Can’t-Miss Higher Ed Conferences for 2025-26

After years of virtual gatherings, higher ed leaders are ready to reconnect with old friends and forge new connections over coffee breaks and evening receptions. There’s a certain magic to those impromptu conversations and chance encounters that simply can’t be replicated through a webcam. 

We have curated a list of higher ed conferences and professional development programs to help you navigate the changing landscape. Whether virtual, hybrid or in-person, many more sessions are also available to registrants as on-demand content, a trend that seems likely to stay.

Here is our guide to the college leadership conferences that typically dot the higher education professional development calendar, with a breakdown of the current plans for how each will be held in 2025.

Jump to Section:

• Summer 2025
• Fall 2025
• Winter 2025-26
• Spring 2026

Higher Education Conferences Happening in Summer 2025

NACAC Conference 2025

• Website: https://nacacconference.org/
• When: September 18-20, 2025
• Where: Columbus, OH
  
• Attendance: In-person
• Cost: Starting at $575

The NACAC Conference 2025 will gather over 6,000 dedicated counselors in Columbus to exchange best practices, gain inspiration, and explore cutting-edge research in admission counseling. This event provides higher education counselors with the chance to discover innovative strategies, engage with thought leaders and peers, stay updated with the latest research, and connect with a diverse community of professionals.

EMA 2025 Annual Conference

• Website: https://ac.enrollment.org/
• When: September 18-20, 2025
• Where: Austin, TX
  
• Attendance: In-person
• Cost: TBD

The Enrollment Management Association’s annual conference brings together an innovative group of thought leaders to discuss how schools can attract more students, grow their community, and deliver on their mission. Throughout the three day event, attendees will learn about various topics to help grow enrollments from some of the leading minds in the education space.

Higher Education Conferences Happening in Fall 2025

Digital Collegium 2025 Annual Conference (former HighEdWeb)

• Website: https://events.digicol.org/digicol25
• When: September 28 – October 1, 2025
• Where: Grand Rapids, MI
• Attendance: In-person and virtually
• Cost: Starting at $265

The Digital Collegium Annual Conference (formerly known as the HighEdWeb Annual Conference) is the conference created by and for higher ed professionals across all departments and divisions. Save the date — Sept. 28-Oct. 1, 2025 — and plan to attend #DigiCol25 in Grand Rapids or online.

EDUCAUSE Annual Conference

• Website: https://events.educause.edu/annual-conference/2025
• When: October 27–30, 2025 and November 12–13, 2025
• Where: Nashville, TN
• Attendance: In-person and virtually
• Cost: Starting at $199

The EDUCAUSE Annual Conference connects the best thinkers in higher education technology. This is the event where professionals and technology providers from around the world gather to network, share ideas, grow professionally, and discover solutions to today’s challenges. It’s the largest gathering of your peers…people you can relate to, learn from, and stay connected to throughout the year.

Global Inclusion 2025

• Website: https://conference.daglobal.org/about-the-conference/future-global-inclusion-conferences/
• When: October 28–31, 2025
• Where: Minneapolis, MN
• Attendance: In-person
• Cost: TBD

Community, collaboration, learning and inspiration. For 12 years the annual Diversity Abroad conference has embodied these words. In fall 2025 the tradition continues in Minneapolis, Minnesota as Diversity Abroad celebrates its 13th annual conference. As in prior years Global Inclusion will embody Diversity Abroad and its member community’s holistic approach to addressing and accelerating systemic and equitable change in all aspects of global education and cultural exchange.

2025 AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education

• Website: https://www.ama.org/events/conference/2025-ama-symposium-for-the-marketing-of-higher-education/
• When: November 9-12, 2025
• Where: National Harbor, MD
  
• Attendance: In-person
• Cost: Starting at $1,339

For over 30 years, the AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education has been a leading event in shaping the future of higher ed marketing. Beyond the sessions and presentations, the Symposium offers a collaborative space where ideas turn into action and innovation drives progress.

