Dear ASEE PSW members and authors,

Due to the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ASEE PSW Board decided to cancel the 2020 PSW Conference, originally rescheduled from November 19 to 21 at UC Davis. Instead, UC Davis has agreed to host our 2021 ASEE Conference from April 23 to 25, 2021.

This decision was made after a comprehensive consideration of the impact of the pandemic on physical gatherings and travel, and the value of an in-person conference to foster collaboration and networking in our regional engineering education community.

The answers to some of the questions you might have are listed below:

Q1: I depend on the ASEE PSW Conference for professional development and networking opportunities in engineering education. What if I cannot wait until next April?

Neither can we. We are developing a webinar series to discuss best practices on how to best support teaching and learning, student success, and faculty development in the COVID-19 period. These webinars will be a mixture of presenting best practices and town hall discussions. We will send out more information in June. Please stay tuned.

Q2: My abstract/paper was accepted for the 2020 Conference. What happens next?

Accepted Paper: Authors whose papers were accepted will have the opportunity to publish their paper this current year in the ASEE PSW Conference Proceedings (searchable through PEER). You will also be invited to present at the 2021 ASEE PSW Spring Conference. The Board is working with ASEE HQ to develop this option, which allows faculty to publish to help them advance professionally while keeping everyone safe.  Paper authors will be contacted soon to indicate their preference on how to proceed.

 Accepted Workshops, Oral Presentations Only, and Poster Abstracts: We recognize that the projects you have submitted will have likely changed over the course of a year. Therefore, we are not going to carry over these abstracts. Instead, we invite you to resubmit an abstract this fall.

All authors will receive a follow-up email by Davis Lanning and Colleen Bronner, the conference program chairs, with more detailed information.

Q3: I paid for my conference registration. Will it be returned?

You have the option of rolling over your registration to the Spring 2021 Conference (the default option) or you can have it refunded. If you would like a refund, please email Colleen Bronner (cebronner@ucdavis.edu).

Q4: When can I submit an abstract to the Spring 2021 Conference?

We plan to open a call for abstracts in September 2020. We will send an email to all members.

If you have additional questions about how the cancellation of PSW 2020 conference affects the paper publication or presentation, please contact the Program Chairs, Colleen Bronner (cebronner@UCDAVIS.EDU) or David Lanning (lannind@erau.edu). If you have ideas for the 2020 webinar series, please contact Colleen Bronner (cebronner@ucdavis.edu).

 Thank you for your understanding and stay safe.

Best Regards,

Jane Dong