Combined Call for Proposals
2027 Annual Convention and 2027 Best Practices Awards

Overview  |  Topics  |  Submission Guidelines  |  Contact Information

Overview

The SACUBO Professional Development Committee and Best Practices Committee invite you to submit a proposal for the SACUBO Annual Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 4–6, 2027. We are seeking presenters to share their experiences/stories addressing issues facing college and university business officers today. These proposals should give consideration to our conference theme, Diving Into the Past, Leading Into the Future: A Century of Shaping Higher Education. 

Presenting at the Annual Convention offers an opportunity to share effective strategies and showcase solutions to manage many of the challenges facing higher education today. The convention typically brings together more than 600 college and university business officers, including CFOs, Vice Presidents of Finance & Administration, AVPs of Finance, Controllers, Comptrollers, Accountants, Budget Directors, AVPs of Facilities, Auxiliary Directors, and others.

Those who respond will also have the option for their proposal to be considered for the Best Practices Award Program. This program showcases the best of college and university business officers' efforts in creating better, more efficient, and customer-friendly business practices. Past submissions have showcased a wide variety of unique programs improving the operations of the college campus. The 2027 Best Practices competition will select up to five finalists to present their "best practice" at the Annual Convention. The institution with the overall "best practice" will receive an honorarium of $1,500. Runners-up will receive $750.

If you would like your proposal to be considered for the Best Practices Award Program, please provide the initial required information related to the call for proposals, and then answer “Yes” to the question, “Would you like for this to be considered for the Best Practices Award Program?” 

Proposals should include at least one presenter from a SACUBO Member Institution. Any submission that does not include a presenter from a SACUBO Member Institution will be considered incomplete and will not be accepted. Diamond, Platinum, and Gold level Business Partners may submit proposals without including a SACUBO member in their presentation.

The Call for Proposals will open soon.

Topics for the Call for Proposals

Submissions with in-depth, practical treatments of topics relevant to higher education are welcome, including, but not limited to, the following.

Financial Strategy & Sustainability

  • College Affordability, Cost Transparency and the Value Proposition
  • Financial Sustainability in an Era of Enrollment and Revenue Pressure
  • Long-Range Financial Planning, Forecasting and Scenario Modeling
  • Strategic Budgeting, Resource Allocation and Cost Management
  • New Revenue Streams and Innovative Business Models
  • Capital Planning and Infrastructure Investment
  • Endowment Management, Investments and Alternative Assets
  • Financial Transparency and Communicating Institutional Financial Health
  • Performance-Based Funding and Resource Allocation
  • Public-Private Partnerships and Alternative Financing
  • Cost Reduction Without Compromising Institutional Mission
  • Lessons Learned from Financial and Operational Challenges

Compliance, Risk & Institutional Resilience

  • Strategic Compliance in a Changing Regulatory Environment
  • Title IV, Financial Aid and Institutional Compliance
  • Enterprise Risk Management and Institutional Resilience
  • Cybersecurity, Data Privacy and Technology Risk
  • Third-Party and Vendor Risk Management
  • Research Administration, Compliance and Security
  • Internal Controls, Fraud Prevention and Ethics
  • Conflicts of Interest and Outside Influence
  • Business Continuity, Crisis Management and Emergency Preparedness

Leadership, Management & Workforce

  • Leading Through Change, Uncertainty and Disruption
  • Developing the Next Generation of Higher Education Leaders
  • Succession Planning and Institutional Knowledge Transfer
  • Managing Up: Partnering with Presidents, Provosts and Boards
  • Communicating Financial Information to Nonfinancial Leaders
  • Conflict Resolution, Civility and Difficult Conversations
  • Workforce Planning, Organizational Design and Right-Sizing
  • Recruiting, Retaining and Developing Business and Finance Talent
  • Compensation, Career Pathways and Employee Engagement
  • Redesigning Work in the Age of AI and Automation

Enrollment, Student Success & Academic Strategy

  • Enrollment Strategy and Changing Demographics
  • Student Affordability, Retention and the Financial Impact of Student Success
  • Adult, Online and Nontraditional Learners
  • International Enrollment and Changing Global and Policy Realities
  • Dual Enrollment and New Student Pipelines
  • Workforce Development and Employer Partnerships
  • Microcredentials, Certificates and Stackable Credentials
  • Academic Program Viability, Optimization and Portfolio Management
  • Program Consolidation, Closure and Strategic Reinvestment

