Registering & Paying
What happens after I submit my proposal?
After submitting a proposal, you will receive an automated acknowledgment email. Please note that this is not the same as an acceptance.
Area Chairs are responsible for vetting proposals per relevance, merit, the scholarly standards governing their fields, and various other factors.
SWPACA practices rolling reviews of individual, panel, and roundtable proposals. Area Chairs try to review and accept or reject proposals within two weeks of receipt. However, given our Area Chairs’ differing teaching/administrative schedules, the wait time for conference acceptance/rejection decisions may exceed this two-week time frame.
If you have not received an email notification regarding the status of your proposal after two weeks, we encourage you to contact the appropriate Area Chair directly via email. Find Area Chairs’ contact information at https://swpaca.org/subject-areas/.
When/How do I register and pay for the conference?
- Log back into our Conference Portal where you submitted your proposal
- In the left-hand menu bar, under “Registration Options,” click on “Register for Conference.”
- Double-check and SAVE your info, which will create a registration order. (Add more attendees if needed.)
- Return to the left-hand menu bar, under “Registration Options,” and click on “Check Out,” where you should now see a registration order.
- Scroll to the bottom to accept the Refund Policy and click “Pay Now.”
- Only use the “Pay Later” option if paying with check or wire transfer. If you accidentally click on Pay Later, it will lock your payment options; in this case, please contact support@southwestpca.org to unlock this.
You can also see this slide deck or watch this demo video for more help with the registration process.
Registration rates follow the schedule listed on the conference info page.
How is my registration fee used?
SWPACA is an independent 501c3 non-profit organization; we are neither associated with nor supported by any institution or organization. All PCAs in the US (including Nationals) are independent of one another. Our executive team, area chairs, and awards judges are all volunteers and do not receive any compensation for their work. Putting on a conference of this size requires substantial costs related to conference spaces, presentation rooms, technology, and other amenities; your registration fee allows us to meet these costs.
If I submit a proposal, am I automatically registered for the conference?
No. Registration is a separate process. See the question above for detailed steps about registering.
What should I do if I have a proposal accepted and/or have paid registration and can no longer attend?
- If you have had a proposal accepted but can no longer attend, please notify us at support@southwestpca.org. Because we accept registration payments onsite at the conference, we assume individuals with accepted proposals will attend unless they tell us otherwise.
- If you have paid registration, please notify us at support@southwestpca.org as soon as your plans change. You may be eligible for a partial or full refund, depending on when you notify us. The refund schedule is available at https://swpaca.org/albuquerque-conference/.
If I an unable to attend, can someone read my paper in my absence?
Unfortunately, no. Because part of our mission is to encourage discussion, develop ideas, and provide networking opportunities, we do not allow papers to be presented in absentia.
Do I need to submit my paper before the conference?
You are not required to submit a copy of your paper before your presentation. Sometimes after a presentation, attendees in the audience will ask a presenter for a copy of her/his paper; this is also a common practice in order to increase accessibility. You may give out copies or provide a digital access copy if you wish, but you are not required to do so. You may also, at your discretion, take email addresses and later send an electronic file of your paper if anyone requests a copy. If you are a graduate student, you should consider submitting your paper for one of the graduate student awards. See the conference’s Graduate Student Awards page for a full list of awards, submission information, etc.