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Conference Overview

2025 President-Elect

Ruth Whisler, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Social Work
Northern Arizona University - Yuma Branch Campus

PO Box 6236
Yuma, AZ 85366

E-mail: L.Whisler@nau.edu

 

PROGRAM

THERE WILL NOT BE A PRINTED PROGRAM

A preliminary program will be posted on the website in early March; there will be a mobile program available for download beginning two weeks before the conference. The mobile program will be updated in real-time during the conference, to reflect changes in times, rooms, and speakers, as well as to send messages from the conference organizers to the attendees. Within about two weeks following the end of the conference, the final, official, program will be posted on the website and will include all of the inevitable additions, subtractions, and changes that occur during the conference.  That program will be downloadable.

SUBMISSIONS

Submissions must be made through the online submissions system on our website, not directly to the Section Coordinator. The submission has been extrended through January 22, 2024.  To make a submission, authors must first create a user account on the system. After the account is created, authors can then go on to fill out the submission information.

Use the button below to create a new user account, or log into your existing account, to go to the submission and registration pages if you have already created an account for this year. PLEASE NOTE that usernames/passwords from previous conferences cannot be used on this new system.

Important Dates & Notices To Section Coordinators

SECTION COORDINATORS

Please note that the Section Coordinators shall accept or reject all papers submitted within two weeks of the date on which the presentation is submitted. If you do not meet this deadline, we will accept submissions on your behalf. Section Coordinators are strongly encouraged to draft panels during the presentation submission process, when appropriate.

  • August 14, 2024 - The website will be open for Conference Registration and the submission of individual sessions, individual abstracts, and panels/roundtables.
  • November 30, 2024 - Early Bird registration ends.
  • December 20, 2024 - Final Date for submission of abstracts and panels to the Section/Affiliate Coordinators.
  • December 21, 2024 – Late Submission January 10, 2025 – Late Submission ends -- Starting this date Additional submission can be accepted at the discretion of the Section/Affiliate Coordinators – A $25.00 fee must be paid before the submission can be submitted. If your submission is not accepted by the Section Coordinator, we will refund the late submission fee in full.
  • January 10, 2025 - Section/Affiliate Coordinators' final date for Accept/Reject/Referrals submissions to their section.
  • January 12, 2025 - Section/Affiliate Coordinators submit their first draft of their sessions to WSSA using the submittal portal provided, with their requested day and time of the session.
  • January 13 through January 15– No changes/modification/Additions will be accepted by WSSA
  • January 16, 2025 - WSSA returns the first draft of the program to the Section/Affiliate Coordinators with the day and time of the panels.
  • January 17, 2025 - WSSA the program will be posted on the website as a draft program with a notice it may be subject to change. Website will be updated each Wednesday until March 27, 2025.
  • January 28, 2025 – Weekly Updates to Website Will start –On each Wednesday Section Coordinators will submit changes to program. Changes will be posted to Website by Friday of the same week.
    • Day and time of the panels will be assigned. Space, day and time will be reserved for the Sections.
    • Section Coordinators are responsible for verifying the time, date and content of each panel.
    • All Changes to the program shall only occur during these assigned times.
  • March 29, 2025– Final draft program will be for the purposes of the Conference will be distributed. Updates will be continuous through the end of the Conference. Please note that updates are dependent on the information provided by the Section Coordinators. WSSA is not responsible for changes of which it has not been notified.
  • April 30, 2025 - WSSA Program with all changes will be posted to the WSSA Website.

Registration

All participants must register. See the "Registration" page for deadlines and fees. Refunds of registration fees will be available to persons who register for the conference and then learn that their papers were not accepted. See "Refund Policy" below, for further information.

