Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Do you have to be a member to submit an abstract or session to the Annual Meeting?

AAG encourages all attendees to join before registering; however, membership is not required to participate in the Annual Meeting. 

Students should know that joining the AAG costs $49 for grad students, $38 for undergrads. Regular attendees are also encouraged to join the AAG (membership dues start at $65). For most, it is less costly to join and then register under the Member category than to register as a Non-Member. 

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Do I need to register to submit my abstract or session to the Annual Meeting?

Yes, to participate in the Annual Meeting, all attendees must register at the appropriate rate. You will not be able to submit an abstract for presentation or organize a session if you are not registered for the meeting. All registration fees include access to: 
- all conference sessions and events
- the Exhibit Hall
- the full online program and session gallery
- and the AAG mobile app

Please note, each attendee may only submit one abstract for presentation. See the submission guidelines and deadlines here. To register, click here. 

 

Does AAG offer any registration waivers to help me attend the Annual Meeting?

AAG does not waive registration fees. For non-geographers who bring a different perspective to the meeting we offer Enrichment Funds.

 

Are there any travel awards/stipends available?

The AAG offers a number of programs that support travel or related expenses for participation in AAG meetings.  These include special funds to enrich the meetings through engagement of non-geographers and international geographers.  The AAG also supports attendance by community college students, offers a child care subsidy program, and provides assistance for members with disabilities. Please see Grants and Awards for details.

How many presentations can I give at the Annual Meeting?

You may only submit one abstract for presentation and be a panelist in one panel session. If you opt not to submit an abstract, you may be a panelist twice. There is no limit to how many sessions you may organize, or to how many times you may give an introduction or serve as a discussant. 

Read more about the various roles and the criteria for each.

Call for Submissions—Papers, Posters, Guided Posters and Lightning Papers

How many abstracts may I submit?

Each person may submit one abstract. 

 

What if my abstract is not accepted?

AAG accepts all submissions. There is no review process.

 

Is there a limit to the length of my abstract?

Yes. Paper and poster abstracts have a 250 word limit.

 

How do I include myself in a session?

Use the Session Gallery to find a session appropriate to your abstract topic. Locate the session organizer's contact information of the right side of the page, ask to join the session, and forward your abstract confirmation email to the session organizer. Session organizers will use your PIN to add you as a participant in any sessions. Keep checking back, sessions are added throughout the Fall. In the event that you cannot find a session, your abstract will be sorted into a session by the AAG Program Committee in mid- November. 

 

How do I list my co-author?

If your co-author is not attending the Annual Meeting, the only action required is for the presenter to add the co-author's name to the abstract submission. A co-author is an "in name only" role in which they are not presenting in any capacity in that specific session. If your co-author will be presenting, they will need to be registered for the meeting and will need to provide you their PIN number so that you can add them to the abstract as an additional presenting author.

I submitted my poster abstract, when is the deadline to upload my poster?

Once you submit your poster abstract, you can upload a pdf of your poster. While uploading your poster is optional, we highly encourage it. The deadline will be listed on the call for submissions page. Benefits of uploading your poster include having a shareable link of your work for use on a CV or Social Media, and having your work be searchable in the online Abstract Gallery. 


Call for Submissions—Sessions

What information do I need to submit my session?

To submit a session you will need the title of your session, estimated attendance, and session description. All session submissions are restricted to 75 minutes. Optionally, you may wish to add a call for papers to your session to generate interest in your session from users browsing the session gallery. The names and roles of all your participants must be finalized by the session submission deadline. Paper sessions that are not complete (75 minutes used) may be deleted or modified after the session submission deadline.

How long are sessions?

All sessions are 75 minutes.

 

How do I add a participant's paper to my session?

Have your presenters submit their abstracts online and then send you their 8 digit Program ID (PIN) numbers. You'll use the PIN to add them to your session when you submit or edit the session.


How do I edit my session? 

To edit your session, visit the abstract/session console and click “Edit” on the right side. You may edit any details of your session. If an abstract intended for your session has been assigned to another session, please coordinate with the presenter to determine which session they should be in. Only the primary organizer can make edits to the session.
 

Special Events

What are special events?

Special Events are business meetings, committee and board meetings, workshops, and receptions. If you would like to schedule an event with us, we may be able to accommodate you if we have space at the time you desire. Please fill out the space request form.

AAG Specialty Group business meetings are scheduled by the conference team, so there is no need to make a request using the form. Specialty Group chairs should watch the SG Chairs listserv email for a message from the conference team about timing requests.

Programming

Where will sessions take place?

Annual Meeting sessions will take place in at the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center and Sheraton Denver Downtown, which are an approximately 6 minute walk from each other. Learn more about the hotels and accommodations here. 

 

What is provided in each room?

All Annual Meeting paper and panel session rooms will be equipped with an LCD projector and digital HDMI switcher with the following connections: Mini DisplayPort, VGA to HDMI, and HDMI. Please use a 16:9 aspect ratio to format your slides. Presenters are responsible for bringing any other necessary converters, however they must convert to HDMI. AAG does not provide computers in the presentation rooms. Presenters are responsible for bringing any equipment that is needed and that is not provided, such as a laptop or a laser pointer. AAG is unable to guarantee internet access in the meeting rooms. If you require reliable internet, please contact us for a quote.

Poster sessions and Guided Poster sessions will be equipped with 4'x8' poster boards (landscape format). You may use any of the area within the board to display your poster.

