Conference Focus Areas
The 108th NASPA Annual Conference will be held in the heart of the United States - Kansas City, MO, March 7 - 11, 2026. As the NASPA community gathers together, we will create an opportunity to envision a future that drives meaningful change and supports the success of every learner while ensuring that student affairs is an essential partner in their success. The 2026 Conference Leadership Committee invites sessions that address the myriad of challenges and opportunities we face, from creative budget solutions and utilizing technology, to building morale, and sustaining the workforce.
The Conference Leadership Committee encourages a critical reflection of the relevance of the profession: How does student affairs stay relevant in a shifting higher education landscape? What do we value? How can student affairs professionals align with leadership, faculty, staff, and students to maximize student success and community impact?
Program proposals should explore how to reduce barriers for students while partnering across divisions and departments. We strongly encourage submissions that dive into the complexities of JEDI work, navigating federal and state legislation, and how student affairs professionals can once again find joy and purpose in their roles, ensuring student, staff and institutional success.
The 2026 CLC seeks innovative and engaging program proposals on the following topics:
- Elevating Student Affairs: Embracing Our Impact
- Focusing on People: The Heart of the Student Affairs Profession
- Pathways to Student Success: Thriving in Higher Education
The specific prompts for each core content area are listed under the questions below.
As you prepare to submit a program, please ensure that you read the prompts in full and select the focus area to which your program relates. Conference proposals will be reviewed and scored based on your responses.
Click on the plus signs below to expand the conference core content areas and view the questions under each area. These are an important part of the program submission, review, and selection process.
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Elevating Student Affairs: Embracing Our Impact
Student affairs educators must leverage technology and data, in addition to understanding the return on investment (ROI) in our work, to elevate the profession, ensure outcomes are data-informed, and drive change that centers student success.
- Redefining the Profession:
- What should be the focus of a changed student affairs profession to meet modern needs?
- How can we align our goals with leadership, faculty, and staff to impact student success?
- Leveraging Data and Technology:
- How can we better integrate data analytics, ensure equitable access to resources, and foster post-graduate success?
- How can technology assist with demonstrating student affairs ROI to boards, legislators, and other stakeholders?
- How can student affairs educators and faculty stay ahead of trends in technology and workforce needs to better prepare students for future employment?
- Operational Excellence in Student Affairs:
- What best practices from the business world can enhance student affairs operations?
- How do concepts like ROI and value proposition translate to student engagement
- Navigating Workforce and Economic Trends:
- How should student affairs adapt to evolving student needs, workforce demands, and the mental health climate?
- How are we preparing students for employment in critical areas of the economy?
- The Future of Work in Student Affairs:
- How can flexibility in work arrangements (e.g., remote work) impact the future of the profession?
- How do we ensure that staff well-being aligns with student well-being for overall success?
- Redefining the Profession:
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Focusing on People: The Heart of the Student Affairs Profession
Student affairs is more than a profession - it is a career shaped by individuals from diverse backgrounds who bring unique perspectives at every stage of their journey. From entry-level professionals to faculty to senior-level practitioners, each contributes to the field's evolving identity. Equally important is celebrating the often-unsung contributions of middle managers—our directors and supervisors—who shape the future of student affairs through mentorship and innovation.
- Understanding Entry-level Professionals:
- What are the expectations of new professionals entering the field?
- How do the ways various generations prefer to be supervised impact their view of the profession?
- Supervision Beyond Personality Assessments:
- How do we honor the contributions of those who lead, mentor, and volunteer to advance student affairs?
- How can supervision evolve to better understand and support the diverse needs of staff at various levels, backgrounds, and experiences?
- Celebrating Leadership and Evidence-based Practices:
- How do we recognize and honor the work of middle managers who drive innovation and student-centered practices?
- Restoring Purpose and Sustained Joy in the Work:
- How do we build a culture that fosters joy, innovation, and leadership, while adapting to new expectations in work and supervision?
- How can professionals reconnect with the purpose of student affairs, finding fulfillment and joy in their roles?
- Tools for Professional Growth:
- What innovative tools, AI, or other skills are professionals using that have enhanced their work?
- Understanding Entry-level Professionals:
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Pathways to Student Success: Thriving in Higher Education
As the landscape of higher education evolves, institutions are tasked with fostering student success amidst complex challenges. Student affairs professionals play a critical role in navigating crises, mental health needs, student goals, and institutional priorities, all while supporting the staff who are essential to student success. This focus area invites participants to think critically about the principles guiding this work, from grant funding and public-private partnerships to breaking down systemic barriers and supporting the diverse, often under-discussed identities that shape student experiences.
- Supporting Students and Staff:
- How do we support staff in managing the mental health and JEDI challenges that arise as they foster student success?
- How do we balance the institution's goals with the personal goals of our students?
- Barriers to Success:
- What are innovative and inventive ways to reduce barriers (e.g., housing, healthcare, basic needs) through partnerships and funding?
- How can we ensure that student affairs work transcends "event management" and focuses on systemic change?
- Lifelong Learning for Professionals:
- How do we foster lifelong learning for staff through formal and informal avenues?
- How do we, as professionals, continue to thrive while supporting students' success?
- Diversifying the Student Affairs Pipeline:
- How can we diversify pathways into student affairs to support generational wealth and expand career opportunities?
- How do we help the next generation of student affairs professionals understand the breadth of roles (e.g., marketing, research)?
- Exploring Unique Identities Connected to Success:
- How do we address the needs of students with complex identities—second-generation, multiracial, and international students navigating unfamiliar systems?
- How can we create spaces that encourage thriving for underrepresented identities often left out of traditional student success discussions?
- Supporting Students and Staff:
NASPA Guiding Principles
In addition to the core content above, the Conference Leadership Committee wants to ensure that your programs have a focus on the principles below:
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Integrity
Committed to high moral principles exhibiting authentic, honest, just, and ethical behavior.
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Inclusion
Seeking ways to ensure access, voice, acknowledgement, opportunity, and participation at all levels.
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Inquiry
Supporting research and scholarship to add to the knowledge base of the profession and ensure that data informs practice.
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Innovation
Continuously seeking improvement through new and creative approaches.