October 12-15 • Scottsdale, AZ 

A NEW DAY DAWNS

ASPIRE is the conference that brings together higher education professionals on a mission to advance student success through smart scheduling. As the longest-running conference devoted to scheduling, ASPIRE is the place to get inspired by industry experts, connect with peers, and certified on modern solutions. 

For the first time ever, we're taking ASPIRE on the road! Join us in Scottsdale, Arizona, where wide-open skies and vast desert landscapes create the perfect backdrop for innovation and growth. This year promises to be an unforgettable experience, combining exploration of bold, new ideas with the breathtaking beauty of the Arizona desert.

EXPERIENCE ASPIRE

 

Inspiring keynotes from industry experts

Product roadmap updates and hands-on training

Dedicated programming and content tracks for a tailored experience

One-on-one customer solutions consultations

Peer-to-peer networking

Six product certification options

CHOOSE YOUR TRACK

 

Mix and match sessions to build your pathway to progress. From mastering the basics to deep dives with insights, our ASPIRE features two program tracks to provide something for everyone via hands-on training, collaborative roundtables, and peer-led discussions. 

 

 

 

Focus on the core scheduling practices that will enhance efficiency and schedule quality at your institution. This track includes data concepts for analyzing and improving schedules. Aligned with Essential Scheduling and Data-Informed Scheduling solutions, sessions cover training, workshops, client demos, data analysis, and transitioning from Astra Schedule 8 to Ad Astra’s modern platform with data integrations. 

 

 

Event schedulers unite! This track gives attendees with the tools and expertise to efficiently book events, manage calendars, and streamline workflows. Schedulers will learn to optimize spaces, resources, and user permissions, while mastering event registration, invoicing, and fee collection to enhance their event management processes using Ad Astra’s solutions. 

WHAT'S THE WORD ON ASPIRE?

 

"Attending ASPIRE is a great benefit of being an Ad Astra client because you get to learn pro tips on how to use the software in a better or different way than what you've always used, making things easier and more streamlined in the long run." 

Amy Carlson
Senior Associate Registrar, University of Missouri-Kansas City

 

“I attended ASPIRE because my registrar told me that it was a fantastic, fun, collegial experience. It turns out that's exactly what I found — great information, new strategies, and fascinating people to exchange ideas with.”

Stephen Wells
Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Community College of Allegheny College

 

“One of my favorite things about ASPIRE is being able to network with other colleges to learn how they use the products and what things they've done to accomplish different goals set at their institutions.”

Zach Cannady
Academic Scheduling & Assessment Coordinator, Butler Community College

 

MEET YOUR KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

 

SARITA BROWN

CO-FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, EXCELENCIA IN EDUCATION

Sarita E. Brown is Co-founder & President of Excelencia in Education, a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to accelerating Latino success in higher education by linking research, policy, and practice to serve Latino students.

A recognized leader and advocate for equity in higher education, she began her career at the University of Texas at Austin, where she built a national model for increasing the number of students of color in graduate education and in the academy. Once in Washington, DC, Sarita served in leadership roles in higher education associations, at American University and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Institute. She was appointed as the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans during the Clinton Administration.

As Excelencia’s President, Sarita is responsible for the vision and governance of the organization, working with the Board of Directors to communicate with stakeholders and identify forward-thinking partners, funders and investors to support Excelencia’s mission. With over 30 years of experience catalyzing and supporting higher educational institutions and leaders to address equity, she applies her skills and energies to expanding Presidents for Latino Student Success, Excelencia’s national network of college and university leaders who have committed to making their institutions learning environments where Latino students thrive.

TOM SHAVER

FOUNDER & CEO, AD ASTRA

Tom Shaver is the founder and CEO of Ad Astra, which launched in 1996. Since founding, Tom has been responsible for the strategic direction of much of the development of Ad Astra’s software and reporting systems that are used on over 1,000 College and University campuses.

In 2004, Tom authored a successful U. S. business process patent application for Ad Astra’s inventions in the scheduling software market. Tom also led Ad Astra’s efforts in developing the Higher Education Scheduling Index®, a peer database that allows institutions to benchmark their performance in allocating faculty and academic space against peers and longitudinally.

Tom is the leading industry expert on strategic scheduling of academic resources to improve student Degree Velocity®, retention, completion, and financial sustainability of academic programs. Prior to his work at Ad Astra, Shaver was a partner at The Shaver Partnership, his family's architectural and consulting firm.

 

READY TO JOIN US?