Operational Transformation

  • Shared Services and Administrative Consolidation
  • Centralized vs. Decentralized Operations
  • Business Process Redesign and Continuous Improvement
  • Measuring the Financial Impact of Operational Improvements
  • Strategic Procurement, Sourcing and Cost Management
  • Supply Chain Resilience and Vendor Management
  • Student-Centric Administrative Services
  • Outsourcing and Strategic Partnerships
  • Consolidation and Restructuring of Institutions and Systems
  • Doing More With Less: Innovative Approaches to Operational Efficiency
  • Failing Forward: What Didn't Work and What We Learned

Artificial Intelligence, Technology & Data

  • AI and Automation in Higher Education Finance and Administration
  • From AI Experimentation to Institutional Strategy
  • Generative and Agentic AI: Practical Applications for Higher Education
  • AI Governance, Ethics and Institutional Policy
  • Using AI for Budgeting, Forecasting and Financial Analysis
  • Preparing the Higher Education Workforce for AI
  • Data Governance and Institutional Data Strategy
  • Predictive Analytics for Enrollment, Finance and Student Success
  • Data Visualization and Financial Storytelling
  • ERP Implementation, Optimization and Software Integration
  • Digital Transformation and Technology Governance

Facilities, Campus & Auxiliary Operations

  • Rethinking Campus Space, Facilities and Infrastructure
  • Deferred Maintenance and Strategic Facilities Investment
  • Campus Sustainability and Energy Strategy
  • Campus Housing: Demand, Rates and Capital Projects
  • Auxiliary Enterprises and Institutional Sustainability
  • The Future of Campus Bookstores and Auxiliary Services
  • Athletics: Financial Sustainability and Institutional Value
  • NIL, Revenue Sharing and the Changing Economics of College Athletics

Public Policy & Higher Education's Changing Environment

  • Federal Policy and Regulatory Forecast: What Business Officers Need to Know
  • Higher Education Accountability and Institutional Transparency
  • Federal Financial Aid and Pell Grant Changes
  • Higher Education Tax Policy and Endowment Taxation
  • State Funding and Public Policy Trends
  • Accreditation: Changing Expectations and Institutional Implications
  • Political and Public Perceptions of Higher Education
  • Communicating the Value and Return on Investment of Higher Education
  • Navigating Political and External Pressures Affecting Campus Operations

Governance & Institutional Strategy

  • Governing Boards and Effective Board-CBO Relationships
  • Aligning Academic, Financial and Institutional Strategy
  • Strategic Decision-Making and Scenario Planning
  • Partnering Across Campus to Drive Institutional Strategy
  • Institutional Transformation and Organizational Change

The Next 100 Years of Higher Education

In celebration of SACUBO's 100th anniversary, proposals are especially encouraged that explore the future of higher education, the evolving role of the business officer, lessons from SACUBO's history, and bold ideas for the next century.

Potential topics include:

  • The Future of the Higher Education Business Officer
  • Lessons from the Past, Strategies for the Future
  • Rethinking the Higher Education Business Model
  • The Next 100 Years: Bold Ideas for Higher Education

Note: The topics above have been identified by SACUBO's Professional Development Committee as areas of particular interest for the 2027 Annual Convention. However, this list is not intended to be exhaustive. SACUBO welcomes proposals addressing other timely, innovative, and emerging issues affecting higher education.

Guidelines for Submissions

  • Sessions are 50 minutes in length.
  • Accepted proposals will not be assigned a specific date and time until several weeks prior to the convention. Presenters should be available to speak on any day of the convention. 
  • Proposals should include at least one presenter from a SACUBO member institution. Any submission that does not include a presenter from a college or university will be considered incomplete and will not be accepted. Business partner sessions are the only ones that do not require a college/university speaker.
  • Include all presenters that will take part in the presentation. Do not list co-presenters without definite commitment that they will be on the session. The co-presenter(s) must agree to all the terms and conditions for participation. There is a limit of four speakers per submission.
  • Speakers must complete an agreement form to be confirmed for a session.
  • General proposals should be a brief one-paragraph summary of the presentation that will be used for the convention program and should include three learning objectives. Additional information will be needed for proposals submitted for the Best Practices Award Program.
  • After sessions are chosen, each speaker from colleges and universities will receive a $200 discounted registration rate for the conference.
  • Speakers will not receive any royalties, honorarium, reimbursement of expenses, or other compensation from SACUBO in connection with the program, unless otherwise noted by SACUBO staff.
  • SACUBO reserves the right to revise presentation titles or edit the session description of selected presentations for SACUBO promotional and program publications.
  • Business partners should contact Randy Ellis, Business Partner Relations Coordinator.
  • The deadline for submission is November 2, 2026. Topic selection will be completed by beginning of December, with formal notifications to follow.   

Contact Information 

For more information, contact a member of the Professional Development Committee or Best Practices Committee.