Universities and associations usually rely on a mix of tools to run annual conferences:
- abstract and peer review systems,
- all-in-one event management platforms such as Accelevents, and
- association or membership databases with event modules.
Most teams end up connecting at least two of these so they can manage call for papers, registration and payments, continuing education credits, and reporting in one coherent workflow.
What counts as a “conference management” solution here?
When we talk about solutions for university and association annual conferences, we are really talking about software that can cover most of this lifecycle:
- Collecting submissions, assigning reviewers, and notifying accepted authors.
- Handling complex registration rules, including member vs non-member pricing and student discounts.
- Building multi-track programs, updating rooms and times, and publishing a schedule that is easy for attendees to filter.
- Running the live event, including check-in, badges, session scanning, and basic exhibitor and sponsor workflows.
- Issuing certificates or continuing education (CE) credits and syncing final data back into your association management system (AMS), student information system, or CRM.
A “fit” solution is one that can handle your submission and review complexity, your membership and pricing logic, your CE rules, and your reporting needs without forcing a lot of manual work or unreliable spreadsheets.
Main solution types for university and association conferences
Most annual conferences in higher education and membership organizations end up using some combination of three types of tools.
1. Research submission and peer review systems
These solutions focus on the academic side of the conference lifecycle:
- Call for papers and abstract submission forms.
- Configurable reviewer assignments and scoring forms.
- Decision letters, program export, and sometimes a basic mobile view or schedule.
Common examples in this category include:
- Ex Ordo
- Oxford Abstracts
- Microsoft CMT
- EasyChair
- Fourwaves
- ScholarOne Abstracts
These tools are often chosen when:
- The conference receives hundreds or thousands of submissions.
- Double-blind or structured peer review rules matter more than marketing and sponsorship workflows.
- Program chairs want a focused environment for reviewers and track chairs.
What to verify in a demo:
- Can you configure multiple submission types (papers, posters, workshops) with different questions and file requirements.
- How reviewer assignment works for multi-track programs.
- How accepted submissions move into your agenda tool or event platform, and in what format (CSV, API, or direct integration).
2. Event management platforms used for annual conferences
Event management platforms cover the operational side of the conference:
- Registration and ticketing, including member pricing rules and multi-attendee orders.
- Onsite check-in, badge printing, and session scanning.
- Mobile event apps, engagement tools, and virtual or hybrid delivery where needed.
- Exhibitor and sponsor portals, lead capture, and post-event reporting.
Well-known platforms in this group include:
- Accelevents (Accelevents is our platform.)
- Whova
- Cvent
- EventsAir
- idloom
- vFairs
Most universities and associations use an event management platform when:
- The annual conference is part of a year-round portfolio of meetings and training.
- They need a consistent attendee experience from registration, through the mobile app, to CE certificates.
- Sponsorship and exhibitor ROI is a priority.
What to verify in a demo:
- Build member vs non-member pricing with early-bird and discount logic, then confirm confirmation emails and invoices reflect the rules.
- Run a realistic check-in and badge printing scenario, including walk-ins and name or affiliation corrections.
3. Association and membership platforms with event modules
Association management systems (AMS) and membership tools often include event features:
- Event registration tied directly to member records and renewals.
- Basic agendas and email communications.
- Financial reporting that lines up with membership and dues reporting.
Examples in this bucket include:
- Wild Apricot
- Glue Up
- Other AMS platforms with embedded event functionality
These tools work well when:
- The conference is primarily a member benefit, and membership data is the “source of truth.”
- The event is operationally simple, and the primary need is to keep data in one membership database.
What to verify in a demo:
- How the AMS handles complex conference pricing rules and guest registration.
- How session attendance and CE credits flow back into member profiles.
- Whether you can export clean attendee and order data into your finance and marketing systems if you outgrow the embedded event features.
Where Accelevents can help universities and associations
Accelevents sits in the event management software platform category, with workflows designed for enterprises, associations, agencies, nonprofits, and universities that run conferences, trade shows, and continuing education programs.
From one system you can:
- Build branded registration pages and event websites with drag-and-drop tools, unlimited ticket types, discounts, and conditional form logic.
- Offer onsite and self-serve check-in with real-time badge printing and session scanning.
