Program Director Mark Flanigan attended the annual Overseas Association for College Admissions Counseling (OACAC) Conference, which was held at the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa Bay, FL. This was a nice chance to meet and network with new colleagues in global education. In this Blog post, Mark shares more about his experience there.

As a first-time attendee, I was very happy to join this year’s OACAC Conference in Tampa on behalf of ICU. I considered it a great opportunity to help build our ICU-JICUF partnership further while promoting ICU as a distinguished Liberal Arts University to new constituents and colleagues. It was also a wonderful chance for additional professional development in my own career in global education.

What is OACAC?

OACAC was founded in 1991 and is affiliated with the US-based National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). Membership is available to eligible institutions, organizations, agencies and individuals as defined in the association’s Bylaws. OACAC is a not-for-profit organization (taxpayer ID 141-82-7265).

Membership is made up of over 1,500 professionals from more than 90 countries worldwide dedicated to serving students as they make choices about pursuing postsecondary education. OACAC brings together primary and secondary school counselors, independent counselors, college admission and financial aid officers, enrollment managers, and organizations engaged in guiding students through the secondary to higher education transition process.

OACAC’s mission:

“To facilitate global interaction among counselors and institutions in support of secondary students transitioning to higher education while promoting professional standards that foster ethical and social responsibility.”

The 2014 Conference

This year OACAC hosted its 21st annual conference in Tampa Bay. Highlights included over 80 educational sessions, College Fair/High School Fairs attended by hundreds of institutions from all over the world, pre-conference seminars, an exhibitors hall, a 5k Run for charity, and a number of fun social and networking events. This year’s conference was the largest yet, with 1,100 high school counselors and university admissions representatives from over 80 countries and 831 institutions (including me/ICU).

The Conference took place over three and a half days in July (08-11), held primarily on campus of the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa. There were two additional Universities, which served as co-sponsors- The University of Tampa (which hosted a very nice Opening Reception and Dinner) and Eckerd College (which hosted a beachside social event). Housing and most meals were provided on-campus. This provided a more basic, low-cost option, which was also convenient for attending all events. Most locations were fairly walk-able, although USF did provide a convenient shuttle service to/from all events across campus.

Conference Highlights 

Highlights of the Conference included many events, such as the First-Timers Meeting, which was a good overview and general introduction to OACAC. It was a one-hour session with other participants, in groups of about 10-15, led by senior members. The Education Session Workshops were scheduled over the second and third days of OACAC, with ample opportunity to choose from a wide variety of diverse and interesting options. All Workshops were led by subject-matter experts/real-world practitioners, which made them quite useful. Audience participation was definitely encouraged, and I found them to be quite informative and relevant. Some of the ones I attended were: “How Evidence of Global Competence Impacts Admissions”, “Expand your Horizons: English-Taught Degree Programs in Asia”, “The Evolving Role of Standardized Admission Testing in Global Higher Education” and “International Outreach: Accessing Top Public High Schools in Asia.”

Another key event was the combined High School Fair/College Fair, which saw the best Conference attendance overall. Both the High School and College Fairs were held on the third day (Thursday, July 10) in the same location. The High School Fair was in the morning, from 8:30-10:00am, while the College Fair took place after Education Session V from 3:00-4:30pm. I found these events to be the most beneficial in terms of direct networking with HS Counselors and other colleagues. Each school in attendance had a small amount of automatic table space, sufficient for displaying brochures, talking with people and so on. Schools were arranged in rows by country/region- China/Taiwan had the majority for Asia-Pacific, with many other countries in attendance as well.

Between the two Fairs, I was able to pass out all my meishi/ICU brochures and collect a high number of business cards in return. I created an excel spreadsheet with the compiled countries/cities/schools/names/contact information for all HS Counselors I talked with, which I later shared with the ICU Admissions center.

Networking Opportunities 

Perhaps one of the best take-aways from OACAC, outside of the official events and meetings, are the numerous opportunities for sidebar conversations, mingling and networking with like-minded colleagues. Over group breakfasts/lunches/dinners, social events in the evenings, receptions and so on, there are numerous opportunities to meet and exchange ideas with people who are experienced, global professionals in your career field. In the course of the few days at the Conference, I would estimate that I met over 100 fellow practitioners in the field of global education and exchange.

Looking Ahead

The next OACAC Conference will be held at the University of Oregon from July 7-10, 2015. It promises to be a nice opportunity to partner with ICU once again and organize an ICU alumni dinner event, joint info session and possible school visits in Oregon around the time of the Conference. We hope to see many of our colleagues and friends there!