A Joint Presentation by UPCEA and AACRAO
UPCEA & AACRAO invite proposals for Convergence 2026, the joint annual conference for credential innovation for leaders in professional and online education, registration and enrollment management, academic affairs, workforce development, policy, and systems. Building on the field’s evolving needs, the Convergence 2026 program will emphasize implementation, alignment, and learner impact that show how the work actually gets done.
Proposals are due March 27
What We’re Looking For:
Program Tracks:
To help attendees navigate the program—and to support first-time and early-stage participants—Convergence 2026 will organize sessions into clearly defined tracks. Proposals should align with one primary track and may indicate a secondary track if appropriate:
Credential Innovation Foundations: Launching credential initiatives, early frameworks, and building institutional readiness.
Learner Mobility: Pathways, Transfer & CPL: CPL/PLA, transfer alignment, learner progression, and AI-enabled mobility.
Digital Credentials & Skills Ecosystems: Microcredentials, LERs/CLRs, credential design, skills validation, and digital trust.
Workforce & Community Partnerships: Employer collaboration, regional talent pipelines, sector strategies, labor-market alignment, and Workforce Pell readiness and compliance.
Strategy, Systems & Scaling Transformation: Policy, governance, infrastructure, learner records, data, and AI-enabled systems that support credential innovation at scale.
Session Formats:
Panel or Presentation (60 minutes): A 60-minute facilitated conversation featuring two to four speakers or panelists sharing insights, experiences, or approaches around a common theme. Sessions include structured audience engagement and discussion, with preference given to cross-institutional perspectives and ideas that attendees can adapt or scale.
Workshop/Toolbox (75 minutes): An interactive, hands-on session designed for deeper learning and practical application. Presenters spend less than half the time sharing ideas, with the majority devoted to participant engagement and the use of ready-to-adapt tools such as frameworks, templates, policies, or implementation guides.
Roundtable (25–30 minutes): A small-group, table-based discussion focused on a timely topic or challenge. Roundtables are designed for peer exchange, with presenters guiding conversation and encouraging participants to share questions, solutions, and experiences. Attendees may move between tables during the session to engage with multiple topics.
Convergence Talk (10 minutes): A rapid-fire presentation by a single speaker offering a concise introduction to an idea, innovation, or emerging issue. Talks follow strict timing and slide guidelines and are scheduled in sequence to give attendees quick exposure to a variety of topics.
Session Levels:
Primary Audience:
Submission Requirements:
Need help developing your proposal for the Convergence Conference? This AI-powered assistant, the Convergence Proposal Coach is here to guide you through the process. Whether you're refining a big idea or starting from scratch, the assistant helps you generate a strong session title, compelling description, clear learning outcomes, and effective engagement strategies—customized to fit Convergence’s audience and session formats. Once you access the coach, it starts by asking a few guiding questions to help shape your proposal. You'll get step-by-step support, helpful prompts, and even a final proposal formatted for submission that you can copy & paste into the submission form**. Plus, it checks to make sure your session’s content matches your selected presentation level, and it offers guidance based on your expertise. It's your creative partner in building a proposal that’s clear, engaging, and ready for peer review.
Access the Convergence Proposal Coach
(a Custom GPT developed by UPCEA)
* We encourage proposers to use the AI proposal coach to refine their ideas, but please make sure your session reflects your own experiences and ability to deliver what is described.
** The AI Assistant does not submit on your behalf or access UPCEA’s proposal system. You will not be prompted for any user credentials. Do not enter any into the AI assistant.
Proposals will be evaluated based on:
Priority will be given to submissions which include professional and/or online teams (i.e. UPCEAns) collaborating with registrars and their teams (i.e. AACRAOns)**
Proposals that explicitly support early-stage institutions or those new to credentialing work are strongly encouraged.
Note: due to demand, individuals may submit only one concurrent session proposal.
We reserve the right to revise presentation titles, reassign the proposed track, invite collaboration of like ideas, and/or edit the session description of selected presentations for promotional and program publications.
Timeline:
Proposals are due March 27
Questions?
Please contact the UPCEA Professional Development Team at PD@upcea.edu