Can’t-Miss Higher Ed Conferences for 2024-25

Our tracker of virtual, in-person and hybrid higher education leadership conferences for the upcoming academic year.

By: Volt
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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 2024-25.

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Higher Education Conferences Happening in Fall 2024

Leadership in Higher Education Conference

Regardless of position or experience, the pre-conference workshops, plenary presentations and concurrent sessions can adapt to any institution or leader. You’ll learn new methods to manage change and enhance productivity while networking with everyone from like-minded peers to nationally recognized experts.

NACCE 2024 National Conference

Join with your peers from community colleges across the country at the 2024 NACCE Annual Conference in Minneapolis, MN.  Engage in activities and networking in entrepreneurial mindset and innovative action with a special focus on interdisciplinary areas such as STEM, Workforce, Entrepreneurship, Business Administration and Development.

Social Media Strategies Summit

Learn the nuts and bolts of a successful social media strategy to position your institution for success — whether you’re in recruitment, admissions, student experience or alumni relations. If you manage any of your university’s social media channels, this event is your chance to meet and talk shop with 500+ peers within HESM community.

EDUCAUSE Annual Conference

The EDUCAUSE Annual Conference 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.

NACADA’s 2024 Annual Conference

The NACADA’s 2024 Annual Conference focuses on helping colleges and universities provide their students with high-quality academic advising. The event features regional working groups to connect with other professionals in the mid-Atlantic area, as well as numerous exhibits, panels and keynote addresses touching on issues of national importance.

2024 Global Inclusion Conference

Since 2013 Diversity Abroad’s annual conference has constituted the most comprehensive forum for education professionals, students and stakeholders committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in global education and cultural exchange. 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.

The Global Student Leadership Summit

The Global Student Leadership Summit (GSLS) prepares participants with inclusive leadership skills and global competencies so that they can thrive in their communities and on globally diverse campuses and work teams. This will be the 9th annual GSLS, which attracts dozens of students from colleges and universities nationwide with a simple goal: to develop the skills essential to being a successful and inclusive leader in a global society.

National Forum to Advance Rural Education

  • Website: https://www.nrea.net/nfare
  • When: October 31 – November 1, 2024
  • Where: Savannah, GA
  • Attendance: In-person
  • Cost: Starting at $100

The National Forum to Advance Rural Education is designed to create an environment for collaboration and innovation with a diverse community that includes national experts, K–12 and higher education practitioners, leading researchers, policymakers and philanthropic leaders from around the country.

2024 Institute for Chief Academic Officers

CIC’s 2024 Institute for Chief Academic Officers invites chief academic officers and their teams to collaborate at a deeper level and program for a stronger future. Participants will delve into topics that frame a renewed paradigm for academic leadership. The theme of this year’s Institute is “Academic Leadership Now & Next” and will focus on building alliances, creating innovative academic pathways and unlocking the potential of education for more students.

2024 AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education

For more than 30 years, the AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education has been a premier event that paints a vibrant picture of the evolving higher education landscape.  Beyond the sessions and presentations, the symposium is a vibrant community where knowledge seamlessly transitions into action.

OLC Accelerate 2024

The OLC Accelerate 2024 conference will offer everything you need to know about the most innovative and impactful research and effective practices in the field of online, blended and digital learning. This event will support administrators, designers, and educators by providing a comprehensive list of sessions and activities tailored to address the challenges and goals of the entire community.

UPCEA MEMS 2024

UPCEA MEMS is a must-attend conference for education professionals who want to stay on top of the trends in higher ed marketing. Presented from a variety of perspectives, sessions elevate the conversation about today’s higher education landscape. For more than 30 years, MEMS has drawn professionals from institutions of all sizes to showcase thought leadership in higher education and explore trends in adult student recruitment and retention.

