2017 Call for Papers and Presenter Information

The Call for Papers is now open! Abstracts are due May 5 May 30, 2017

We want you! SAS software is so rich in function and application that everyone is an expert on something. This year, share your expertise with fellow users at MWSUG 2017.

Below is some of the essential information to guide you as you create your paper and prepare your presentation or e-poster. Before submitting a paper proposal, please review the information below carefully. If you have any questions about your paper proposal or the submission process, please contact the Academic Chair, Misty Johnson, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Submission Basics

Your proposal will need to include a paper title of no more than 250 characters and a summary (abstract) of no more than 250 words. You will also be asked to provide the name of each author along with each author's affiliation (company, etc.), email address, and a short biography of no more than 75 words. Biographies should be written in the third person.

To improve the chances of your paper being selected for the conference, it is strongly recommended that you include a working draft or outline. This will give the section chair a better idea of the content, style, and quality of your paper.

Presentation Options and Sections

There are several ways to present: 50-minute papers, 20-minute papers, 10-minute papers (a.k.a., the Rapid Fire Section), and e-posters. There will be several concurrent sections or presentation tracks at the conference; the final list of sections is not yet determined and will depend on what proposals are submitted and accepted. For your proposed paper, the title, abstract, working draft (if provided), and categories that you select to characterize your paper will help our reviewers decide which section would be appropriate. If we are in doubt as to the best choice, we will talk to you.

Click here to review the list of sections and their descriptions.

Paper Guidelines

Every presentation requires submission of a companion paper. These papers will be published as part of the official Conference Proceedings at the MWSUG website. To meet the expectations for publication in the Proceedings, please refer to the MWSUG 2017 Paper Guidelines, Paper Template, and other tools available in our Presenter Resources. For e-poster submissions, papers are optional.

Presenter Obligations

In order to sustain the high quality of past MWSUG conferences for our participants, authors are required to follow several guidelines and deadlines. In fact, before an abstract is accepted for presentation, author(s) are provided by their section chair a complete list and agree to comply. If any of these guidelines or deadlines are not met, MWSUG reserves the right to remove the abstract and presentation from the Conference Schedule and exclude the paper form the Conference Proceedings. Here are four of the more notable requirements:

1. Submit the Copyright Grant Form signed by all authors on or before August 25, 2017;
2. Submit a final paper in PDF format consistent with the MWSUG Submission Guidelines on or before August 25, 2017; and
3. Register for the conference on or before the early registration deadline of September 1, 2017. Registration opens on June 12, 2017.
4. Be available to present your paper at any point during the conference from 8:00am Monday (October 9, 2017) through 4:00pm Tuesday (October 10, 2017). Due to the complexity of the scheduling process, special scheduling requests cannot be honored. Make your travel plans accordingly.

Presenter Timetable

Item	Date	Details
Paper Proposals	May 5 May 30	All paper proposals must be submitted through the MWSUG Paper Submission System.
Notification	May 30 June 20	Section Chairs will notify paper proposers whether their paper has been accepted.
Papers Due	August 25	The final PDF version of each paper must follow the MWSUG Submission Guidelines and be submitted to the MWSUG Paper Submission System. Early submissions are encouraged and appreciated by the section chairs. The conference committee will review the paper and provide any necessary feedback to each presenter. Any revisions will be required on a timely basis.
Copyright Grant Form	August 25	The Copyright Grant Form must be signed by ALL authors, scanned, and submitted electronically through the MWSUG Paper Submission System.
Presenter Biographies	August 25	A short biography for each presenter should be submitted electronically through the MWSUG Paper Submission System. These will be used to introduce speakers before each presentation.
Early Registration Ends	September 1	Presenters must register by the early registration deadline to receive the presenter rate. We reserve the right to cancel presentations of unregistered presenters.
Presentation files loaded	September 29	Please submit your presentation through the MWSUG Paper Submission System.