If you need to arrange to rent any additional equipment, such as speakers or a sound patch, please email meeting@aag.org.

 

I can't attend the Annual Meeting in person, can I present remotely?

AAG's current position on remote presentation is as follows: organizers are welcome to try it, but unfortunately, we are unable to support or guarantee that it will work. Our free wifi may or may not be strong enough. We have arranged for a few dedicated wifi codes that you can purchase, but even then, we don't have support staff for this, so any troubleshooting would be on your own. We encourage presenters to have a back-up plan, such as a pre-recorded talk.

 

How was the program selected and put together?

The AAG accepts all submitted abstracts and organized sessions for presentation. Once an abstract has been submitted, there are a few routes for it to end up in a session:

For Paper, Lightning Paper, and Guided Poster abstracts, you may
a) organize a session around the topic of your own presentation,
b) communicate with an organizer via the Session Gallery about joining his/her session, or
c) wait for your abstract to be added to a session by the Program Committee in November 2019.

For Poster abstracts, you may submit your abstract and be added by the organizer, or your poster will be sorted into a session by the Program Committee in February.

 

My paper was accepted and scheduled; can I still edit the title or the abstract?

Minor edits may be made at aag.secure-abstracts.com through the editing deadline posted on the Deadlines & Submissions page. If you change the subject material of your abstract, you may alienate your session organizer and potential session attendees who have selected to attend your talk based on the original content.

 

Why was my session scheduled at the same time as other sessions on similar topics? Can't this be avoided?

Each Annual Meeting has between 1400 and 1700 sessions, held over five days, so conflicts are inevitable. Great care is used to avoid thematic, and individual conflicts (a participant cannot chair one session and present a paper at another session, if both are held at the same time), but it’s not possible to avoid all conflicts.

 

I can't attend the session I was scheduled for, what are my options?

In cases where scheduling conflicts occur, often the best solution is for the presenter to switch sessions entirely. If you run into a conflict, please email meeting@aag.org, explain the circumstances, and name another session (with 4 or fewer presenters) you wish to switch to. If the session is organized by the program committee, AAG staff can simply add you to it. If not, the organizer should be contacted to ask for permission.

 

I can no longer attend, how do I cancel my registration or presentation?

Please see our Cancellations and Refunds page for more information on cancelling registration for the Annual Meeting. In the event that you wish to cancel your presentation, but will still attend the meeting, please email meeting@aag.org and the organizer of your session. 

 

How did I become the session chair and what are the responsibilities? 

For sessions put together by the Program Committee, it is our policy to designate the last person to present as chair, as they have a stake in keeping everyone else in the session within their allotted time. Please see Presentation Guidelines for more information. Please contact meeting@aag.org if you do not wish to be chair.

 

I am having trouble signing up for a Field Trip or Workshop, how can I add one?

If you are unable to add a Field Trip or Workshop, it is likely full. However, sometimes people do not show up and spots are made available. Please go to the Field Trip meeting spot or workshop location early to ask to join. 
To add an additional participant to a Field Trip (spouse, friend, etc) please call the AAG Headquarters at (202) 234-1450 to ensure there is space and to submit payment. 

I need a Certificate of Attendance/Presentation to be reimbursed by my institution, how do I get one?If you require a certificate of attendance/presentation, please contact meeting@aag.org after the conclusion of the Annual Meeting. 

How can I find and search the online program?

You can access the online program here. To search, use the filters on the left side. You can learn more about using the Gallery in our How To videos, found here. 

 

Will I get a hardcopy of the Annual Meeting Program? 

The printed program is available for purchase. To buy one, please login to the registration portal and add one to your registration. 


How do I use the Mobile App? 

You can learn more about the Mobile App here.

Site Selection Questions

Are there any cities/states that AAG will not meet?

AAG has a strong preference for holding our meetings in facilities that are staffed by unionized workers. Learn more about Annual Meeting Site Selection here. 

How does booking outside the hotel block affect me?

AAG receives favorable meeting room rental rates and hotel rates by guaranteeing that a minimum number of attendees will stay in the conference hotels. If AAG is unable to achieve its room block commitments because attendees make reservations at other hotels, or at other accommodation options (such as apartments), or cancel/shorten their length of stay at the AAG hotels, then our overall room night performance is hurt. Further, at any one hotel we have performance obligations to meet the room block contracted. Depending on how small or large the gap is between the room commitment and the actual room pickup, such penalties range from $20,000 to more than $200,000. Should this happen, AAG could be forced to increase registration and exhibitor fees to cover these expenses and cut back on services provided at the event or by way of membership benefits. 

Why don't we meet in smaller cities with lower hotel rates?

Several factors go into our choice of cities:
1. We generally rotate between East Coast, Midwest/Central States, and West Coast in an effort to have the best reach to our members who are located across the country and the world.
2.  Many AAG members travel from college towns served by regional airports, and over 35% of our attendance is international. A destination served by a smaller airport means several flight changes and adds significantly to the price of an airline ticket for many attendees.
3. AAG is a large Annual Meeting. Boston in 2017 had more than 9,400 registrants; San Francisco in 2016 had more than 9,000. The Annual Meeting's attendance has gotten too large to be contained to a single-property venue (such as: Marriott Wardman Park in DC, Chicago Hilton, or San Francisco Hilton).
Still have a question? Contact meeting@aag.org.