The 2nd World Congress on Access to Postsecondary Education will take place November 1-3, 2017 at the University of São Paulo in São Paulo, Brazil. The global access and success community is invited to submit proposals.
More information about the 2nd World Congress is available HERE.
 
Program Thematic Areas
The overall conference theme is ‘Working Together for a Democratized Postsecondary Education: A Key to Sustainable Development’. Proposals for the Congress should address the following issues:

1. The research, policy and praxis nexus to advance access and success
   Research, policy and practice are drivers for the improvement of the access and success agenda. This theme will explore how a combined and aligned approach can increase the impact. Which policy instruments can support research and practice? What data do policy makers and practitioners need? What input do researchers require? Are (national) access plans with a combined approach a solution? What are best practice examples for the nexus in access from all over the world? These and other questions will be addressed under this Congress theme.

2. Still standing in the way: race, ethnicity and caste
   The diversity of society should be reflected in the student population, in education systems and their institutions, their governance structures and decision-making bodies. Yet race, ethnicity and caste systems remain barriers that restrain true diversity. This theme will explore underrepresented groups in different parts of the world are and look at how postsecondary education stakeholders can embrace these groups and ensure their equal participation. This includes the question of how students from different backgrounds can enrich the teaching and learning environment and help to reform curricula, for example through the use of inclusive pedagogies and student-centered approaches. This theme includess also the question of how quotas are used, and could be used, to improve access and success for a diversified student population. The theme also puts a focus on access and success for undocumented or refugee students.

3. Creating access: who must join the access conversation?
   Higher education institutions, policy-makers and students are the most obvious contributors to the access community. However, other communities, industry and social movements might be important stakeholders too. Which important actors are missing? Under this theme we also aim to identify changemakers and advocates for access and success. The theme should also provide space to investigate the impact of power relationships on access while exploring  society’s need for access: What is the role of knowledge in society? What are government and business needs for a diversified postsecondary education?

4. Access and success in action – applying access and inclusion strategies in specific contexts
   Postsecondary education options are diverse. Beyond universities as providers, these options include technical and vocational postsecondary education among other offers. Within this theme, we will explore the diversity of postsecondary education and activities at all stages (pre-, peri- and post-access) including the contexts which impact the access and success agenda. Which forms of access and action are out there? How can we ensure that postsecondary education is an equalizer and not a divider? Which evidence-based concepts are already being applied? How can different concepts be transferred into new contexts?

5. Access and success across Latin America and the Caribbean
   Across Latin America and the Caribbean, access to postsecondary education has received increasing attention through government funding, policy mandates and neo-structural development policies. Between 2003 and 2015, Brazil developed policies geared to challenging inequalities of educational opportunities primarily focused on equity and solidarity. Largely supported by neighbouring states such as Venezuela, Argentina and Uruguay, student mobility and cross-border access has significantly increased in the past decade. Similarly, in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), access to higher education and capacity building through leadership development has been identified by UNESCO as a priority. However, inequities related to stratification within class and racial group structures have pervaded postsecondary institutions, making persistence and success for underrepresented groups hard to attain. Accordingly, the theme for this section focuses on how countries in Latin America and throughout the Caribbean might move from distributional access to sustainable persistence of traditionally underrepresented groups in these countries?

 
Deadline for Submission: Friday, June 30, 2017
 
Proposals can be submitted in the following formats:
 

• 7-14-28 paper presentations (7 minutes presentation – 14 slides – 28 font size). All papers must follow APA style guidelines (6^th edition)
• Posters: Required paper format min 594 x 841 mm – max 841 – 1189 mm
• Workshops/Open Space activities
  Designed either for 45 or 90 minutes

 
 
Terms and Conditions:
 

• All presenters must register for the Congress
• All content must relate to the conference themes
• Presenters may be required to make changes if submissions do not follow these terms and conditions
• Any printing of material must be done prior the Congress by the presenter
• It is the responsibility of the presenter to ensure they have the rights of use for all content and any logos/images

 
Timeline – Key Dates:
 

• April 5, 2017 opening of the call
• June 30, 2017 closing of the call
• September 1, 2017 final confirmation of presenters
• October 16, 2017 deadline for final submission of papers and presentations
• November 1-3, 2017 presentations take place

Submission Procedure:
 
Send your submission to [email protected]
 
All abstracts must be submitted using the designated template. 
To access the template, click HERE.
 
Title: Less than 20 words
Author(s): Please provide the author’s/authors’ title, first name and last name. The presenting author’s name should be highlighted.
Affiliations: An affiliation (institution/organization and country) should be included for each author.
Abstract text: Must not exceed 300 words (excluding title, authors and affiliations)
Font: All abstracts should be submitted in an accessible, sans serif font e.g. Calibri, size 12 minimum.
Language: English, Spanish or Portuguese
Thematic area: Please indicate which of the five thematic areas outlined above you will be presenting under.
 
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