by Maeve Luthin, Project Coordinator

Thanks to everyone who took the time to complete the 2012 IACUC Conference evaluation, we have tons of feedback on various aspects of the conference. As we continue to plan ahead, we promise to work hard to correct things those that did not go right this time around. We wanted to share with you our strategies in tackling the five items that you deemed most in need of improvement. 

1. Information Overload…and Disconnect – Yes, we do have two websites that require different usernames and passwords. Yes, you register for the conference on one, but all of the handouts are on the other. And, yes, we know that this can get a bit confusing. So, we’re going to step up our efforts to make users transition between the Conference Passport and www.primr.org more seamless. We’ll feature the link to the Passport more prominently on our website, and we’ll make sure that attendees get access to the Passport at an earlier date prior to the conference. We’ll also do better in making sure that posted copies of the program, attendee lists, and handouts are continuously updated. 
   

1. Short ‘n Sweet – Many of you expressed that you found the information in our Conference Attendee Newsletters to be extremely helpful…once you had the time to read them, and once you were able to find what you were looking for. We understand that you are busy, especially when preparing to leave the office for several days to attend an offsite meeting. We’ll continue our efforts to make our Newsletters full of clear, concise information, and we’ll be better about posting them on our website so they can be easily accessible at a later date.

1. Going Digital or Bust? – You loved it! You hated it! You liked a digital Conference Guide in theory but would hate to see the hard copy go! We hear you, and for the time being, we will continue to publish a paper version of the Conference Guide to meet your onsite conference needs. However, we will also be making a digital version available, as those of you with smartphones and tablets indicated it was a helpful resource.

1. Food, Glorious Food! – There wasn’t enough breakfast, and lunches went quickly. It was never our intention to transform our attendees into Olivers and Olivias during their time onsite! We’re working on making sure that this situation does not repeat itself next year.

   

2. Where’s Waldo? Where Am I? – The session descriptors that accompany each of the breakout sessions in the conference program are a collaborative effort between planning committee members and the faculty. Some attendees shared that they found the subject of conversation in their breakout sessions to differ from what was written in the session descriptors printed in the conference program. We’re working on ways to ensure that this no longer happens.