Annual Conference FAQs

We aim to meet the needs of our attendees with compassion and as much flexibility as possible. We can provide registration refunds for our Annual Conference in full when registrants request a refund more than 45 days before the event. Registrants receive partial refunds, up to 50%, if requested after this time period. If notified within 15 days of the event, we are unable to process refunds.

If our event or program is canceled or postponed due to circumstances beyond our control, we will work with registrants to provide full refunds should we be unable to reschedule the initiative.

The 2024 Annual Conference will convene at the Huntington Place Convention Center in Detroit, Michigan USA; all sessions and conference events will be hosted on-site.

Huntington Place
1 Washington Blvd
Detroit, MI 48226

The General Conference will begin on Thursday 11/14 at 1:00 PM and will end on Sunday 11/17 at 3:00 PM. 

In order for your work to be considered for the NWSA Annual Conference, you must submit to our submission site Oxford Abstracts. Presenters have two different options when submitting their proposals - you’ll be able to submit your work in one of two formats, as an individual paper submission or as a panel submission. 

Please see the below table to ensure you are submitting to the correct form depending on your presentation format:

Individual Submission Form:

• Individual Papers

• Posters

Panel Submission Form:

• Authors Meets Critics

• Constituency Group Sponsored Session

• General Conference Session

• Pre-Conference: Program & Administration Development

• Pre-Conference: Women's Centers

• Roundtable Session

• Workshop Session

All presenters, including pre-conference presenters, poster session participants, and moderators must have an active NWSA individual membership AND be registered for the general conference. 

Membership and conference registration require separate fees. We recommend updating your individual membership first before registering for the conference in order to receive the reduced rate. 

Each presenting member of a panel, workshop, or presentation, including the moderator, must meet these requirements. If you have organized a panel with community partners and activists, each presenter is required to be a current NWSA member and registered for the conference by the August 30th, 2024 deadline.

There is no mobile app for the 44th conference. Our official conference submission portal, Oxford Abstracts, can be accessed via mobile phones in your browser. We received feedback noting that a more accessible means of viewing conference details is/was sorely needed. You will not need to download a mobile app to access Oxford Abstracts and it will allow you to connect/chat with other attendees, build your own schedule, and see accurate details for sessions/events. 

Full conference information can also be found at the 2024 Annual Conference page on our website. 

All conference submitters will receive “Accept/Decline” notifications via Oxford Abstracts no later than the week of July 1st. 

Volunteer moderators are needed for some conference sessions. All accepted moderators and presenters must fulfill the requirements of individual membership and conference registration. NWSA staff will contact you in fall 2024 to match you with a panel.

We understand that accepted presenters may face unexpected challenges that lead to withdrawing from the conference, changing their session logistics, or requesting schedule changes as we get closer to the Annual Conference. These changes impact our timeline for allowing moderators to sign up for sessions and we appreciate your continued patience and support!

Traditional meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) are not provided during the conference. The Association hosts an Opening Reception and other catered events that may require advanced registration. We are also excited to provide discounted meals on-site at our Food Hall - a partnership with the Huntington Place Convention Center! This is one example of how we strive to attend to the needs of our attendees' wellness - we want to ensure accessible, dietary inclusive, and delicious food are available on site!

Lastly, some institutions, caucuses, and other sponsored groups may choose to host receptions/meetings that may have food and beverage available but this is not guaranteed. Please explore the conference program to review such events!

Early Bird conference registration will begin on May 1st and will end August 30th. Information on registration fee timelines and pricing can be found on our registration page; registration links will be available upon their opening. 

You can navigate to our Annual Conference registration pages multiple ways: 

1) Directly under the "News & Events" menu tab and then navigating to "Events"

2) Visiting our "Annual Conference" menu tab and selecting "2024 Annual Conference". Our registration button is highlighted for you!

There are two core NWSA Pre-Conferences which require registration: the Program Administration and Development (PAD) pre-conference and the Women’s Centers Committee (WC) Pre-Conference. 

In order to attend either pre-conference, attendees will pay an additional $125 USD to register. This rate is inclusive of the breakfast and lunch that will be provided. The last day to register for either of these pre-conferences is September 1st, 2024. 

If you are accepted to the Women of Color Leadership Project Pre-Conference you will receive free registration as part of your acceptance into the 2024 Cohort.

The NWSA offers a limited number of registration scholarships and travel grants to accepted presenters.  NWSA especially encourages student research and involvement at its Annual Conferences via scholarship awards. NWSA offers a limited number of registration scholarships and travel grants to accepted presenters.  Students, scholars and activists with a demonstrated need for financial assistance are encouraged to apply. Particular consideration will be given to assisting those with need who have not previously received NWSA travel grants.

