Call for Proposals now open!

We invite you to submit a proposal to present at the 2026 HEDW Conference, hosted by The University of Texas at Austin, April 26–29, 2026. This is your opportunity to share your knowledge, insights, and innovative practices with a national community of higher education data professionals.

Presenting at HEDW is a rewarding experience—whether you're showcasing a successful project, sharing lessons learned, or facilitating discussion around new challenges and opportunities in the data space. We welcome proposals from all areas of institutional roles and experience levels.
 

Suggested Presentation Topics

The HEDW community is broad and diverse. Below are suggested topic areas that reflect the evolving landscape of data and analytics in higher education. Proposals related to these themes are encouraged, but we also welcome topics that may fall outside of these categories:
 

• Business Intelligence & Decision Support
    - Share effective BI solutions, dashboards, and strategies for supporting institutional decision-making.
• Data Visualization
    - Explore how visual storytelling enhances understanding and communication of complex data sets.
• Reporting & Analytics
    - Discuss tools, processes, or methodologies that improve access to actionable insights across your campus.
• Data Governance & Stewardship
    - Highlight frameworks, policies, and practices that promote data quality, security, and accountability.
• Data Organization & Culture
    - Showcase how your institution is fostering a data-informed culture, building partnerships, or enhancing collaboration across departments.
• Data Architecture & Engineering
    - Dive into the technical foundations of your data ecosystem, including pipelines, warehousing, cloud architecture, and integration strategies.
• Emerging Technologies
    - Present how innovations such as AI, machine learning, natural language processing, or predictive analytics are being applied in your environment.
• Data Strategy & Leadership
    - Share how your institution is developing and executing data strategies, advancing data literacy, or navigating leadership challenges.

Who Should Submit?

Whether you're an analyst, developer, data steward, manager, institutional researcher, or campus leader—your voice and perspective are valuable. We encourage individual presenters, co-presenters, and panel submissions. First-time presenters are especially welcome!

Vendors or conference sponsors will not be permitted to serve as primary presenters or co-presenters with institutional representatives for standard/interactive presentations or panel discussions. This change aligns with our commitment to ensuring that the focus of conference presentations represents an institution's perspective. 

Institutional representatives may present their experience with a vendor product, but the vendor may not be a co-presenter. If you are an institutional representative interested in presenting with a vendor please email hedwcomm@hedw.org as there is an alternate format for these presentations. Additionally, vendors are encouraged to participate in other capacities, such as sponsoring events or exhibiting. 

Please also note: presentations will be recorded as part of the conference for future reference.

Presenter Benefits
To recognize the time and effort required to prepare and deliver a session, the primary presenter of each accepted proposal will receive a complimentary registration to the 2026 HEDW Conference.
 
Important Dates

• Proposal Submission Deadline: Friday, November 21, 2025
• Acceptance Notifications: Sent by January 2026

Ready to Submit?

Click here (member login required) to access the proposal submission form to submit.
 
Questions?

For questions or assistance with the proposal process, contact:

Ashley Hurand
2026 Program Chair
hedwcomm@hedw.org