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January 31, 2002 National higher-education associations are seeing drops in attendance at their conferences, causing at least one to cut its staff. The organizations blame the decreases on cutbacks in state budgets and lingering travel fears in the wake of September 11. Four major higher-education associations -- the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education, the National Association for College Admission Counseling, and the National Association of College and University Business Officers -- all report that they have seen at least a 10-percent decline in conference attendance. Registration fees at conferences, along with membership dues, form a significant portion of the revenues for the organizations. No group has been hit harder than the business-officers association, where eight workers, including a vice president, were laid off, out of a total of 50. Citing an "uncertain future," James E. Morley Jr., NACUBO's president, called the reduction a "normal course to ensure financial viability." People are "taking a reassessment of severity before registering," said Tim McDonough, a spokesman for the ACE. The council's national conference, which will be held February 9 to 12 in San Francisco, is "feeling the pinch," with most registration coming in at the last minute. "We've definitely seen some slippage," agreed Travis J. Reindl, a spokesman for the state-college association. Attendance is off, and people are staying "a day shorter." The full text of the announcement can be found on The Chronicle of Higher Education chronicle.com.
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