Association of Chief Academic Officers

What Association of Chief Academic Officers does

The Association of Chief Academic Officers (ACAO) is a Fort Lauderdale-based nonprofit professional membership association founded in 2012 that serves as a dedicated forum for Chief Academic Officers (CAOs) and Provosts across the full spectrum of higher education — public, private, 2-year, 4-year, not-for-profit, for-profit, research, liberal arts, and technical institutions in the US and abroad. With a 9-person staff, ACAO delivers its value through a bundle of member-facing products: an online Job Board, virtual Town Hall events with recorded archives, a member-contributed blog, the EdUp Provost Podcast (co-developed with The EdUp Experience), a Digital Resource Library, a Higher Ed News feed that updates every 15 minutes, and a virtual Annual Meeting featuring professional development sessions. Patricia Salkin was installed as Interim President in March 2026, succeeding prior leadership during a period of higher-education transformation.

ACAO's business model is anchored in annual institutional memberships whose primary representative is the CAO, with other academic leaders included under a single institutional seat. Membership pricing is not publicly disclosed, but the association monetizes non-member engagement through the Job Board at $200, $350, and $500 for 30-, 60-, and 90-day postings respectively, and supplements operating revenue through sponsorships (e.g., Johns Hopkins Press). Go-to-market is community-led — conferences, town halls, peer connections, blog/podcast content, and LinkedIn presence — rather than a direct sales motion, reflecting the relationship-driven nature of CAO purchasing. The organization claims unique positioning as the only association dedicated specifically to academic-affairs leaders across all sectors of higher education.

Name

Association of Chief Academic Officers

Legal name

Association of Chief Academic Officers

Website

https://acao.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Association of Chief Academic Officers is a nonprofit membership association providing Chief Academic Officers and Provosts at US and international higher-education institutions with networking, professional development, a job board, podcasts, and resource libraries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association — Higher Education Leadership

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Academic Affairs Administration (Curriculum, Scheduling, Academic Policy) (EDADAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Executive Leadership & Cabinet Administration (EDADAKAA)

Keywords

• Higher education leadership
• Academic affairs association
• Professional membership association
• Chief academic officers
• Faculty affairs networking

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Lauderdale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional Membership Fees: Annual membership fees from accredited not-for-profit and for-profit institutions. The primary representative for each institutional membership is the CAO, with other academic leadership individuals included.
2. Job Board Posting Fees: Free job postings for ACAO Institutional Members. Non-member institutions can post announcements for 30, 60, or 90 days at non-member rates ($200, $350, and $500 respectively).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ACAO provides a global forum and professional membership for Chief Academic Officers (CAOs) and their institutions, delivering institutional membership, an online Job Board, Town Hall events and recordings, a member blog, the EdUp Provost Podcast, a Digital Resource Library, a real-time Higher Ed News feed, and an annual meeting. Services focus on peer networking, best-practice sharing, and professional development for academic affairs leaders across all sectors of higher education.

Product overview

The Association of Chief Academic Officers (ACAO) operates as a professional membership organization offering a platform of interconnected resources and services for Chief Academic Officers in higher education. The core offerings include an Online Job Board for member institutions, Town Hall Events with recorded sessions, an ACAO Blog for professional insights, the EdUp Provost Podcast, a Digital Resource Library, and a real-time Higher Ed News Feed. The ACAO Annual Meeting serves as the flagship professional development event. All services are designed to support academic leaders through professional development, peer networking, and resource sharing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EdUp Provost Podcast: A podcast produced in partnership with The EdUp Experience, providing thought-provoking conversations with leaders in higher education for Chief Academic Officers.

