When I was in college, I enjoyed attending the many lectures and conferences available on campus, but I took the immaculate planning involved in these events for granted each time--until I started trying to put together educational events myself! If you're trying to put together a conference or other major event, then there are a few essentials that you need to remember in order to pull it off successfully. Let me instruct you.
Appropriate publicity is definitely necessary, and don't rely solely on flyers to get the message across--those don't seem to reach people so much anymore. So take advantage of digital methods to catch people's attention. Use your college's website and engage social networking sites to get the word out. Use interactive methods to curry interest long before the event in question.
Are there other ways to engage interest? My spouse's school has a digital marquee right off the freeway, which allows them to advertise the latest and greatest events, detailing the venue, date, and time, alongside vivid images that catch the eye. Of course, the university only has enough room on this display to feature top-priority events like concerts and big-name speakers, but if you have an option like this, you should fully explore the possibilities.
Be sure to provide accessibility to all students and/or other interested participants. Most college buildings are now properly equipped to help the disabled, but sometimes, you need to take extra measures to accommodate attendees. For example, you will definitely want to hire professional interpreters for the deaf so that all students can participate and be benefited by the lecture. You may want to involve volunteers to direct everyone in need to accessibility features, such as elevators.
Many presenters prefer to use technology to assist them during their lecture, so before the event in question, you should be sure that any apparatus they would like to use is fully functional and tuned up. If possible, do a practice run with a projector or any other piece of equipment of which they would like to make use. After all, there are few things more frustrating than having a lecture interrupted because of a technological malfunction.
Be sure to arrange for proper preparation before and thorough cleanup after the lecture. Most settings for events like these do not allow food or drink (aside from water), so discarding paper programs will most likely be all that is necessary, but organizing lost and found for purses or cell phones is essential, especially in larger venues.
Your school may already have an efficient committee to take care of all these details, but if not, then you will be in charge for remembering them--and believe me when I tell you that your event will go much smoother if you do!