- Manage call for papers and abstracts, including multiple submission paths, reviewer assignments, and a speaker portal with tasks.
- Run in-person, virtual, or hybrid conferences in a single attendee experience, supported by a virtual event hub and mobile app.
- Track CE credits, generate certificates, provide self-service retrieval, and export audit-ready reports or sync with your LMS.
- Give exhibitors a portal for booth setup and lead capture, with mobile scanning, notes, scoring, and real-time reporting.
Under the hood, Accelevents was intentionally built on one consistent data model, which keeps registration, agenda, engagement, exhibitor activity, and CE data aligned for reporting and integrations.
There are no additional fees for API access or native integrations, and you can connect event data to systems such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, and several association systems using REST APIs and webhooks.
For governance, you can configure roles for central events teams, departmental organizers, exhibitors, and speakers, and layer on SSO, MFA, and audit logging where required.
When your event is live, Accelevents support provides 24/7 human teams that responds in less than 21 seconds, 24/7.
All of this is aligned with a simple goal: keep event management straightforward and accessible so planners can focus on content and community instead of wrestling with poorly connected tools.
Solution inventory at a glance
Tool inventory table
| Category |
Example platforms |
Best for |
What to verify in a demo |
| Research submission & peer review |
Ex Ordo, Oxford Abstracts, Microsoft CMT, EasyChair, Fourwaves, ScholarOne |
High-volume paper and poster submissions |
Submission types, reviewer assignment logic, export or integration path into your agenda |
| Event management platforms with abstract workflows |
Accelevents, Whova, Cvent, EventsAir, idloom, vFairs |
End-to-end registration, onsite ops, and engagement |
Registration rules, check-in and badge printing, virtual hub, CE export capabilities |
| Association / membership platforms with events |
Wild Apricot, Glue Up, AMS platforms with event modules |
Conferences tightly coupled to membership and renewals |
Member vs non-member pricing, CE tracking to profiles, data export options |
| Exhibitor and sponsor management tools |
Accelevents exhibitor tools, standalone exhibitor platforms |
Trade show-style expos and sponsorship ROI reporting |
Lead capture workflow, team permissions, sponsor reporting exports |
| CE and certificate tracking tools |
Accelevents CE module, LMS platforms |
Conferences where CE and certificates drive attendance |
Session scanning flows, CE rules, certificate templates, audit trail exports |
The “what to verify” prompts here are practical demo checks you can run regardless of vendor, so you see how each platform handles your real workflows.
Lightweight comparison table
Below is a directional comparison across core needs. Use it as a conversation starter with vendors rather than a final verdict, and always confirm details in a live demo.
Legend:
- Native – capability is typically built in.
- Integrates – commonly handled via integration or add-on.
- Varies – depends heavily on plan or configuration.
Confirm – ask the vendor to walk through your specific workflow.
| Platform |
Abstract management |
Peer review workflows |
End-to-end event operations |
Membership / dues |
Hybrid / virtual delivery |
CE / certificate tracking |
| Accelevents |
Native |
Native |
Native |
Integrates |
Native |
Native |
| Ex Ordo |
Native |
Native |
Confirm |
Confirm |
Confirm |
Confirm |
| Oxford Abstracts |
Native |
Native |
Confirm |
Confirm |
Confirm |
Confirm |
| Microsoft CMT |
Native |
Native |
Confirm |
Confirm |
Confirm |
Confirm |
| Whova |
Integrates |
Confirm |
Native |
Confirm |
Native |
Varies |
| Cvent |
Integrates |
Confirm |
Native |
Integrates |
Native |
Varies |
| Wild Apricot |
Confirm |
Confirm |
Integrates |
Native |
Varies |
Confirm |
| Glue Up |
Confirm |
Confirm |
Integrates |
Native |
Varies |
Confirm |
Use this table to narrow your shortlist, then ask each vendor to demonstrate your exact workflows, including data exports and integrations with your AMS or campus systems.
Implementation considerations for universities and associations
Data and integrations
For universities and associations, clean data handoffs matter as much as features. Before you commit:
- Map how registration data flows into your AMS, CRM, or student information system.
- Confirm whether your conference platform acts as a data processor with you retaining ownership of attendee records.
