From Tweet to Chat: A Conversation with NASPA & ACPA about Registration Fees and Conference Costs

There’s the tweet that started it all.

I had no idea the dialogue that would begin based on that one tweet. My intention was to state a question that had been bothering me all day as I tried to figure out if my personal finances would allow me to travel to the Sexual Violence Prevention Conference in January 2017 and the NASPA Annual Conference in March 2017. I figured a few folks would like the tweet and move on. I didn’t anticipate the number of other #SAPros that would engage in a conversation about the question I had asked. It seems my tweet opened the door for others to share similar thoughts and frustrations about conference and registration fees.

Many stated that they had given up attending annual conferences all together due to the high costs. Others stated that as leaders in their departments they gave up their funding to allow their team to attend. Others, like myself, stated that when institutional funding had been all used up they sat down to see if they could finance their own trip. The conversation continued as others spoke about why they believed the registration cost to be so high and which aspects of the conference could be sacrificed to alleviate the costs.

Just by engaging in the conversation I began to have even more questions. Where did the fees go? What could be done to lessen the costs? Could volunteers or presenters obtain a discount on their registration fee? I was pleasantly surprised when both ACPA and NASPA reached out to me via Twitter to state that they wanted to engage in a conversation with me about registration fees as a means to address the #sachat that had occurred about that very issue. I did not hear back from ASCA. But here’s what I learned from speaking with ACPA and NASPA.

Let’s start with ACPA.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Tricia Fechter Gates, Deputy Executive Director at ACPA-College Student Educators International.

To start, the convention registration rate has not been raised in four years. Additionally, ACPA also has a payment plan for those that want to pay the registration fee over time. That payment plan kick starts for those that even register at the annual convention for the next year’s convention. The registration for the annual convention opens a year in advance for that very reason. The fee has to be paid in full 30 days before the convention.

On top of this ACPA is doing all that it can on its end to guarantee affordability.

I asked if there was a similar payment plan option for the institutes offered by ACPA and was pleased by the response of yes! However, the pricing for each institute is based on the length of the institute and the amount of meals provided by the institute. In other words, the longer the institute, the more meals provided by the institute, the higher the cost. It is for this reason that ACPA has cut some meal options for the institutes as a means to cut the cost of the institute. Again, the costs of the institutes have not been increased in three and a half years. Plus, it should be mentioned that there is student pricing for all of the institutes and the annual convention.

I also made sure to ask about scholarships, which vary from program to program. For the institutes two per program can be awarded a scholarship. ACPA has 43 entities which also provide various scholarships. As for the convention there are also many scholarships available. It was at this moment that I  mentioned that these scholarship opportunities were hard to find. Tricia mentioned that ACPA is working on making all scholarships more publicly available to all. The idea is to create a “common application” or information process.

I asked Tricia what the overall cost of the annual conference can be. She mentioned the annual conference in Tampa was almost one million. $50,000 was for WiFi alone. I know I have worked in higher ed for a while and I have planned events but often I forget what the costs for event planning look like when I’m not planning the event. In those moments of attending conferences I become like my students expecting everything for the amount I pay. Maybe that in itself is the biggest part of the cost program. Just food for thought.

ACPA offers complimentary hotel and registration and sometimes travel for those who are faculty for the institutes. There is no presenter discount for the annual convention. ACPA looked into that idea but in order to do that the costs of the registration fees would have to go up for everyone else. The annual convention has approximately 900 presenters in total.

All in all the conversation was quite informative.

So what did Stephanie Gordon, Vice President for Professional Development, from NASPA say?

NASPA, just like ACPA, provides a student rate for all conferences and trainings. Also, all conferences and trainings have an early bird registration fee which is lower than the normal fee rate. NASPA is currently assessing the need for and investigating the possibility of a payment plan option as they have just moved into their new membership database..

The cost of the conference is the same for attendees and/or presenters. Like ACPA, NASPA, looked into the possibility of providing discounts for presenters and volunteers but the cost difference would have to be covered by the other attendees. When asked about available scholarships NASPA is also looking into creating a more central hub for all scholarship opportunities on their 2018 conference website.  Currently, you can find NASPA Annual Conference scholarship opportunities here http://conference2017.naspa.org/program/scholarship-opportunities.

Stephanie mentioned that the full cost of the annual conference is approximately two million dollars. For example, even a gallon of coffee is $90/gallon at the conference hotel before tax and a standard 22-24% service charge. In order to a alleviate food and travel costs for attendees NASPA typically chooses conference sites close to airports and in areas where folks can easily walk to get food. NASPA has also brought food trucks to conference sites in the past.

Stephanie went on to mention that between audiovisual and staging needs, livestreaming and labor the opening session alone can cost approximately $200,000 All these pieces plug into the annual registration fee. I asked Stephanie about costs for the opening and closing speakers and was pleasantly surprised to learn that NASPA tries to cover speaker fees with strategic partnerships and sponsorships. Their goal is that none of the registration fees have to go toward the speaker honorariums. NASPA has created wonderful partnerships with organizations such as the National Society of Leadership and Service (NSLS) which help bring speakers such as Anderson Cooper to the annual conference at no cost to those attending. All sponsorship dollars helps keep the conference fees low.

NASPA also does not spend registration fees on conference “swag” by working with sponsors and partners. They always aim to find hotels with the lowest rates for attendees. Plus, NASPA also offers the roommate pairing option so as to help with hotel fees. Finally, NASPA does not cover the costs of the conference for the conference planning committee.  

At the end of this conversation, just like the one before it with ACPA, I had felt like I had learned a lot about conference planning and conference costs. I look forward to more accessible information about scholarships from both organizations and hope that the payment plan option for NASPA is up and running soon. I for one know that I would appreciate that kind of option.

At the end of the day when funding a conference on your own you have to decide if the cost is worth it to you and your development. That answer may be yes or no and that’s ok. You have to make the choice that’s best for you. I know many professionals who have chosen to leave these professional organizations due to cost among other things and many that are active members. Some go and come back some never leave. But see that’s the beauty of it all. You can be as engaged or unengaged as you want to be. You can be a member of one organization and not be part of another. The decision is all yours.

I can only hope this post offered you some insight as my conversations with NASPA and ACPA did for me.

Best wishes as you plan for this upcoming conference season. Feel free to reach out to me @jbhatt12 on Twitter should you have any additional questions or concerns.

Thanks for reading and tweeting.

A special thank you to Tiki Ayiku, Senior Director of Educational Programs, and Jill Gately, Director of Meetings from NASPA for being part of the conversation as well.