Association of Collegiate Conference and Events Directors-International (ACCED-I)

The Association of Collegiate Conference and Events Directors-International (ACCED-I), founded in 1980, serves as a global network of over 1,100 campus professionals dedicated to designing, marketing, coordinating, and planning conferences and events at colleges and universities worldwide. For decades, ACCED-I has significantly raised the visibility and enhanced the stature of the collegiate conference and events profession. Through robust professional development, community-building, and resource sharing, ACCED-I supports higher education professionals dedicated to maintaining high standards of excellence across institutional areas.

ACCED-I’s mission, to promote and advance the collegiate conference and events profession while setting industry standards of excellence, aligns closely with the work of the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS). Both organizations emphasize the importance of high-quality programming, operational structure, and adherence to established professional standards to foster student learning and overall institutional success.

Participation in CAS has strengthened ACCED-I’s ability to guide, educate, and empower its members. The framework provided by CAS standards is a cornerstone of ACCED-I’s professional certification program, the Collegiate Conference and Events Professional (CCEP) designation. By integrating these standards into their core curriculum, ACCED-I helps practitioners expand their professional knowledge, implement strategic planning, and bring vital consistency and structure to their daily work.

ACCED-I encourages professionals to explore the cross-utilization of CAS resources to foster better collaboration with campus partners, including:

• CAS Self-Assessment Guides (SAGs) – Used by members to successfully redesign, evaluate, and update departmental processes.
• Interdisciplinary CAS Standards – Accessible resources that help event professionals understand, interface, and collaborate effectively with external campus departments.

A key example of this collaboration is the real-world impact on campus operations. Members who have completed self-assessments utilizing the guides developed by CAS report that the process has been instrumental in modernizing their workflows. Because conference and event departments frequently partner directly with, or support the needs of, diverse disciplines, using CAS standards ensures that successful, high-quality outcomes are reflected across the entire institution.
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ACCED-I continues to engage professionals through an exciting lineup of upcoming educational initiatives and events, including:

• Conference & Event Foundations Workshop – September 24-25, 2026. 
• Conference Management Educational Forum – October 15-16, 2026.
• Event Management Educational Forum – November 12-13, 2026.
• ACCED-I 47th Annual Conference – Scheduled for March 14-17, 2027.

Additionally, the association will release a comprehensive Benchmarking Survey very soon to provide critical industry insights for its members.

CAS is pleased to spotlight the Association of Collegiate Conference and Events Directors-International (ACCED-I) and its current representatives, Diana Hakenholz, CMP, and Kathryn Walters, CCEP, CMP. We celebrate their continued leadership in advancing the events profession, fostering cross-departmental collaboration, and upholding excellence across higher education.