Products and services

• ACAO Online Job Board An online job board platform enabling higher education institutions to post position vacancies; free for ACAO institutional members, with paid 30/60/90-day tiers for non-members.
• Town Hall Events Virtual town hall meetings and professional development sessions for ACAO members, with recordings of past events on topics including provost well-being, tenure, AI, student success, and institutional leadership.
• ACAO Blog A blog series with member-contributed content addressing challenges and opportunities facing Chief Academic Officers, covering academic leadership, faculty management, AI in higher education, and institutional governance.
• EdUp Provost Podcast A podcast produced in partnership with The EdUp Experience network, featuring conversations with higher education leaders and sharing best practices for Chief Academic Officers.
• Digital Resource Library A repository of digital resources and materials accessible to ACAO members, including papers, webinars, and professional development content on topics from AI in higher education to faculty evaluation and mergers and acquisitions.
• Higher Ed News Feed A real-time news feed aggregating higher education industry news, updated every 15 minutes for ACAO members to stay current on sector developments.
• ACAO Annual Meeting Annual virtual meeting featuring the association business meeting followed by a professional development session on topics relevant to academic leadership, such as AI in higher education.
• ACAO Institutional Membership Annual institutional membership providing accredited higher education institutions access to ACAO resources, Job Board, Town Halls, Blog, Podcast, Digital Resource Library, Higher Ed News, and the Annual Meeting.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The EdUp ExperiencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACAO partnered with The EdUp Experience to create the EdUp Provost Podcast, part of America's leading higher education podcast network. This partnership provides a platform for sharing best practices, discussing current academic challenges, and promoting the educational and organizational interests of Chief Academic Officers.
• Johns Hopkins PressminorGTM or Marketing PartnerJohns Hopkins Press is thanked for their generous support of ACAO and its members. They appear as a sponsor supporting the organization's mission.
• American Council on Education (ACE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMonica Pemberton, Vice President and Chief Information Officer at American Council on Education, serves as presenter for ACAO's Annual Meeting professional development session on AI in Action: Practical Strategies for Institutional Leadership.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• American Council on Education (ACE): The largest U.S. higher-education leadership association, serving college and university presidents and senior executives. Comparable to ACAO as an institutional-membership organization operating across all higher-ed sectors, but at much greater scale and with a broader executive (president-level) audience. ACE is also an existing ACAO programming partner.
• Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB): National membership association serving boards of trustees, chancellors, and presidents of higher-ed institutions. Comparable to ACAO as a mission-driven, institutional-membership association in higher-education leadership, with overlapping audiences at the CEO/board level rather than the CAO level.

Direct peers

• National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU): National institutional-membership association representing private nonprofit colleges and universities. Comparable to ACAO for the CAO segment of private nonprofit institutions, competing for the same institutional-membership budget line and senior-leadership engagement.
• Council of Independent Colleges (CIC): Membership association for small and mid-sized private nonprofit colleges and universities, with programming for presidents, provosts, and academic leaders. Directly overlaps ACAO's mission of supporting senior academic officers at private institutions.
• American Association of Community Colleges (AACC): National institutional-membership association for community colleges, serving presidents, CAOs, and other senior administrators at 2-year institutions. Directly comparable to ACAO for the CAO segment of community colleges, with overlapping programming, advocacy, and professional-development missions.
• American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU): Membership association for public 4-year colleges and universities, engaging presidents, provosts, and other senior leaders. Overlaps with ACAO's audience of public-institution CAOs and competes for institutional dues and professional-development mindshare in the public sector.
• American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U): National membership association focused on liberal education and academic quality in higher education, engaging chief academic officers and faculty leaders across member campuses. Closest peer to ACAO by functional audience (CAOs and academic affairs leaders) and by content mission (academic excellence).
• NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education: National membership association serving student affairs administrators, with parallel structure and mission to ACAO but focused on the student-affairs function. Comparable as a role-based, institutional-membership professional association in higher-education administration.

Regional players

• Association of American Universities (AAU): Membership association of 71 leading U.S. and Canadian research universities, engaging presidents, provosts, and senior research officers. Comparable to ACAO as an institutional-membership association in higher-education leadership, but limited to elite research institutions.

Others

• The EdUp Experience: America's leading higher-education podcast network, which co-produces ACAO's EdUp Provost Podcast. Comparable as a higher-ed thought-leadership media platform serving presidents, provosts, and other senior leaders, and a key ecosystem participant rather than a direct membership-association competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/acao-org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Association of Chief Academic Officers