Tips for Organizing Your Program

In order for an individual to have access to the full program, like you do, they would need to be added as either a Reviewer or a Program (Co)Chair. Only your meeting planner can add a program chair and/or reviewer. Please contact your lead planner if someone should have access to the full program.

If you want an organizer to have access only to one specific session then they will need to be added as a session chair. To add in a session chair:

  1. Click on the session title you would like to add session chairs to.
  2. Click on “People” in the window that opens up. It is under the left hand session control panel.
  3. Click “Add new person”.
  4. In the window that opens enter the last name of the person you would like to add as session chair, check off Chair (if only one) or CoChair (if more than one). Depending on the session type you would want to check off the appropriate title- for example: if the session happens to be a panel discussion then you would check off moderator (panelists could also be entered here if they will not be providing individual presentations); please reference the “Panel Discussion Guidelines” document, for your convenience this information is posted online under the “Information for Program Chairs” webpage along with other helpful resources.
  5. Click on “Search” once the appropriate title is selected. Select a match or enter a new one by following the steps. Send an email to your lead meeting planner once all the chairs are entered to let them know and they will then send out the login details to all of your session officials.

As program chair, it is your responsibility to read through and accept/reject all of the abstracts submitted to your conference. You can also enlist the help of reviewers to complete this task (See above). You can accept/reject abstract from the Session Level or the Abstract Level. If you reject any abstracts, we ask that you please contact the first authors of those abstracts directly and explain why you have rejected their abstract for presentation.

Sessions can begin at 8:30 a.m. each day of your meeting.  Please note, the sessions should be in 15 minute increments.


Below is the schedule for coffee breaks and other special events.  Please note that oral sessions cannot be scheduled during these times (Please refer to the Program Layout Tool).

Sunday
Presidential Forum 4:00–5:00 p.m.
 
Monday
Coffee Break 10:0010:30 a.m.
Lunch Break 12:00–2:00 p.m.
Formal Poster Viewing w/Coffee Break 4:00–6:00 p.m.
Exhibits Opening and Reception 6:00–7:00 p.m.
 
Tuesday 
Coffee Break 10:00–10:30 a.m. 
Lunch Break 12:00–1:30 p.m.
Coffee Break 2:30-3:00 p.m.
Formal Poster Viewing 4:00–6:00 p.m.
 
Wednesday
Coffee Break 10:00–10:30 a.m. 
Lunch Break 12:00–1:30 p.m. 
Coffee Break 2:30-3:00 p.m.
Formal Poster Viewing 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Exhibit Hall Reception and Awards Banquet 6:00–9:00 p.m.
 
Thursday
Exhibit Hall Breakfast 9:30–10:30 a.m.
Lunch Break 12:00–1:30 p.m. 
Coffee Break 3:00–3:30 p.m.
Sessions should be listed in numerical order. If a session runs over a break, over lunch, or runs more than one day, create a new session with a new number and add “II” to the original title to show the continuation.
 
  • First Oral session = Session 1
  • There is no need to number poster sessions.
  • Parallel Session = Continue the numerical, and add A and B, i.e. Session 7A and 7B.
  • Themed Joint Sessions and Joint Sessions do not need to be numbered. Your meeting coordinator will number the Themed Joint Sessions and Joint Sessions in your program after the program has been finalized.
  • You do not need to number the papers in your sessions. Your meeting coordinator will do that for you. 

Using the Program Control Panel, go to the heading “Sessions” and click on “Add”. This will open a window to create a new session. In the window that opens type in the session title. Under the Session Type, use the drop down box to select the type of session; for example oral, poster, panel etc. Here is where you can also add information about the session under the Session Description box in order for it to display on the webprogram. Make sure to click “Save” at the bottom of the screen in order to save the session. The session will then appear in your program.