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Higher Education Conferences Happening in Winter 2024-25

2025 Presidents Institute

The Council of Independent Colleges’ 2025 Presidents Institute serves as a pivotal gathering amid the shifting higher education environment, offering a space for leaders to address key challenges. The 2025 gathering will provide more than 300 college and university presidents, along with nearly 750 participants, the opportunity to explore how strategic community engagement can transform challenges into opportunities.

ACCU’s Annual Meeting

Each winter, presidents and senior administrators from Catholic colleges and universities around the world come together in Washington, DC for ACCU’s signature event. The event offers members the opportunity to greet colleagues, share ideas and discuss important issues in Catholic higher education. The ACCU Annual Meeting is preceded by several specially tailored programs that draw participants from key offices on member campuses.

NAICU 2025 Annual Meeting and Advocacy Day

NAICU’s Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day is the premier policy and advocacy event for private, nonprofit higher education leadership, including college and university presidents, government relations personnel, and executives from state and mission-specific higher education associations. The meeting annually offers briefings on pressing policy issues affecting higher education and focuses advocacy efforts on these critical concerns.

ACE Experience 2025

ACEx2025 examines higher education’s role in society now and in the future alongside visionary leaders from diverse fields. Designed specifically for college and university presidents and chancellors, ACEx2025 will provide high-level perspectives on the critical national and international issues impacting higher education.

InsightsEDU 2025 – Marketing and Enrollment Management for Adult and Online Education

EducationDynamics’ InsightsEDU conference is one of the few higher education conferences that focus exclusively on the adult learner enrolled in post-traditional education programs. The 2025 conference will be hosted in New Orleans, LA, with a wide array of speakers targeted to help higher education professionals navigate the current education landscape.

Higher Education Conferences Happening in Spring 2025

2025 UPCEA Annual Conference

The Annual Conference convenes deans and other senior university leaders, key staff, and teams responsible for the management, administration, and growth of professional, continuing, and online education programs. Attendees have access to targeted sessions spanning the top areas of practice in the field (aligned with UPCEA’s eight professional Networks), led by higher education experts and colleagues.

AACRAO 110th Annual Meeting

The AACRAO Annual Meeting is an opportunity to learn, network, and advance higher education. Professionals from a variety of higher education disciplines gather together to engage and discuss the ever-changing landscape of higher ed. Each year higher education professionals face new and unique challenges in their work and AACRAO’s Annual Meeting is the place to find solutions to those challenges.

OLC Innovate 2025

OLC Innovate, a joint conference presented by OLC and MERLOT, provides a path for innovators of all experience levels and backgrounds to share best practices, test new ideas, and collaborate on driving forward online, digital and blended learning. Themed “The Rhythm of Innovation: Hitting the High Notes in Digital Education,” the conference will reimagine how today’s disruptions shape tomorrow’s classrooms.

Higher Learning 2025

The HLC Annual Conference, now branded Higher Learning, brings the higher ed community together in Chicago to share ideas and insights on the latest in the field. The conference is geared towards administrators in the higher education community, including administrative professionals, faculty members, CEOs, presidents and chancellors. The 2025 conference will explore how colleges and universities use higher education to address evolving student and societal needs, impart workforce skills, fuel innovation and tackle today’s most pressing challenges.

ASU + GSV Summit

Arizona State University and GSV host this annual event focused on transforming society and business around learning and work across the “Pre-K to Gray” (i.e., lifelong learning) global education sectors.

NAGAP 2025 Graduate Enrollment Management Summit 

NAGAP’s annual summit unites professionals engaged in every aspect of the graduate enrollment lifecycle — from admissions and recruitment to financial aid, academic affairs and beyond. As the only professional organization dedicated exclusively to graduate enrollment management, NAGAP provides a unique platform for addressing the specific concerns and challenges faced by those in this field.

2025 North American Career Education Convention

The  North American Career Education Convention is the largest gathering of private career education professionals in North America. This event features well-known keynote speakers, experts leading concurrent sessions and an environment to connect and network with others in the sector.

Did we miss any higher ed conferences? Have any of these been updated already? Let us know on Twitter @volthighered.

Volt

Volt

Staff


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