PERK 2025 Conference

The Association of Psychological and Educational Research in Kansas (PERK) will present its annual conference, PERK 2025, on Saturday, November 8, hosted by Benedictine College on their campus in Atchison, Kansas.

The mission of the Association for Psychological and Educational Research in Kansas (PERK) is to promote, improve and disseminate psychological and education research, to encourage collaboration between faculty and students, and to enhance collegiality among college faculty and students in Kansas and other Midwestern states.

2025 Keynote Speaker

Registration

The registration fee covers conference attendance, luncheon and membership in PERK for one year.

• Students: $35
• College Faculty: $40

On-site registration is an additional $5 per attendee.

Paper and Poster Submissions

Paper and poster submissions are encouraged from undergraduate and graduate students in psychology, education and related fields. Submissions may be either Empirical (research completed) or Non-empirical (theoretical literature review). Multiple submissions from the same student are welcome.

Undergraduate and graduate student presenters are also encouraged to enter the Student Manuscript Competition. If you wish to enter the competition, please read the competition submission guidelines, and you can upload your manuscript using the submission form.

Graduate Programs Fair

A dedicated space will be provided during the conference for a graduate programs fair, with a table for each program. Although the space will be available for use by program representatives throughout the day of the conference, students will be especially likely to visit during the business meeting, as no presentations will be scheduled during that time. This will be at or near the start of the conference, and we will provide coffee and pastries as an added lure to attract students. We will ask each institution sending a representative to pay $25 to offset those costs. Graduate program representatives may register for the fair through the conference registration form (above).

Accommodations

We have a block of rooms reserved at the Holiday Inn Express, located just 5 minutes from campus. The conference rate is $134 for rooms with either two queen beds or one king bed. To book a room, call 913-674-0033 and ask for the BC PERK reservation on November 7. Conference rate will expire October 14; guests are encouraged to book early because there is a basketball game at the college that evening.

Arrival and Parking

Your GPS will take you up Second Street to the main campus entrance; however, please follow these instructions instead:

From Second Street, head east on Mound Street, which dead-ends into a parking lot on your left. Park anywhere in the upper or lower lots. All elements of the conference will be in the Farrell Academic Center, which is a large brick building that overlooks the Missouri River. Enter through the south entrance (just past the large HVAC system) and take the elevator or stairs to check in on the first floor.

Student Manuscript Competition Guidelines

PERK will award $75 for the best manuscript in each of 4 categories (1 award per category). For papers with multiple authors, only the first author should submit the paper. If a winning paper has multiple authors, the award check will be made out to the first author. The categories are:

• Outstanding Undergraduate Empirical Paper
• Outstanding Undergraduate Theoretical/Literature Review Paper
• Outstanding Graduate Empirical Paper
• Outstanding Graduate Theoretical/Literature Review Paper

Submission Requirements

• Students must register for the conference to be eligible for entry.
• Manuscripts must be written in APA format (7th edition) and saved in Word (.doc, .rtf, or .docx format).
• All identifying information, such as author(s) names and name of institution must be removed from the manuscript before submitting.
• Students must include the name and email address of the faculty member who reviewed and approved the paper prior to submission. The online submission form includes a prompt for this information.
• Failure to follow these directions could disqualify you from the competition.