Discounted fees, for early registration, available through Midnight November 1, 2024:

  • Professional : $210
  • Full-time student : $145
  • Retiree (no longer employed in field) : $175
  • Non-presenting guests : $90

Standard fees, available Noveber 2, 2024 thru Midnight March 26, 2025:

  • Professional : $250
  • Full-time student : $175
  • Retiree (no longer employed in field) : $190
  • Non-presenting guests : $100

There will be no registration available March 28 - April 3 at 3 pm. At 3 pm on April 3, registration will be available on-site only.

On-Site fees, April 3 - April 5, 2024:

  • Professional : $355
  • Full-time student : $240
  • Retiree (no longer employed in field) : $265
  • Non-presenting guests : $175

Code of Conduct

All WSSA attendees are expected to abide by the WSSA Code of Conduct, regarding courtesy, registration & badge policies, and recording.

Please click here to read the Code of Conduct for WSSA Attendees.
Please click here to read the Code of Conduct for Journalists.

Recording

The Western Social Science Association considers all presentations made during the conference to be copyright-protected and only the presenter of the paper can give consent for the presentation to be recorded. Permission must be explicit, not implied, and given in writing.

New & Renewing Members

PLEASE NOTE: Conference registration confers membership, making all conference registrants members of the Association. As always, membership will continue to include subscriptions to the Social Science Journal.

Membership Only

If you are not able to attend the conference but wish to retain your subscription to the Social Science Journal, and your rights

  • to vote in elections for Board Officers and Members,
  • to participate in the annual Business Meeting, and
  • to vote on matters set before the membership for decision,

there is a membership-only option.  

To pay your dues for the 2024-2025 membership year (April 1, 2024 - March 31, 2025),  click here for the Membership Form.

Disability Accessibility Services

For in-person conferences, WSSA will make every reasonable effort to arrange for motorized scooters, sign-language interpreters, sighted guides, and other communication avenues for conference registrants who need them. WSSA cannot support any ADA requests for support that are not directly related to the activities of the conference.  
This includes, but is not limited to, guided tours, activities, and other events which may be provided by a third party affiliated with but not primarily a part of the WSSA conference (e.g., tours and trips provided by affiliates and sections, local universities, etc.).  Please email the Meeting Services staff by no later than February 1 of the conference year to identify the accommodation that you need. The Meeting Services staff will contact you to discuss needs and possible arrangements.

Privacy Statement

The WSSA will not sell or give the contact information of its participants, without their explicit written consent, to anyone not named below, except as required by law.

Both submission of a presentation, and registration as a conference participant, give consent to the WSSA to contact the submitter and/or registrant with information regarding the conference.
Submission of a presentation gives consent for the WSSA to forward the submitter's contact information to the Coordinator of the section to which the presentation has been submitted or referred.
Registration confers membership in the WSSA and gives consent to the WSSA to send the member the Social Science Journal and WSSA News subscriptions to which registration entitles the participant, for the period of the membership. Members may opt-out of their subscriptions at any time.

Both registrations as a participant and submission of a presentation give consent for the WSSA to send a "Call for Papers" for upcoming conferences. Persons receiving these "Calls" may opt out of further messages at any time.

Related Announcements

If your organization would like to post an announcement about an upcoming event or conference that will be of interest to WSSA members, please contact the Conference manager, Tom Stark.  Appropriate announcements will be posted on the WSSA Web website, under the "Other Organizations' Upcoming Conferences" link, below the "Conferences" tab.

Refund Policy

Requests for refunds of conference registration must be made in writing, to the Conference Manager.

  • Persons who pre-registered for the conference and then were notified that their submissions were declined, are eligible for full refunds IF they request the refund, by email to the Conference Manager, within two weeks of the notification that the submission was declined.
  • Requests made by March 12 will receive approximately 90% of the amount originally paid (amount paid, minus the amount that the credit card companies will charge us to make the refund). 
  • Requests made by March 20 will receive approximately 75% of the amount originally paid (amount paid, minus both the amount that the credit card companies charged us for the original transaction AND the amount they will charge us to make the refund).
  • Requests made by March 28   will receive approximately 65% of the amount originally paid.
  • No refunds will be made after March 28.