Call for Proposals

2026 SACSCOC Annual Meeting

Conference Theme:  Exploring New Frontiers in Accreditation

Higher education stands at a pivotal moment, one defined by rapid change, evolving expectations, and extraordinary opportunity. From shifting federal and state priorities to the expanding role of technology, from growing questions about the value of a degree to new demands for workforce-ready graduates, institutions are being called to demonstrate not just compliance, but relevance, resilience, and resolve. Set in Houston, Texas, the Space City, a place long associated with bold missions, calculated risk, and the courage to push beyond what is known, this year’s Annual Meeting invites the higher education community to chart its own new frontier. Just as mission control brings together diverse expertise to navigate the unknown and guide explorers safely forward, SACSCOC calls on its member institutions to come together, share what is working, and build the strategies needed to lead with confidence into what lies ahead. The 2026 Annual Meeting Program Planning Committee invites you to submit proposals that address the following five program tracks:

Track A: Exploring New Frontiers in the Foundations of Accreditation

As higher education moves into new frontiers, certain fundamental aspects of accreditation remain essential to institutional success. This track invites proposals that focus on the core principles of accreditation, offering practical insights, proven strategies, and guidance on maintaining compliance while fostering institutional growth.

We are seeking proposals that explore:

  • Addressing new or evolving challenges in the areas of institutional funding and governance in response to a rapidly shifting federal, state, and regulatory landscape, and how institutions are positioning themselves to remain stable and mission-focused.
  • Ensuring that program length and the objectives of degrees and credentials offered are clearly defined, appropriately scoped, and consistent with commonly accepted academic standards.
  • Building institutional systems that track student achievement, retention, and completion in ways that produce actionable evidence of success at both the program and institutional level.
  • Ensuring that faculty are appropriately qualified and continuously developing in their roles and that the same commitment to instructional quality extends across all delivery formats.
  • Managing institutional finances and Title IV responsibilities with rigor and transparency, using default rates, audits, and program reviews as meaningful indicators of operational health and accountability.
  • Designing and sustaining workforce development programs within a framework of academic quality that ensures credentials are rigorous, relevant, and valued by employers and students alike.
  • Navigating the complexities of substantive change, including identifying, reporting, and managing changes that impact institutional operations.
  • Clarifying and strengthening the role of the Accreditation Liaison, including strategies for managing responsibilities, building institutional relationships, and leading accreditation efforts effectively.

Track B: Exploring New Frontiers in Teaching and Learning

As institutions explore new frontiers in how learning happens, they are rethinking pedagogy, credentials, and the tools that support student growth. This track invites proposals that highlight innovative and effective approaches to teaching, learning design, and faculty development that are responsive to today’s students while maintaining a commitment to academic quality.

We are seeking proposals that explore:

  • Implementing high-impact practices and active learning strategies that deepen student engagement, promote retention, and produce measurable learning outcomes across disciplines, delivery formats, and the varied needs of today’s learners.
  • Harnessing artificial intelligence to personalize learning, enhance instructional design, and improve student outcomes in ways that strengthen rather than compromise academic rigor.
  • Cultivating a campus culture in which faculty and students engage with artificial intelligence responsibly, ethically, and effectively, with clear institutional guidance that supports both academic integrity and professional readiness.
  • Developing and delivering shorter, stackable credentials that expand access and provide meaningful pathways to and through degree programs by reimagining how learning is structured and sequenced.
  • Expanding flexible pathways to degree completion by recognizing what students already know through competency-based education, prior learning assessment, life experience credit, and other alternative credit models.
  • Meeting underprepared students where they are through targeted instructional support, developmental approaches, and evidence-based interventions that build confidence and promote success.
  • Reimagining the role of teaching and learning centers in supporting faculty professional development, advancing pedagogical innovation, and building a culture of continuous improvement in instruction.
  • Addressing the evolving challenges of academic integrity, authorship, and authentic assessment in an environment where artificial intelligence is reshaping how students learn and produce work.

Track C: Exploring New Frontiers in Demonstrating Quality and Relevance

In an era when the value and relevance of higher education are increasingly scrutinized, institutions must be equipped to tell their story with data and clarity. This track invites proposals that share strategies, tools, and practices for demonstrating institutional quality, communicating the return on investment of a college credential/degree, and using evidence to drive continuous improvement.