The registration scholarships and travel grants are also intended to encourage the participation of individuals from under-represented and/or precarious constituencies in the NWSA. The travel grant and registration scholarship application closed on April 30th, 2024

At this time, NWSA does not offer official group rates for Annual Conference registration. However, we are willing to work with departments and organizations sending large amounts of students to our conference. Please email our Operations Manager, Courtney Carroll, at NationalOffice@nwsa.org with the details of your group, budget information and any other details you would like us to know in order to review your request. We work with our Treasurer and Executive Director to review all requests.

Guest registration fees are applicable to all partners and/or individuals who will not attend concurrent sessions but may be interested in attending Annual Conference events such as receptions, plenaries, etc. If you are interested in purchasing a Day Pass for guests and non-members of the Association, please email the National Office (NationalOffice@nwsa.org) with the Subject Line: "Day Pass Request" and your name and we will coordinate next steps.

Participants can be in no more than two sessions, including presenter and moderator roles. Please note that volunteering to moderate a session is different that serving as Chair of Record for a session submitted through the formal Call for Proposals (CFP) process.

NWSA often receives far more requests for AV resources than we can provide.  In our commitments to expanding our alignment with accessibility, we are working with our conference site to maximize the audio/visual capacities of our meeting spaces. Therefore, during the CFP submission process, we ask that your program submissions include an audiovisual rationale to assist in the logistics planning of developing the conference program. For our 44th Annual Conference, we are proud to share that we are able to provide full audiovisual technology in all presenter rooms for the first time in our documented history!

PLEASE NOTE: You cannot bring your own projector or speakers due to union regulations. With the exception of adapters, all audiovisual equipment must be handled by the audiovisual provider. We HIGHLY recommend you bring an adapter as none will be available or provided by NWSA or the audiovisual provider.

NWSA receives far more requests for AV resources than we can provide at the conference. While we work to meet as many requests as we can, we cannot  currently provide AV to all who request it. The Proposal Review Committee reviews all requests for accepted proposals including the AV rationale and makes those decisions as a part of developing the conference program.

We encourage all presenters to also use alternative formats such as handouts to convey visual information. Our submission site, Oxford Abstracts, also functions as our virtual conference program. We encourage all presenters - regardless of A/V assignments - to provide access copies and relevant materials through the proper session channels!

This year we are proud to provide standard A/V Equipment in all General Session rooms - every presenter will have access to a projector, screen, and tabletop microphones. You must provide your own computer/device and adapters.

Each General Conference session is 75 minutes, so please plan your individual presentation accordingly. Remember that “giving a paper” is not the same thing as “reading a paper.” Your argument should be clear and brief. Please be mindful that other presenters in your session require equal time to present. With the help of a moderator, be sure to allow time for Q&A at the end of your session, ensuring that you stay within the allotted 75 minutes. The moderator for the panel should also serve as the timekeeper.

Any accommodation requests related to scheduling and room location (i.e. scheduling your session near an elevator/escalator, requesting an ASL interpreter, etc.) can be made in your submission through Oxford Abstracts. 

The National Women's Studies Association will make every effort to provide reasonable accommodations to presenters and attendees in ways that integrate, more seamlessly, our commitments to accessibility and inclusion.  Please indicate your need for accommodations using our form on the Annual Conference page on our websites.  We must receive requests for accommodations by September 1st, 2024 in order to best work with our site coordinators, vendors, and partners in the planning process. Please note that some services may be available for only some portions of the conference. 

• NWSA is committed to making the Annual Conference accessible to all attendees. If a need arises on-site, we encourage you to stop by registration for assistance and ask for a NWSA staff person.
• Presenters should plan to bring five physical copies of their papers, even in draft form, for the use of attendees who wish to follow the written text. Presenters who use handouts should prepare some copies in a large-print format (Sans-serif font, 16-point type size). Presenters should indicate whether they want their papers and handouts returned.
• When speaking, position your face at an angle that allows participants to read your lips. Avoid speaking while facing away from the audience, or while looking down at papers or screens.
• Please describe any PowerPoints or visuals.
• If you are planning on showing video during your presentation, please plan to caption/subtitle your video or have transcripts available.
• If engaging in experiential activities, make sure you have planned for the inclusion of all, regardless of physical and mobility abilities.
• Consider making it possible for attendees to obtain an electronic version that allows for type size adjustments or use of text readers (creating audio from written text).

The NWSA is unable to guarantee audiovisual equipment specific to hybrid presentations  for the full duration of our upcoming 2024 Annual Conference. We are working with our unionized collaborators and vendors to ensure safe and ethical working conditions throughout our time in Detroit, Michigan USA. 

We are excited to be able to offer support for hybrid presentations on Friday November 15th, 2024 with assistance from our audiovisual provider at the Huntington Place Convention Center.

2024 Keynotes and plenaries will not be live-streamed or recorded for later viewing.