Welcome to the home of AARAO, the Atlantic Association of Registrars and Admissions Officers. AARAO's mandate is to promote the communication, exchange of information and professional development of its members. This website contains material of interest to AARAO members as well as students, parents, guidance counsellors or anyone interested in higher education.

What is AARAO?

AARAO was formed in the mid-sixties by a group of registrars who saw the need to meet on a regular basis to exchange information. The group first operated under the name AURA (Atlantic Universities Registrar's Association.) In the 1970s the name was changed to AARAO (Association of Atlantic Registrars and Admissions Officers) to reflect the role of the admissions and liaison personnel within our organizations.

As stated in the constitution, "the purpose of the association shall be ...to promote communication and exchange of information of the functions normally associated with the offices of registry and admissions such as admissions, registration, records and other closely related functions; and to promote the professional development of the officers so as to enable them to discharge their duties and responsibilities effectively."

One of the prominent services offered by AARAO to its members is the coordination of high school liaison visits, which is done by the Second Vice-President. Out of the association of the liaison officers and the high school guidance counsellors, a biennial meeting, Interchange, has been established to increase the communication between the university representatives and the counsellors.

The biennial meetings of AARAO have evolved from a group of 25 people meeting to discuss a single topic to a three-day conference with sessions on topics ranging from automated registration to providing university access and support to minority students. In the past few years, one-day workshops have been arranged either in coordination with the conferences or at other times in the year. It is true of AARAO, as in so many other organizations, that the value of these meetings lies as much in the informal interchange of information which the occasion provides as in the professional presentations.

AARAO has a close association with its national counterpart, the Association of Registrars of Universities and Colleges of Canada (ARUCC), for which it hosts its national conference every eight years. AARAO nominates a regional representative and executive position. The president is invited to meet with the national executive at their regional meetings. All of this interaction keeps members up to date on developments in their region and across the country.

This directory has been published to assist members with communication with their colleagues in other Atlantic universities and colleges.