University registrar to attend Baden-Württemberg Seminar

Jonathan Reece, University registrar, is among 12 participants who will attend the 2025 Baden-Württemberg Seminar in Stuttgart, Germany, in October.

Reece, who holds a doctorate in educational leadership, is a member of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, which, along with NAFSA: Association of International Educators, collaborates to offer this global professional development opportunity. The German Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts hosts the annual seminar.

“We’ll be learning about the German education system from primary schools to universities. I’m most interested in visiting campuses to learn more about the similarities and differences between German and U.S. higher education systems,” said Reece.

 In July, Reece joined 30 fellow AACRAO members to visit Congress for the national association’s Hill Day. He and Vanessa Jackson, associate registrar for the Campbell University Law School, met with North Carolina Reps. Alma Adams, Theodore Budd, Valerie Foushee, Mark Harris, Brad Knott and Deborah Ross.

During the visit, they advocated on behalf of AACRAO to double Pell grant funding, protect international students, preserve U.S. Department of Education staffing and other administrative budget funding related to federal work-study and research programs that primarily impact nontraditional and low-income students.

The AACRAO views higher education institutions as economic engines to improve local communities, said Reece, adding many campuses are the largest employers in their communities, and faculty, staff and students invest money into these communities.

Another topic of discussion was AACRAO’s support for an exception in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to allow four-year institutions to share courses/credits with two-year campuses to award an associate degree retroactively, while the student is studying at the four-year campus. Notably, the UNC System established a Reverse Transfer Program in 2013, and it continues to assist students in earning retroactive degrees today. More than 2,400 UNC Charlotte students have earned a credential through the Reverse Transfer Program.