• Who is the audience of AASHE educational programs?
    AASHE believes everyone in higher education – including students, faculty, staff and members of the surrounding communities – has important roles to play in advancing sustainability. Accordingly, we offer education and support to all of these audiences. Attendees tend to be diverse both geographically and in terms of their level of experience.
  • Do I need to be an AASHE member to submit a proposal?
    For the conference: We give preference to submissions featuring people associated with AASHE member organizations and we typically don’t accept proposals submitted by or featuring non-member businesses (except as a benefit associated with sponsorship). Consider joining AASHE or sponsoring the conference!


    For virtual education programs: We require that at least one presenter is affiliated with an AASHE member organization. In addition, as offering a webinar is a benefit of Business Leader membership, we do not accept webinars that include businesses that are not Business Leader members.

    If you are interested in becoming a member, please review the range of benefits that come with membership and contact membership@aashe.org to get started.

  • How do I submit a proposal?
    Proposals may be submitted electronically through AASHE’s Proposal Submission Form.
  • What resources does AASHE offer to submitters and presenters?
    We strongly recommend you visit the Call for Proposals page and review the Proposal submission packet and the Submission template. We put together a resource with tips for presenters to follow when submitting their proposal. Lastly, we encourage presenters to follow best practices for designing, building and delivering an interactive session. 
  • Is there a limit to how many presenters can be associated with a proposal?
    Yes. Up to 6 presenters are allowed. If necessary, you will be able to change  presenters after the proposal is accepted.
  • May businesses propose educational content?
    Yes, we welcome proposals from AASHE member businesses. However, proposals that sound like advertisements of a product or service will not be accepted. If you are a supplier of products or services, be sure your proposal focuses on a relevant topic, concept, or idea – not one of your products or services. In addition, we generally require that educational programs include at least one campus representative as a presenter to help make the content applicable to participants. Finally, please note that the opportunity to present an AASHE webinar is a benefit for AASHE Business Leader Members only. If you are interested in becoming a member, please review the range of benefits that come with membership and contact membership@aashe.org to get started.
  • Will my proposal change if it is accepted?
    Maybe. As we consider your proposal, we may have ideas for a different format, scope or focus of the proposed content. If this is the case, we will reach out to you to discuss the idea. Presenters will have the opportunity to provide feedback and suggest additional modifications, but ultimate acceptance may depend upon the presenters’ willingness and ability to modify the original idea. Please note that the revised proposal may not include all of the original presenters.
  • If accepted, when will my session be scheduled?
    If your proposal is accepted, AASHE will assign it a date and time based on the preferences you expressed during the submission process. Generally, webinars are scheduled on a Wednesday starting at 2 p.m. ET; 3-hour workshops are scheduled on a Thursday starting at 2 p.m. ET. and other programs are scheduled Tuesdays starting at 2 p.m. ET. We’ll also take your preference into account when scheduling conference sessions.
  • Why wasn’t my proposal accepted?
    Decisions about which proposals to accept are made primarily on our sense of likely audience interest. We also try to ensure that a well-balanced mix of sustainability topics are addressed so as to meet the diverse interests of the AASHE community. Beyond these considerations, proposals are sometimes declined for a number of other reasons, including:

    • None of the presenters were associated with an AASHE member organization.
    • None of the presenters were affiliated with a higher education institution.
    • We accepted another proposal from the same presenters or organization.
    • We recently offered a webinar/workshop/session on a similar or related topic.
    • The proposed presentation did not relate directly to sustainability in higher education.
    • The proposed presentation focused on a program or initiative that was still under development or hadn’t occurred yet.