Mr. Maher Al Otaibi, UPP Admissions Coordinator, attended the annual conference of the American Association of Collegiate Registrar’s and Admissions Officers (AACRAO).  The international conference was held in Orlando, Florida, March 24-27.  The theme of this year’s conference was “Developing visionary leaders for a changing world.” 

The 94th annual conference was designed so that admissions professionals could enhance their skills and expand their professional networks.  More than thirty countries were represented at the conference, and sixty workshops were held.

Mr. Al Otaibi said one of the most useful workshops for him was “Management Development: Growing Flowers in Your Own Backyard.”  The workshop emphasized development of professional staff through training and skills development.  Of the entire conference, Mr. Al Otaibi said, “It was a great opportunity for me to learn a lot about the challenges in the admissions field, and to learn from the experience of others.  I met people from different universities and different cultures.  We talked about the challenges each of us is facing, and discussed ways to handle those challenges.”  He also said he learned techniques for improving the admissions process and providing better services to students.