We are seeking proposals that explore:

  • Leveraging data analytics, dashboards, and institutional effectiveness tools to communicate institutional quality, demonstrate continuous improvement, and make key metrics accessible to the decision-makers who need them.
  • Integrating career readiness competencies into degree plans and program design and using graduate outcome data and employer feedback to demonstrate that institutional offerings are producing workforce-ready graduates.
  • Developing scalable assessment frameworks that satisfy the requirements of multiple accreditors and external validators without duplicating effort or overwhelming institutional capacity.
  • Demonstrating the value and return on investment of degree programs through outcome data, employer engagement, post-graduation measures, and strategies that make the case for higher education to students, families, and the communities institutions serve.
  • Integrating artificial intelligence and emerging analytics tools into institutional research and decision-making in ways that enhance capacity, improve accuracy, and support institutional reporting.
  • Examining the tension between institutional mission and the pressure to serve all populations, and how leaders can make strategic decisions that preserve quality.

Track D: Exploring New Frontiers in Supporting Students

Students today arrive with diverse backgrounds, competing obligations, and a wide range of support needs. Institutions that truly serve their communities are finding creative, mission-driven ways to meet students where they are, whether online, on campus, or somewhere in between. This track invites proposals that highlight effective and innovative approaches to student support, access, and success across the full arc of the student experience, from enrollment to graduation and into lives of civic and professional engagement. We are seeking proposals that explore:

  • Ensuring every student has a genuine opportunity to succeed by identifying and removing the geographic, digital, physical, and circumstantial barriers that stand in their way.
  • Deploying support systems, tools, and artificial intelligence to proactively identify student needs, extend institutional reach, and connect individuals to the right resources before challenges derail their progress.
  • Advancing student health and wellness through initiatives that address food insecurity, promote physical activity, expand mental health resources, and build the whole-student infrastructure that enables academic success.
  • Creating clear pathways and intentional support structures that encourage and equip students to pursue graduate and advanced degrees, broadening their long-term opportunities and strengthening institutional outcomes.
  • Addressing the affordability of higher education through innovative cost-reduction strategies, financial literacy programming, and institutional practices that make credential/degree attainment achievable for students across economic backgrounds.
  • Designing and delivering programs including dual enrollment, Prison Education Programs, and other alternative pathways through community partnerships and intentional structures tailored to the distinct needs of the students they serve.
  • Integrating civic education into the curriculum in ways that deepen student understanding of their responsibilities as engaged citizens and connect academic learning to real-world community participation.

Track E: Exploring New Frontiers Beyond the Horizon

Higher education is navigating terrain that does not always fit neatly into predefined categories. This track welcomes proposals that address emerging issues, timely topics, and innovative ideas that are relevant to the conference theme but fall outside the scope of the other four tracks. If your institution is doing work that deserves a broader audience and does not have an obvious home elsewhere in the program, this is the space for it.

Eligibility for Participation

  • Proposals are welcomed from SACSCOC candidate and member institutions, state higher education system personnel, and experts in their respective fields.
  • Proposals that include a representative of a for-profit company that is not a SACSCOC candidate or member institution will not be accepted. Presenters representing for-profit companies should contact the SACSCOC Expo Manager, Christine Fletcher at christine@encore-expo.com, for information on how to present a session at the Annual Meeting.
  • If your institution is on sanction following the June 2026 SACSCOC Board of Trustees meeting, representatives from your institution will not be eligible to participate as presenters.

Format of Proposed Session

The 2026 Annual Meeting Program will feature poster sessions, group discussions, concurrent sessions, and pre-conference workshops. Consider the appropriate format of your session that will best ensure participants are able to achieve the desired learning outcomes. Below is a description of each session format:

