CONFERENCE – Friday Nov 4, 2011 – Sunday Nov 6, 2011
(please note: Fee includes reception Friday night, breakfast and lunch on Saturday, breakfast on Sunday, as well as refreshments throughout the conference. )

• Registration (Faculty) – $110
• Registration (Student) – $90

PRE-CONFERENCE ON GRANT DEVELOPMENT – Friday 9am – 4pm
(please note: Fee includes a boxed lunch as well as refreshments during a coffee break.)

• Registration: $45

ADDITIONAL CONFERENCE EVENTS

The Steering Committee invites you to join a small group of conference attendees for a networking and socializing dinner at a local restaurant on Saturday night. Seating is limited.

• Saturday Dinner: $40

Click here to register or paste this link in your browser window if the link does not open automatically http://www.bu.edu/sed/2011-svp-conference-registration/.

Cancellation Policy: Refunds for cancellation will be granted up until October 17, 2011. To cancel your registration and receive a refund please contact Marion Westgate at svp@bu.edu please include a copy of your registration confirmation.

Click here to download the conference schedule.

The following conference events will be webcast live. Click here to sign up for the webcast.

Click here to go directly to the live webcast. (Please note, the site will not be operational until the conference begins.)

Live Tweet Chat: Throughout the conference, attendees and presenters will also be participating in a live tweetchat #svp2011.

We invite and encourage you to submit a poster proposal for presentation at the 10th Biennial Conference of the Society for Vocational Psychology. Poster sessions provide an excellent forum for all participants, including researchers, practitioners and students, to present their work in a relaxed and interactive setting. We welcome proposals that address topics that reflect the diverse interests of our SVP members, students, and affiliates. Click here to download the Call for Posters information and submission sheet.

Recommended accommodation:
Holiday Inn Brookline
Negotiated SVP rate of $134/night (+ tax)

1200 Beacon Street
Brookline, MA 02446
phone: (617) 277-1200
http://www.holidayinn.com/hotels/us/en/brookline/bklma/hoteldetail

This hotel is a 20-minute walk or short train ride away from the conference location. Best value in the area. Book early, rooms fill up extremely quickly. Free internet, shuttle van available.

Alternative conference hotel:
Hotel Commonwealth
Negotiated SVP rate of $209 (+ tax)

500 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
phone: (617) 532-5066
www.hotelcommonwealth.com/

This premium hotel is located in Kenmore Square, circa a 10 minute walk (0.6 mi) from the conference location.  Located in Boston’s elegant Back Bay area.

The Steering Committee for the 2011 Society for Vocational Psychology Conference is excited to announce our plans for our upcoming event.  The conference will be held at Boston University on Saturday and Sunday November 5^th and 6^th 2011.  A Friday evening reception will kick-off the conference.

The conference theme is responsive to the fact that federal policies in the United States and in many countries around the world do not contain language related to the need to provide access to quality career development services.  A variety of efforts are underway to bring attention to this issue.  The International Career Development Symposium[i] has created a “Prove it Works” conversation thread and task group to evaluate the challenges and opportunities associated with creating a set of common evaluation metrics.  The International Center for Career Development and Public Policy (iccdpp.org) is gathering a plethora of documents and papers related to career development and policy which is organized by country and theme.  In the United States, a number of recent reports highlight the need to strongly consider adding career development policy language into upcoming reauthorizations of the Workforce Investment Act and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  The report from the National Collaborative for Workforce and Disability for Youth to the U.S. Department of Labor titled Comprehensive Career Planning and Its Role in the Competitive Global Economy describes the critical importance of establishing a research agenda that can influence policy making efforts[ii] .  More recently, the Pathways to Prosperity report by the Harvard School of Education and the National Approach to Career Navigation for Working Learners report from the Center for American Progress echo the critical need to address this topic[iii].  The European Union in many respects is moving quickly to implement the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recommendations to increase lifelong access to quality career development services as a way of maintaining a competitive knowledge based economy[iv].  Raimo Virunen will serve as a keynote speaker.  He is coordinator of the European Lifelong Guidance Partnership Network and is at the Finnish Institute for Educational Research at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland.  In his role as coordinator, Raimo will share his experiences in working with the European Union and the communication efforts that are underway to highlight career development programs that are being implemented in member countries.

[i] http://www.iccdpp.org/Symposia/IS2009NewZealand/tabid/249/Default.aspx

[ii] http://www.ncwd-youth.info/node/552

[iii] http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news_events/features/2011/Pathways_to_Prosperity_Feb2011.pdf and http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/03/career_navigation_learners.html

[iv] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/13/34/19975192.pdf ; see also: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/33/45/34050171.pdf ; http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/publications/15762.aspx