Pre-conference & certification opportunities
Kick off your conference week with intensive training

If you’re looking to maximize your week from start to finish, the pre-conference may be right for you. Pre-conference sessions will be offered throughout the day on Sunday, June 25, 2023, prior to the Welcome Reception in the evening. These 2-3 hour sessions provide users with in-depth training on a variety of topics with opportunities for certification.
Pre-conference sessions offered
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- Encoding for the Adjusting Elective ($175, Morning session)
- Using the uAchieve Log ($175, Afternoon session)
- TES Administrator Certification* ($350, Full day)
- uAchieve Basic Encoding Boot Camp* ($350, Full day)
Workbooks and presentation materials are included in all pre-conference sessions.
Lunch will be provided for all pre-conference attendees.
* TES Administrator Certification and the uAchieve Basic Encoding Boot Camp are special tracks that each consist of two-part workshops during the pre-conference on Sunday, plus required sessions through the remainder of the conference. Both tracks are certification opportunities; upon completion, participants of the TES Administrator Certification track will be certified at the end of the conference week, and participants of the uAchieve Basic Boot Camp will have taken the first workshop requirement toward becoming a Certified uAchieve Degree Audit Encoder.
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Pre-conference schedule
Sunday, June 25
9:00 – 11:00am | TES Administrator Certification, Part 1
9:00 – 11:00am | Single-session Intensive: Encoding for the Adjusting Elective
9:00am – 12:00pm | uAchieve Basic Encoding Boot Camp, Part 1
1:00 – 3:00pm | TES Administrator Certification, Part 2
1:00 – 3:00pm | Single-session Intensive: Using the uAchieve Log
1:00 – 4:00pm | uAchieve Basic Encoding Boot Camp, Part 2
Detailed descriptions are below.

Single-session intensives
There will be two in-depth sessions on uAchieve functional topics during the morning and afternoon on Sunday, June 25. Attendees may choose to participate in one or both sessions as add-ons to their conference experience.
Morning session
9:00 – 11:00am
Encoding for the Adjusting Elective
What do Financial Aid, VA, and NCAA audits all have in common when processing degree audits? They all need to be able to accurately track progress toward degree, which necessitates being able to calculate the courses used, needed, and required for program completion. uAchieve can do the math to calculate the Required Electives for a Degree Program dynamically, whether the student is only pursuing a single major or multiple credentials.In this session, we will walk through the specific encoding for Degree Programs, utilizing condition codes, Reference Values, Calculating Sub-requirements, and processing sub-requirements in the 2nd Match phase.
Afternoon session
1:00 – 3:00pm
Using the uAchieve Log
Get an inside look at how uAchieve processes your student data and requirements and find out how to use a log to troubleshoot. We’ll investigate what’s in a log and learn how to determine what is happening during the phases.
How to sign up
One or both of the uAchieve single-session intensives can be purchased as add-ons to a General Conference Admission for $175 each and can be selected during registration.