  • Poster sessions feature a visually appealing presentation consisting of results from an adopted initiative or research project that includes implications for a wider audience. These sessions will be held during a specific time on the agenda and last for 30 minutes.
  • Group discussions bring together a small group of participants around a specific question, challenge, or topic of shared interest, facilitated by a knowledgeable leader who guides the conversation without delivering a formal presentation. The goal is collaborative inquiry where participants come prepared to contribute their own experiences and perspectives, and leave with new insights, connections, and practical ideas generated through the discussion itself. Proposal writers should clearly identify the central question or challenge their discussion will address and demonstrate why it is timely and relevant to the field. While group discussions are 60 minutes, formal presentations will not be considered.
  • Concurrent sessions offer practical applications, including honest reflection on what worked and what did not. Sessions must go beyond describing an institution’s own experience to actively helping attendees understand how the work can be adapted and applied on their own campuses. To that end, proposal writers are expected to reserve time within their session for guided discussion, reflection, or activity that supports this transfer of learning. Concurrent sessions are either 60- or 90-minutes long, should contain no more than 5 minutes of introductions and overview, and should include at least 5-10 minutes for audience questions. Sessions that warrant 90 minutes must include an active learning component.
  • Pre-Conference Workshops incorporate active learning during sessions led by experienced professionals in full-day (6 hours) and half-day (3 hours) time frames. A schedule of activities to be conducted during the allotted time must be included in the proposal. In addition, the content must include both didactic and applied instruction. Workshop presenters should be knowledgeable in their fields and capable of presenting the content in creative ways and applying it to real problems in academia.

Components of Proposal Evaluation

All proposals should be well developed with thorough responses. Submissions that are incomplete will not be reviewed.
Proposals will be evaluated on how well the questions below are answered.

  • Proposal title – Does the title clearly describe the session and enhance interest?
  • Session description – Does the description coherently and concisely describe what will be covered in the session while piquing the interest of an attendee?
  • Currency, relevance, and appropriateness of the topic to the theme – Does the proposal make a strong compelling argument for its inclusion in the conference program?
  • Organization of session – Is there a well-structured outline with sufficient details about the content to be covered and realistic time frames for each segment of the proposed session?
  • Participant learning outcomes – Are the participant learning outcomes attainable, address what participants will learn (rather than what the presenter will do), and in alignment with the content of the session outline?
  • Active learning (Pre-conference workshops and 90-minute concurrent sessions only) – Does the proposal include meaningful activities for participants that appropriately support the participant learning outcomes?
  • Distinctiveness and transferability –Does the proposal clearly articulate what sets this session apart from others that may address the same topic, and does it demonstrate how attendees from a variety of institutional backgrounds will be able to apply what they learn on their own campuses?
  • Professionalism – Does the proposal reflect the level of professionalism expected of SACSCOC presenters (well-written and error-free)?
  • Presenter qualifications – Does the presenter possess the expertise to deliver the proposed session?

Additional Proposal Items

In addition to the components of the proposal noted above that will be evaluated, submissions must also provide the items below to better assist attendees with identifying sessions that are most appropriate for them:

Proposal Topic Category
Choose up to two of the categories from the list of proposal topics that best describes the focus of your proposed session. 

Session Level
Designate one of the session levels if it is appropriate. If your session does not fit neatly into either category, no designation is necessary.

Foundational:  Sessions designed for those who are newer to a topic or seeking a solid grounding in concepts, processes, or practices that are essential to their work.

Advanced:  Sessions designed for those with significant experience in a topic area and feature work that goes beyond the basics to share innovative approaches, demonstrated outcomes, or transformative practices that push the field forward.

Target Audience
List the roles or positions within an institution that would most benefit from attending your session. This information will be used to help attendees identify sessions most relevant to their work.

Target Audience Institution Level
Determine whether your content can be easily adapted by institutions at a different level than your institution. Select the institution level(s) that will benefit most from your proposed session. Each level reflects the highest degree offered at a member institution.

  • Level I – Associate degree
  • Level II – Baccalaureate degree
  • Level III – Master’s degree
  • Level IV – Specialist degree
  • Level V – Doctorate degree in three or fewer academic or professional disciplines
  • Level VI – Doctorate degree in four or more academic or professional disciplines

Target Audience Institution Size
Select all that apply.

  • Very small: Under 500
  • Small: 1,000 – 4,999
  • Medium: 5,000 – 9,999
  • Large: 10,000 – 19,999
  • Very large: 20,000 and above

Have you presented a session on this or a similar topic at a previous SACSCOC Annual Meeting? (Yes or No)

o If “Yes,” how will you make changes to this year’s presentation or use comments from previous evaluations to improve your session?

Ready to submit a proposal? Please find helpful links and our Cadmium Scorecard Submission site below:

The deadline to submit a proposal is Wednesday, May 20, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST.