As announced earlier this year, the APA’s three divisions collectively decided to suspend the 2+1 experiment, returning to hosting only in-person divisional meetings beginning in 2027. In making this difficult decision, the divisional executive committees recognized the importance of values underlying the 2+1 experiment, especially accessibility, inclusion, and sustainability. We are now organizing a community conversation about actions the APA can take to honor these values through other forms of online programming.
Before turning to that conversation, we would like to share with our members some of the data that contributed to the decision the end the experiment:
- Fewer paper submissions. For the online meetings, there were more than 30–40% fewer papers submitted than for recent in-person meetings.
- Lower registration. For the Central Division, the online meeting registration was 14% lower than the 10-year average. For the Pacific Division, the online meeting registration was 28% lower than the 10-year average.
- Declines in APA membership due to lower participation. Many people join the APA or renew their membership to submit papers or get meeting discounts. Lower participation in online meetings contributed to a decrease of nearly 1,500 members as of February 2026.
- Member feedback from meeting surveys. Meeting evaluation survey results for both online meetings included some comments expressing appreciation for the online format for its accessibility. However, more participants expressed negative feelings about the online meeting format, including technology issues, the cost of registration, limited networking opportunities, and low attendance in sessions. Overall, the sense was that few participants had a good experience and many would not participate in future online meetings.
Though only some of the above data about the 2026 Pacific Division meeting was available when the decision to end the 2+1 meeting experiment was made, the outcomes from that meeting reinforce the divisional leadership’s conclusion that hosting a fully online divisional conference every year is not viable.
Our conversations with members over the past few months have suggested some possibilities for future online programming:
- Speaker series for departments
Building on the success of watch parties, develop a series of online events for departments. This could be something like an online colloquia series, once a week for a month or so, likely in the fall. - Writing groups
These could be paper-in-progress workshops, dissertation writing workshops, or something similar. There would be an application or sign-up process, and then groups would be set up based on topic. Workshops could be one-off events or meet regularly (for example, weekly throughout the summer). - Reading groups or book events
Similar to writing groups, but based on discussion of a recently published book. Again, they could be one-off or meet regularly. - Smaller online conferences
Instead of holding a large online divisional meeting with hundreds of sessions, organize a smaller annual online conference in the summer. The conference could have a few dozen sessions instead of hundreds, with many different session types to take advantage of the online format. These conferences could also have a theme around which many (though not all) sessions could be organized. Such conferences would likely take place in late summer or early fall. And because a smaller conference would have less overhead, the conference registration fees could be much lower than for online divisional meetings. - Livestream a track of sessions at in-person divisional meetings
Though fully hybrid sessions at APA meetings are not feasible without significant increases to registration costs, it may be possible to offer livestreaming of a select track of sessions at a divisional meeting. For example, one session room at a divisional meeting could be set up for livestreaming, and the program committee could select a few sessions for livestreaming, all of which would occur in that session room.
We are taking two immediate steps to move forward.
First, we are hosting a community conversation on Zoom on Thursday, May 14 at 2 p.m. Eastern / 1 p.m. Central / 11 a.m. Pacific to discuss what online programming options the membership prioritizes. Anyone may participate in the conversation, but (free) pre-registration is required. Register for the community conversation on online programming.
Second, we’ve created a 3-question survey about potential online programming. Please take the survey and share it with your networks as this will inform decisions about next steps.
We also welcome discussion in the comments. However you choose to engage in this conversation, we look forward to hearing from you.
Amy Ferrer
Amy Ferrer has been Executive Director of the APA since 2012. She holds a bachelor's degree in women's studies and a master's degree in public policy and administration, both from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She has spent nearly 20 years in nonprofit management, having previously worked for national and regional organizations focusing on civil liberties, public health, and advocacy. Both her work and educational background have focused on diversity issues, communications, development, and program management. She currently serves as a Senator-At-Large for the Phi Beta Kappa Society and on the board of the Academic Placement and Data Analysis project; she has previously served on the boards of the National Humanities Alliance, the American Council of Learned Societies, Delaware Humanities, and the Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Andrew Cullison
Andrew Cullison is the founding executive director of the Cincinnati Ethics Center, which launched at the University of Cincinnati in January 2022. Prior to that, he was the director of the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics at DePauw University. He specializes in K-12 ethics education, co-curricular ethics programs at the collegiate level for students, faculty, and staff. He serves as secretary-treasurer of the APA Eastern Division.
Ariela Tubert
Ariela Tubert is Professor of Philosophy at The University of Puget Sound. Her research is in the areas of moral philosophy and action theory. She received a B.A. with majors in Computer Science and Philosophy from New York University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin. She serves as secretary-treasurer of the APA Central Division.
Alex Sager
Alex Sager is Professor of Philosophy and University Studies at Portland State University. He is the author of Against Borders: Why the World Needs Free Movement of People (Rowman and Littlefield International, 2020) and Toward a Cosmopolitan Ethics of Mobility: The Migrant’s-Eye View of the World (Palgrave Pivot, 2018). He also regularly teaches Philosophy for Children and is the founder of the Oregon High School Ethics Bowl. He serves as secretary-treasurer of the APA Pacific Division.
