Submission deadline is March 1, 2012

It is our intention to have all submissions for presentation, including completed studies, works in progress, or project plans, evaluated through a blind peer review process with feedback provided prior to the conference. As many quality submissions as possible will be accepted for presentation. Information supplied will also be used by the program committee to organize and form sessions within the conference schedule.

Please submit a 100- to 200-word abstract of the proposed presentation. The text of the abstract should include a statement of the problem and, if appropriate, procedures, results, and conclusions of your work. Proposals must not exceed 2500 words (approximately four single-spaced pages). Names of authors should not appear within the proposal text. Abstract, references, tables, and figures are not included in the word limit. Each proposal should include title, abstract, an outline/description of the research project or scholarly paper (essay), and a statement describing the contribution of the research to the greater scholarly community. Specific details about each proposal type are included below.

It is the presenter's responsibility to ensure they are in compliance with their university's policies involving protection of human subjects and conflict of interest.

Submissions

There are three categories for submissions: (1) poster; (2) scholarly essay; and (3) research paper. There are two session types: poster or paper. Submissions should be made through the online submission form and should adhere to APA 6th edition formatting requirements. All submissions are due on March 1, 2012.

Poster

Poster presentations provide a forum for scholars to engage in active discussion with other conference participants about a completed research project or about a project in developing stages. The poster venue allows scholars with similar research interests to interact by using the poster as a focal point.

Proposals should provide: (1) a clear statement of the purpose or goals of the research (i.e., the primary research questions or issues being addressed); (2) a brief summary of the theoretical or conceptual foundation for the work; (3) a description of the methodology being used and the project findings (if applicable); and (4) the theoretical and/or practical significance and implications of the research.

Poster proposals will be evaluated on: (1) the significance of the topic, issue, or problem to the field of higher education; (2) the quality of the theoretical or conceptual framework; and (3) the clarity of objectives and intended outcomes of the research.

Scholarly Paper (Essay)

Scholarly papers take the form of essays that present well-developed arguments on philosophical, theoretical, or practical problems in the study of higher education. They are not required to adhere to an empirical research design (i.e., methods, data collection, and data analysis). Instead, scholarly papers pose analytical questions, synthesize divergent bodies of literature, or elaborate new theoretical or conceptual frameworks. The final scholarly paper should not be longer than 15 double-spaced pages (excluding references, tables, and appendices).

Scholarly paper proposals should contain as many of the following as are applicable, preferably in this order: (1) objectives or purposes of the inquiry; (2) the philosophical, theoretical, or practical argument and its bases; (3) literature, sources, or evidence to support the argument/analysis; (4) conclusions and implications of the argument; and (5) significance of the argument for higher education.

Scholarly paper proposals will be evaluated based upon: (1) the importance of the topic to higher education; (2) the originality of the work; (3) the quality of the analytical argument, including how well the argument fits or challenges the extant literature; (4) the persuasiveness of the conclusions; (5) the overall clarity of the proposal (e.g., quality of writing, organization of ideas, clarity of assumptions, logic of arguments, etc.); and (6) evidence that the paper will be completed at least two weeks before the conference.

Research Paper

Research papers present the results of quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods studies; or report the findings of studies that use historical, ethnographic, or other analytical methods. These studies are based on original data collection or secondary data analysis. The final research paper should not be longer than 20 double-spaced pages (excluding references, tables, and appendices).

Research paper proposals should contain as many of the following as are applicable, preferably in this order: (1) objectives or purposes of the study; (2) theoretical or conceptual frameworks/perspectives; (3) methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry; (4) data sources or evidence; (5) expected results, conclusions; and (6) significance of the study's findings.

Research paper proposals will be evaluated based upon: (1) the importance of the topic to higher education; (2) the originality of the work; (3) the quality of theoretical or conceptual frameworks and data sources, if applicable; (4) the soundness of the research design, analysis, and/or interpretation; (5) the reasonableness of the conclusions and implications; and (6) the overall clarity of the proposal (e.g., quality of writing, organization of ideas, clarity of assumptions, logic of arguments, etc.).