- Test a full round trip: create a registration, push it to your CRM, update it, and confirm timestamps and ownership fields.
If your internal policy requires exclusive control over attendee data, pay extra attention to platforms that rely on shared accounts or global attendee profiles.
Roles, permissions, and governance
Higher education and associations frequently have multiple stakeholders, from central meetings teams to departmental organizers and volunteer committees. Build a permissions model that:
- Limits who can publish schedule or pricing changes.
- Gives read-only access for reviewers, track chairs, and sponsors where appropriate.
- Supports SSO and MFA for staff and faculty accounts if your security team requires it.
Onboarding and change management
Expect implementation to be a project, not a toggle:
- Plan dedicated time for template setup, integrations, and user training.
- Pilot the platform on a smaller event or committee meeting before your flagship annual conference.
- Document internal standards for naming conventions, registration questions, and CE rules so that different departments do not reinvent their own versions.
Reporting and measurement
However you structure your stack, make sure you can answer basic questions without rebuilding reports from scratch every year:
- How many registrants, check-ins, and active attendees did you have, by member type and ticket type.
- Which sessions drove the most attendance and CE credits.
- Which sponsors and exhibitors saw the most engagement and leads.
- How this year compares to previous years for attendance, geography, and member vs non-member participation.
Look for:
- Real-time dashboards across registration, onsite, and virtual components.
- CSV exports that let you reproduce any number shown in a chart.
- Cross-event reporting so you can measure trends across multiple annual meetings or distinct conferences.
Cost and resourcing
Pricing for these tools usually depends on a mix of:
- Number of attendees or submissions.
- Number of events in your annual portfolio.
- Which modules you activate (abstracts, CE tracking, mobile app, exhibitor portals, integrations).
Beyond license costs, account for:
- Internal admin time for registration builds, integrations, and speaker or reviewer support.
- Day-of staffing at check-in and support desks.
- Ongoing training as staff and volunteers rotate.
Because universities and associations often face governance and committee cycles, it can be cheaper in the long run to invest in tools that reduce manual reconciliation, even if the license price is higher.
Putting it together
Most universities and associations land on one of these patterns:
- Research system + event management platform, integrated via exports or APIs.
- AMS + event management platform that handles onsite and CE, with membership logic configured in both.
- Event management platform alone, when submissions are simple and CE requirements are moderate.
Are you specifically looking for a platform that handles double-blind peer reviews, or is your primary focus on attendee registration and networking?
Once that is clear, you can shortlist systems in each of the three categories, then use the demo checks above to see which combination best matches your conference goals, staffing, and governance model.
If you are exploring an event management platform that can also handle abstracts and CE with strong support for associations and higher education, Accelevents is one option to put on your list.
FAQs: solutions for university and association conference management
Do universities and associations usually need more than one tool for annual conferences?
Yes, most teams end up with at least two tools, commonly a research submission and review system plus an event management platform. Abstract workflows are highly specialized, while registration, onsite operations, CE, and sponsorship need a broader platform. The key is to define which system is “source of truth” for each data set and how they sync.
Can one platform handle abstracts, registration, onsite, and CE tracking?
Some event management platforms, including Accelevents, provide native workflows for call for papers, abstracts, registration, onsite operations, and CE tracking in one system. This can reduce reconciliation work and simplify reporting, especially when your annual conference shares data with other events in your portfolio.
How should associations think about their AMS when choosing conference tools?
Associations should treat the AMS as the long-term home of member and financial records, then decide how the conference platform will sync registration, CE, and engagement data back into member profiles. Verify integrations, field mappings, and data ownership upfront, and test a full cycle in a sandbox environment before you go live.
What matters most when selecting tools for CE-heavy conferences?
For CE-driven conferences, focus on accurate session tracking, flexible CE rule configuration, and audit-ready exports or LMS integrations. Check how the system handles partial attendance, overlapping sessions, self-service certificate retrieval, and corrections after the event closes.
How do I avoid overbuying or locking into the wrong platform?
Start with a clear view of your event portfolio, governance, and integrations, then design a minimal viable stack that fits those needs. Avoid multi-year contracts until you have run at least one full annual cycle, and use structured demo checklists and proof-of-concept events to validate capabilities before expanding your usage.