TES Administrator Certification
Certification opportunity track
About
CollegeSource offers certifications as a professional development opportunity for TES users, including the TES Basic and TES Administrator certifications. While the Basic program is offered online, we have created an in-person experience for the Administrator program at the Annual Conference.
What’s included during the week
Registration for the TES Administrator Certification track includes required pre-conference sessions and required breakout sessions through the remainder of the week. Also included are Opening and Closing sessions, any remaining breakout sessions, all meals, and all networking events.
Certification requirements
To become certified, users must attend the two-part pre-conference workshop and required sessions throughout the conference. Additionally, users must be in an active position within a TES-licensed institution and have been utilizing TES for at least one year.
Upon completion of requirements, users will receive a printed, signed certificate at the end of the conference week, and will be listed on the CollegeSource Support Center certification site. Certification will last for two years, at which point it may be renewed based on meeting continuing criteria.
To learn about all CollegeSource certifications and requirements, please visit our training & certifications page.
Required sessions
TES Administrator Certification, Part 1 and 2
Sunday, June 25, from 9:00 – 11:00am & 1:00 – 3:00pm
This two-part class will cover the “Why” of TES, the Transfer Evaluation System. To complete your certification, you must attend both pre-conference sessions and four required sessions offered throughout the conference week covering additional functional areas within TES.
Areas covered in the pre-conference sessions:
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- Implementation strategy: Sample events and elements that may need to be considered
- TES Architecture: How TES is structured and how some of the features are organized
- TES Feature Summary: What’s under the hood
- The Evaluation Tracker: Understanding the workflow in TES
- TES Configuration: What can you customize
- The Public View: Why and how should you deploy a public view of your stored equivalencies
- TES Connections: What support is available
- Thoughts on Data Management and Integration
- Additional resources architecture
Attendees must attend the following required sessions during the conference to become certified:
Sunday, June 25
9:00AM – 11:00AM: TES Administrator Certification, Part 1
1:00PM – 3:00PM: TES Administrator Certification, Part 2
Monday, June 26
9:45AM – 10:30AM: Keeping the Dream from Becoming a Nightmare: TES Annual Maintenance
1:00PM – 1:45PM: TES: What’s New, What’s Next
Tuesday, June 27
9:00AM – 9:45AM: Data Deep Dive & Forgotten Features
2:00PM – 2:45PM: Know Your Rights! A User Rights Review for TES
How to sign up
If you wish to participate in this track, select “Conference Admission + TES Administrator Certification” during registration.

uAchieve Basic Encoding Boot Camp
Certification opportunity track
What’s included during the week
Take a step toward earning your uAchieve Basic Encoding Certification with all the conference perks! Registration for the uAchieve Basic Encoding Boot Camp includes pre-conference sessions on Sunday and additional required sessions through the remainder of the week. Attendees also have access to Opening and Closing Sessions, all meals, additional breakout sessions, and all networking events.
Toward certification
Completing the boot camp track will count as the Basic Encoding workshop requirement toward a uAchieve Degree Audit Encoder certification. To become a Certified uAchieve Degree Audit Encoder, users must complete both the Basic and Intermediate Encoding workshops, have an active encoding position, and submit an application.
To help you become certified, all attendees who complete the boot camp track will receive $300 off an upcoming uAchieve Intermediate Encoding Workshop. Discount code must be used within one year of the completion of the conference or by June 25, 2024.
To learn about all CollegeSource certifications and requirements, please visit our training & certifications page.
Required sessions
uAchieve Basic Encoding Boot Camp, Part 1 and 2
Sunday, June 25, from 9:00 – 12:00pm & 1:00 – 4:00pm
The uAchieve Basic Encoding Boot Camp track is for new encoders or those who want a refresher on the basics. We will cover a core of topics from the traditional Basic Encoding Workshop, including lectures, hands-on exercises in our training database, and a copy of the manual material covered during the two pre-conference sessions.
Please note: Attendees will need to provide their own laptop computer.
Areas covered in the pre-conference sessions:
- uAchieve Audit: Start to Finish
- Build and Test a Degree Program
- Course Matching
- Restricting Course Reuse
- Using ANDs and ORs
- Course and System Condition Codes Overview
In order for the uAchieve Basic Boot Camp pre-conference sessions to apply towards the training requirement for uAchieve Degree Audit Encoder certification, both the morning and afternoon pre-conference sessions and attendance in additional encoding sessions during the conference are required.
All required sessions are listed below:
Sunday, June 25
9:00AM – 12:00PM: uAchieve Basic Encoding Boot Camp, Part 1
1:00PM – 4:00PM: uAchieve Basic Encoding Boot Camp, Part 2
Monday, June 26
10:45AM – 11:30AM: Requirement Lists and Markers
3:15PM – 4:00PM: The Grade Table
Tuesday, June 27
8:00AM – 8:45AM: Repeat Table and Duplicate Logic
9:00AM – 9:45AM: uAchieve Processing
2:00PM – 2:45PM: Course Changes Using the Convert Table and String Table