FAQs

Below we’ll post answers to commonly-asked questions and will keep this page updated as we’re able to

Am I allowed to appear in more than one speaking spot on the NAVSA program?

Unfortunately, no. After confirming with Cannon and NAVSA, the organizers of NAVSA 2025 have determined that in keeping with past practice, for the DC conference presenters will be able to present in only one speaking slot on the program. This can be either a roundtable presentation or paper presentation on a panel. Please note that the prohibition on double-appearances does not include chairing a session or participating in our optional Sunday workshops, since those are not considered speaking roles.

But can I submit more than one paper proposal, or submit proposals for both a regular conference paper and a roundtable position paper?

Yes, absolutely. It is perfectly fine to submit multiple proposals, for instance proposals for two different conference papers; or proposals for one paper on a prearranged panel, and one for a roundtable presentation; or other combinations. If both or multiple of your submissions are accepted, participants can then decide which to do. Please note that should you be accepted to participate in a pre-arranged panel but elect not to participate in it, this decision might affect the panel organizers, since those cases organizers would then need to either run the proposed event minus one speaker or find a replacement. (Conference organizers would be happy to work with the organizers to help sort this out in such a case, should it arise.) Just

Why is this policy in place?

The limit of one speaking role per conference participant is intended as an accessibility measure, meant to maximize participation in the conference and encourage equity by ensuring that speaking slots & attentional resources are as evenly distributed as possible given the inevitable constraints of the conference format. For more about NAVSA’s accessibility goals, please see further FAQ’s below, to be added soon.

What is being done to make NAVSA 2025 accessible?

Accessibility is a central goal of ours and we have approached it by aggressively fundraising to help bring down costs for in-person participation as low as we are able to. DC is accessible by major rail and air routes and the conference hotel is directly accessible via public transportation (DC Metro’s Red Line.) Our goal is to drive down costs for precariously employed and graduate colleagues as much as possible so that as many of us as possible can be together, in person, in DC. We will be posting alternative housing options and recommending neighborhoods for Air-BNB and similar solutions for those unable to pay the reduced-rate fee for the conference hotel. With all that said, we also understand that many will not be able to travel to DC, and that costs associated with lodging and registration will remain prohibitive for some colleagues. We have therefore arranged a Digital Conference Presession, which will set the terms for the in-person conversation in DC and will take place on Zoom; it will be free to present and to attend these sessions.

What is the Digital Conference Presession? And why are there no hybrid options for NAVSA 2025?

The A/V costs associated with enabling hybrid accessibility are startling and functionally prohibitive, and meeting those costs to enable hybrid participation would increase registration fees to such a degree that it would essentially cancel our primary goal of making physical attendance at the conference as affordable as we can. So prohibitive, budget-shattering cost is one reason, but another reason is that one persistent item of feedback emerging from the brilliantly-imagined experiment of a fully online conference model is that in-person conferences are sustaining, generative intellectual and social experiences that we do not want to give up on. For that reason, too, we are committed to an in-person model where the barriers to physical attendance are reduced as much as is humanly possible. We anticipate that the Digital Presession will consist of vibrant conversations that will frame in-person discussions over the following days in DC.