Using the Program Control Panel:
  1. Click on either the “Arrange” or the “Expanded View” link to view the list of sessions in the right frame. The “Arrange” view will show you all your sessions and the “Expanded View” will show you your program with all sessions including the abstract titles.
  2. Click on the title of the session you want to withdraw. It will open in a new window or tab and you will now be able to edit that session.
  3. Click the “Withdraw” link under the “Options” heading. You will need to enter a brief explanation as to why you are withdrawing the session, such as “no longer needed” or “duplicate”.
 
couple of NOTES:
  • After you withdraw the session, you will still need to transfer it to the Waste Basket. To do so, go to session window that is still opened and click on “transfer “ under “Options” on the left side session control panel, then select the Waste Basket program as primary and submit.
  • The system will not allow a session to be withdrawn if there are any abstracts or if the session is scheduled. You will need to move the abstract(s) (reference To Transfer an Abstract or To Schedule a Session) in order to be able to withdraw a session.
Using the Program Control Panel:
  1. Click on “Arrange” under the “Sessions” heading.
  2. In the right frame, find the Session you would like to schedule.
  3. Click the icon (an image of a calendar and clock) next to the session name. A new window will open.
  4. In the “Schedule Session” window, put in the necessary information, and then click the “Submit Information” button.
 
NOTE: Please do not enter any information for the “Location”; this is completed by AMS Staff ONLY. After scheduling is complete you can click on “Arrange” again and it should refresh, placing the sessions now in order by scheduled date and time.
Using the Program Control Panel:
  1. Click on “Expanded View” to see the full view of the program.
  2. Click on the abstract title you want to transfer--a new window or tab will open.
  3. The abstract is now open in a new window, from here, click on “Transfer” under the “Options” heading to the left.
  4. Click the radio button next to the session under your Conference title you would like to move the abstract to, and then click “Submit Program Selection” at the bottom of the page.
Alternatively, you can also select which session you want to transfer the abstract into at the bottom of the “Abstract Accept/Reject Form”, which is the first window you see once you click to select an abstract. This is also the window where you will accept or reject an abstract. Please make sure to click on “Submit Final Review” in order to save your rating and/or transfer.

To enter a late abstract, please follow these steps:

  1. Using the Program Control Panel, click on “Add” under “Abstracts”. A new window should open up.
  2. In the new window, complete the following steps:
  • Topic—Select the topic/session where the abstract should go.
  • Title (be sure to enter the author’s email where it asks for submitter’s email- this is the email address the system will use to generate the automated email providing the abstract info) You will also need to select the preferred presentation format in this step (Oral Presentation or Poster Presentation), as well as whether they are a student or not.
  • Authors—Please enter at least the first and/or presenting author. You can provide them with the link to the presenter’s corner or your meeting coordinator can provide them with the link to enter in any other authors.
  • Abstract Text—Enter in their abstract text and click on “Save” at the bottom of the page.
  • Billing/Receipt—Once at this step, close the window and email the author letting them know to log in to the Presenter’s Corner in order to complete their submission by providing their payment information.
A couple of NOTES:
Be sure to get all of the needed information from the author before starting the abstract submission.
Send authors to the Presenter’s Corner here: https://ams.confex.com/ams/extra.cgi. This is where they will be able to manage their abstract. They can provide payment, add coauthors, and also update their abstract title until the edits deadline. They can login using the abstract ID and password in the automatic email they should have received when the abstract was first initiated.
Please make sure that all sessions and abstract titles are in Title Case-which capitalizes the first letter of each major word. eg: 'This is an Example of Title Case'. If you are using an acronym, be sure to use all caps for it.
 
If you have a Core Science Keynote in your conference program, please add “(Core Science Keynote)” to the end of its title.

The $95 abstract fee for papers can only be waived using Program Chair Funds. If you add an abstract being covered by Program Chair Funds into your conference program, please choose “PO/Purchase Order” as the payment type and write in PC Funds as the PO number. Please also give your meeting coordinator a list of all comp abstract fees in your program (whether program chair entered or author submitted) to be sure the author is not invoiced by AMS accounting. 

If you invite a speaker to present, you may choose to waive their abstract and/or registration fees by paying for the fees with your Program Chair Funds.  If you do not arrange to use your Program Chair Funds (by filling out the Program Chair Fund Request form – contact your meeting coordinator if you have not already done this), the speaker will be responsible for paying their abstract and registration fees.  Please make sure your invited speakers are aware of this.