When developing your title (120 characters) and abstract (150 words), consider both the Conference Theme — Building Connections — and the topic areas you will select on the proposal submission form. Ideally, the title and/or abstract should contain words found on the list of Conference Topics. This list was developed to provide a structure for categorizing TLT information for the UNC TLT Conference.

When submitting your proposal online, you will be asked to choose a Session Type and an alternate session type. These include panel discussions, roundtable discussions, hands-on workshops, formal presentations, demonstrations, and poster presentations. Session lengths are 90 minutes for workshops, and 30 or 50 minutes for other session types.

You will have the option, in submitting your proposal, to have it considered for one of the Conference Tracks. These tracks are targeted for specific groups of participants and supported by the TLT Interest Groups. If none of these tracks is appropriate for your proposal, you do not need to select a track.

As you plan your proposal, consider participating in the Collaborative Café. This is a tool to assist you to identify and establish connections with others who have similar interests. You may submit a request by entering a session description including types of co-presenters requested and identifying topics that would help others to search for the intended proposal. You can also use the Café to look for requests that have been submitted by others. We strongly encourage prospective presenters to collaborate in developing proposals by joining the Collaborative Café.

A good Abstract will:

• be concisely written, accurate, self‑contained, and coherent
• use a clear and direct writing style with active voice rather than passive
• describe who would benefit from attending this session
• give a clear statement of the outcomes participants may expect of this presentation
• list what materials—slides, handouts, web links—will be provided during the presentation, posted on the conference web site, or submitted to the conference proceedings
• give participants a good idea of the content and format of your presentation
• persuade the proposal evaluators and conference attendees that you are going to present something unique and valuable

Proposal Review Criteria

The following five criteria (in no particular order) will be used to evaluate all proposals in our refereed proposal review process.

• actively engage participants
• provide useful information, skills, or ideas
• are consistent with the conference theme
• promote effective and innovative practices
• emphasize collaborative approaches

Proposal Referee Process

Proposals will be reviewed by a committee of UNC faculty, staff, librarians, and administrators with expertise in TLT issues. The proposal review process matches proposals with reviewers with appropriate expertise and not associated with any of the prospective presenters' campuses. Notification of accepted proposals will be provided by mid-December, 2006. Campus affiliations will appear in the conference program; however, to facilitate blind review, please describe your session without identifying yourself, co-presenters, or campus in the title or abstract.