placement, and Scholarships. JJC has seen enrollment growth by providing the students with this unique experience in getting them connected with student services.

Presenter: Rosa Salazar-Mancera, Joliet Junior College &
Jeff Chiapello, Joliet Junior College

Transformative Teams: Building, Motivating & Rewarding on a Budget

What makes a team not just good—but great? Let's explore the fundamentals of building, motivating, and rewarding high-performing teams—even when your budget says “no.” Whether you're leading a large department or a scrappy squad, you'll walk away with tangible, innovative, and budget-friendly ideas to: strengthen team dynamics, spark motivation and engagement, and recognize and reward contributions creatively.

Presenter: Stacy Ramsey, Illinois State University

So we have a few International Students . . . Anybody have a plan? 

Maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with international students, but isn’t there always just one more thing? During times when you're unsure about institutional priorities or it feels like no one cares about the issue at hand, how do you move forward? Do you have the freedom to act or are you waiting for more details? I’ll share some ideas that have been helpful for me, and we’ll use this opportunity to see what things look like for others.

Presenter: Mark Mountain, Olivet Nazarene University

4.4

Pathways That Work—Identify Award-Now & Near-Completers. Shorten Audits. Boost Completions. This Term.

Illinois Higher Ed Leaders… meet MaxGrad, a full software development and consulting partner built and designed specifically for higher education. We’re fully dedicated to equipping institutions with practical solutions that drive student success—not shelfware. We’ll open with a concise overview of our professional services and product suite—Degree Compass, ExWaive, and Siffras—and how they fit alongside your SIS, degree audit/planner, CRM/ESP, and data warehouse. Then we’ll hand you the wheel for an interactive Degree Compass workshop.

Live and step-by-step, watch Degree Compass:
translate messy, siloed data into rule-compliant pathways that honor your catalog rules and substitutions,
instantly surface award-now and near-completer students by program/cohort,
support scenarios you face daily (audits, exceptions, transfer credit, stop-outs), and
export campaign-ready outreach lists straight to your SIS/degree audit/CRM with no data rekeying or manual re-entry.

You’ll drive the scenarios, pressure-test the workflows, and we’ll capture your operational feedback in real time to validate fit for Illinois institutions and prioritize enhancements. You’ll leave with a toolkit of practical plays—shortening audits, focusing advising time where it matters, targeting outreach with precision, and accelerating completions to move more students to graduation this term.

Bonus: Participate in the workshop and you’ll receive the winning bingo sticker for your IACRAO conference bingo card :)

Presenter: Jon Caines, Max-Grad

College Source Tools for Higher Ed Institutions

Streamline transfer credit and the path to graduation Join over 2,000 institutions of higher education serving millions of students and staff using CollegeSource technology for transfer articulation and academic degree planning.

Presenters: Aleta Carlberg, College Source

Leading with Influence: Building Buy-In Across Campus

Effective enrollment and student success strategies require more than just good ideas — they require campus-wide alignment and collaboration. This session will explore practical techniques for building relationships, gaining buy-in, and leading change when you don’t have direct authority over every stakeholder. Participants will learn how to communicate a shared vision, engage faculty and staff in the process, and navigate resistance with empathy and transparency.

Presenters: Tiffani Robertson, Governors State University

Strategic Policy Review - Initiating Change for Student Success

Have you ever seen a policy at your institution hinder student success and wondered why? We can often see the broader effect of polices in our roles that others may not see. This session will talk about how we can explore new and old policies and take action to further student success.

Presenter: Abby Schierer, Bradley University

Families as Catalysts: How Strategic Family Engagement Drove Enrollment Success at Knox College

Families are the top influencer on students during the admissions process, and including them in outreach can greatly impact your enrollment outcomes. In this session, Knox College and CampusESP will showcase how intentional family engagement strategies can significantly boost results. Drawing on parent research and best practices, we’ll explore how empowering families transforms them into active partners in recruitment, yield, melt, and retention.

Presenters: Nathan Ament, Knox College, & Joel Pendergrass, CampusESP

Bright Idea Session

Bright Idea Session by the Illinois Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (IACRAO) is an annual competition and panel where members share innovative projects implemented at their own institutions. The audience votes for the best idea, and the winner receives a free conference registration for next year.

Host: Todd Kato, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Best Practices for IAI Panel - Improving Your IAI Course Submission Approval Rates

Whether you're new to the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) or a seasoned course submitter, this session will provide valuable insights into the course review process. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how IAI works, including key expectations and evaluation criteria. The session will highlight common pitfalls that lead to course returns and offer actionable best practices institutions can adopt to increase approval rates. Ideal for curriculum coordinators and administrators looking to streamline their IAI submissions and improve outcomes.

Presenters: Malinda Aiello ABD, Director of the Illinois Articulation Initiative 

Validity.id 

Clearly represent your students' achievements-no matter how the data is structured within your student information system. Digital diplomas and more. 

Presenters: Mike Cutro & Noah Turner, Validity.id

Rethinking How We Identify and Support At-Risk Students 

This session will share strategies admissions and enrollment professionals can use to better connect students with the resources they need to succeed. We’ll explore practical approaches that reduce barriers, improve communication, and create stronger connections across campus.

Presenters: Samantha Taylor, Illinois State University

Is Your Heart Still In It?

Are you having a difficult time still loving what you do? More work but no more pay? More people drama? More budget confinements? Fear of the unknown? This session will take a look at ways to keep your heart in what you do. Come get some refreshing, refocused, to re-examine and re-energize your love for what you do!

Presenter: Jeff McGoy, Shawnee Community College

Fix The System, Not the Student: How to Apply Improvement Science in Higher Education

Too often, student challenges are framed as individual deficits rather than symptoms of systemic barriers. This session flips that narrative by illustrating Improvement Science as a powerful methodology for driving change and discovering solutions. This approach helps educators identify root causes, test small changes, and scale what works—without blaming students. Participants will leave with practical resources to help address issues like transfer enrollment and institutional effectiveness.

Presenter: Holly Pflum, University of Illinois System

Exhibit Hall

Redbird D

Costume Party and Dance with Be in the Moment Entertainment!

Phot booth & Costume Party – Wild West!!

• Cash Bar Available
• Costume Prize categories: Best Individual, Best Duo or Group, Most Creative, Scariest, and Funniest

Birds of a Feather - Registrars

Moderator: Geoffrey Glowacki, McHenry County College

Birds of a Feather - Admission Officers

Moderator: Katy Saalfeld, Northern Illinois University

Breakfast, Raffle Winners Announced, and Closing Session

Transformation: Learner Mobility, Agility, and the Sustainability of Effective Change

Presenter: Dr. Wendolyn Davis, Ph.D.

IACRAO Board Meeting