AGENDA AT A GLANCE

OCTOBER 12

3:00pm

Registration Opens

 OCTOBER 13

7:00am

Registration and Breakfast

7:15am

First-Time Attendee Session

8:40am

Keynote Address 

TOM SHAVER, FOUNDER & CEO, AD ASTRA

9:10am

 Keynote Address 

SARITA BROWN, CO-FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, EXCELENCIA IN EDUCATION

10:00am

Vision Center and Client Solutions Center open

10:15am

Concurrent Sessions

12:00pm

Lunch 

1:00pm

 

Concurrent Sessions

 

5:00pm

Networking Happy Hour

Join us in the beautiful outdoor space at the Scottsdale Resort & Spa for an evening of drinks, appetizers, live music, and meaningful conversations with fellow higher education professionals!

 

 OCTOBER 14

7:00am

Breakfast

8:30am

2025 Product Update 

TOM SHAVER AND AD ASTRA PRODUCT MANAGERS

 

8:45am

Vision Center and Client Solutions Center open

9:30am

Concurrent Sessions

12:00pm

Lunch

1:00pm

Concurrent Sessions

4:00pm

Birds of a Feather Networking Happy Hour

 

 

 OCTOBER 15

7:00am

Breakfast

8:00am

ASPIRE25 Wrap-UP

8:30am

Vision Center and Client Solutions Center Open

8:45am

Concurrent Sessions

12:30pm

Departure

 

 CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Smart Academic Scheduling

 

  • Academic Scheduling and Writeback

  • A Guidebook for Annual Scheduling Considerations

  • An Administrator's Guide to Ad Astra

  • Annual Scheduling: Leveraging the Data to Lead Change

  • Bridging Data and Action: Effective Strategies for Software Utilization

  • Building a Smarter Schedule: Ad Astra's Annual Schedule Workflow Framework

  • Changing Schools: An Administrator's Perspective

  • Course Scheduling Playbook: Strategies to Ensure Every Student Can Follow Their Path

  • Creating a Cross-Functional Smart Scheduling Team

  • Crossing the Chasm: Why Institutions should Transition to Annual Scheduling

  • Data-Informed Scheduling with Course Demand Analytics

  • Driving Student Success: Linking Scheduling to Degree Velocity® and Momentum Year Metrics

  • Enhancing Academic Impact: Annual Program Performance & Scheduling Strategies

  • Essential Scheduling: An AS8 Migration Story with Dominican University

  • Follow the North Star: A Roadmap for Successful Adoption of Ad Astra Scheduler 

  • Hands-on Session: Annual Schedule Plan

  • Hands-on Session: Annual Scheduling in Courses

  • How Schedule Quality Can Accelerate Student Success and Institutional Sustainability Goals

  • How to Ensure Students Can Follow Their Pathway

  • Leveraging Smart Scheduing™ to Thrive Under a Performance-Based Funding Model

  • Managing the Demands of Student-Centeredness and Fiscal Responsibility

  • Maximizing Academic Workflow in Ad Astra

  • Maximizing Impact: Strategic Faculty Capacity Planning

  • Operation Lift Off: The Centralized Scheduling Journey of Collin College

  • Optimizer and Exam Scheduling: Shaping What Comes Next

  • Pathways Alignment and Smart Scheduling: Clearing the Road to Completion

  • Program Strategy: Keeping our Promises with Completion Path Management

  • Scheduling Shortened Terms as a Student Success Strategy

  • Smarter Software= A Smarter Future: AI at Ad Astra

  • Smart Scheduling for Program Financial Sustainability

  • Strategic Reporting with Ad Astra

  • Student Centered Course Scheduling: Insights from the AASCU/ Ad Astra Cohort

  • The Power of Pathways: Effective practices in building and updating pathways

Events Scheduling

 

  • A Super User's Guide to Managing your Settings in Ad Astra 

  • Avoiding the Conflict: How to Successfully Create and Manage Events

  • Creating Customizable Event Scheduling Workflows

  • Essential Scheduling: Events Reporting in Ad Astra

  • Events Scheduling: Registration & Invoicing in Ad Astra

  • Managing Spaces, Sources, and Groups in Ad Astra Events

  • Migrating from AS8 to Essential Events App: A Dominican University Success Story

  • Smarter Software= A Smarter Future: AI at Ad Astra

 

 

Thanks to our Sponsors!

 

 

"Ad Astra is bringing to bear new data on precisely the right issues that will help us be smarter about confronting barriers and utilizing technology in scaling solutions to college completion."

Charles Ansell

Vice President for Research, Policy and Advocacy, Complete College America