OLC Accelerate

• Website: https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/conferences/olc-accelerate2025/
• When: November 17-20, 2025
• Where: Orlando, FL
  
• Attendance: In-person
• Cost: Starting at $550

The Accelerate 2025 conference, hosted by the Online Learning Consortium, showcases groundbreaking research and highly effective practices in online and digital learning across K-12, higher education, and corporate L&D. This event is designed to empower and support leaders, instructional designers, educators, and training professionals by offering a wide range of sessions and activities. These are specifically curated to address the unique challenges and shared goals of our entire community, helping to shape the evolving landscape of digital learning and workforce development.

Higher Education Conferences Happening in Winter 2025-26

2025 UPCEA MEMS Conference

• Website: https://conferences.upcea.edu/marketing25/index.html
• When: December 2-4, 2025
• Where: Boston, MA
  
• Attendance: In-person
• Cost: Starting at $945

The annual UPCEA Marketing, Enrollment Management, and Student Success (MEMS) conference is the premier event for leaders and practitioners responsible for online and professional continuing education marketing and enrollment management at colleges and universities around the world. Designed for both senior leaders and practitioners, the conference offers high level, strategically-focused presentations as well as sessions which spotlight the tactical components of marketing and enrollment management in today’s higher education landscape.

2026 Presidents Institute

• Website: https://cic.edu/event/2026-presidents-institute/
• When: January 4-7, 2026
• Where: Orlando, FL
  
• Attendance: In-person
• Cost: Starting at $1,700

Independent colleges and universities are engines of opportunity, and their contributions to society have never been more needed. At the 2026 Presidents Institute, which will be held January 4–7 at the Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando, Florida, CIC member presidents will explore strategies that empower campuses to fulfill their missions and remain resolute in serving the common good.

2026 InsightsEDU Conference

• Website: https://insightsedu.educationdynamics.com/event/
• When: February 17-19, 2026
• Where: Fort Lauderdale, FL
  
• Attendance: In-person
• Cost: Starting at $845

EducationDynamics’ InsightsEDU is one of the only higher education marketing and enrollment management conferences focused on the Modern Learner. Every year, InsightsEDU brings together thought leaders, decision-makers and professionals from colleges, universities and education-related organizations nationwide. The mission of InsightsEDU is to create a platform for the exchange of ideas, strategies and innovations that propel higher education forward.

Higher Education Conferences Happening in Spring 2026

Higher Learning 2026

• Website: https://www.hlcommission.org/learning-center/annual-conference
• When: March 21-24, 2026
• Where: Chicago, IL
  
• Attendance: In-person
• Cost: TBD

Higher Learning 2026 will bring together professionals who are shaping the future of higher ed. The conference will explore how institutions can pursue continuous improvement through accreditation and ensure high-quality, transformative educational experiences that meet the evolving needs of students and society.

ASU+GSV Summit + The AI Show 2026

• Website: https://web.cvent.com/event/
• When: April 11-15, 2026
• Where: San Diego, CA
  
• Attendance: In-person
• Cost: Starting at $495

Join industry leaders in San Diego for the most impactful gathering of leaders across the global “PreK to Gray” learning and workforce skills ecosystem. Since 2010, the ASU+GSV Summit and The AI Show @ ASU+GSV—founded through a collaboration between Global Silicon Valley (GSV) and Arizona State University (ASU)—has championed the belief that ALL people deserve equal access to the future, with innovation at scale as the catalyst for change.

2026 UPCEA Annual Conference

• Website: https://conferences.upcea.edu/annual2026/
• When: April 15-17, 2026
• Where: New Orleans, LA
  
• Attendance: In-person
• Cost: Starting at $1,045

The 2026 UPCEA Annual Conference that will be hosted in New Orleans, LA, on April 15-17. This event promises to be an invaluable opportunity for us to come together as a community, share insights, and collaboratively address the pressing issues facing our schools and the broader landscape of education today.

AACRAO Annual Meeting

• Website: https://www.aacrao.org/events-training/meetings/annual-meeting
• When: April 19-22, 2026
• Where: New Orleans, LA
  
• Attendance: In-person
• Cost: TBD

The AACRAO Annual Meeting is an opportunity to learn, network, and advance higher education. Professionals from a variety of higher education disciplines gather together at the AACRAO Annual Meeting to engage and discuss the ever-changing landscape of higher ed.

Did we miss any higher ed conferences? Have any of these been updated already? Let us know on LinkedIn or Bluesky @volthighered or email hello@voltedu.com.