SOLAR is purpose-built for senior leaders, strategists, and online enterprise decision makers who carry responsibility for the planning, scalability, sustainability, and growth of online initiatives. At SOLAR, you’ll sit shoulder-to-shoulder with Chief Online Learning Officers, deans and provosts, directors of digital programs, online administrators, and institutional innovators, all those whose focus is to expand access, deepen mission alignment, and unlock new opportunities.
Boston’s Seaport will serve as the backdrop for a bold, forward-looking exchange, where leaders confront not just pedagogical challenges, but the institutional, financial, strategic, and policy-level levers essential to ensuring that online learning thrives as a mission-driven enterprise.
If you have led (or aspire to lead) strategic change, built or scaled new online/diversified online portfolios, developed new financial models for an online enterprise, or successfully broken through institutional barriers, we want your voice at SOLAR 2026!
Proposals are due January 23, 2026
After a successful pilot with the 2026 Digital Teaching and Learning Conference, UPCEA is proud to announce the availability of the SOLAR Proposal Coach, an assistive custom GPT which will help you craft and format your idea prior to your proposal submission. More information can be found here.
To sharpen our focus and distinguish SOLAR’s agenda from other conferences, we will spotlight three cross-cutting strategic themes. Proposals aligned to these will receive special consideration:
The online enterprises as a means to diversify institutional revenue
New online program business models (e.g. competency-based, subscription, stackable credentials)
Strategic partnerships (industry, workforce, consortia)
Revenue risk management and financial forecasting
The changing roles of third-party entities (e.g., bootcamps, OPMs, etc.)
Agile governance for digital units
Aligning academic leadership, IT, enrollment, and finance under online strategy
Leading organizational change in traditionally structured institutions
Talent strategies for scaling digital operations
Preparing for Workforce Pell
Navigating state/federal regulation in online learning
Competitive positioning in shifting online markets
In addition, SOLAR always welcomes proposals in these enduring program areas:
Data-informed decision making
Leadership / Change management
Credential innovation: Microcredentials, modular credentials, stackable programs
Instructional design, faculty development, and scalability
Learner engagement, student success, retention analytics, adaptive learning
Emerging technology (AI, XR/VR/AR) and integration
Diversity, equity, inclusion, access, UDL
Graduate online, hybrid, and professional programs
Research and evaluation in online/digital settings
To ensure that SOLAR remains distinct from other conferences, proposals should:
Be a new idea or presentation not previously featured on another conference program
Engage strategic, operational, and institutional thinking (not simply “tips and tricks”)
Demonstrate how an idea was implemented or how strategy was scaled
Be structured for dialogue, debate, or collaboration (not strictly lecture)
Offer cross-institutional or cross-sector perspectives, especially from institutions of different scales
Address emerging challenges and opportunities, not only well-established practices
2–3 learning outcomes or key takeaways
A presentation format (panel, case study, workshop, debate, fishbowl, etc.)
The content level (Foundational / Applied / Strategic)
How attendees can apply or adapt what you share
Contact and affiliation information for all presenters
Proposals are expected to highlight a deeply relevant topic and explore trends and developments in our field, share innovative solutions, disseminate research, explore emerging or best practices, and/or examine controversial ideas which evoke debate and discussion.
Proposals will offer learning outcomes/goals and a clear plan to engage the audience, and will denote a particular presentation format as well as content “level” (i.e. foundational, applied, or strategic).
Presenters are expected to have knowledge and significant experience in online learning and proposals must include complete contact information for all presenters.
Presenters must be current members of UPCEA, either institutional or corporate. Proposals by corporate members must include a current institutional member as co-presenter. Information about UPCEA membership is found here.
Proposals which do not meet the above elements will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed. Click here to view UPCEA Member-Curated Resources For Submitting Proposals
Selected presenters are responsible for all expenses incurred in conjunction with the event including registration, housing, and travel. There are no speaker discounts.
Conference organizers reserve the right to revise presentation titles, designate a conference track, combine sessions, or edit the description of selected presentations for promotional and program publications.
Session titles should be brief and session descriptions written so as to attract attendees. Prior to submission, presenters should consider viewing the proposal questions and collaborating on their responses prior to submission. A copy of the proposal questions can be found here.
Digital copies of presentation materials will be collected from presenters in advance of the conference for dissemination via the event platform and/or mobile app.
Proposals will be selected to ensure the program offers a comprehensive, noncommercial, objective, and diverse content. Attention will be given to diversity of institutions, presenters and geographic location. Note: due to demand, members are limited to one concurrent session proposal per event.
Proposals will be selected to ensure the event offers a comprehensive, noncommercial, objective, and diverse program. Attention will be given to diversity of institutions, presenters, and geographic location.
All proposals will be peer-reviewed and evaluated on these criteria:
Relevance to the field of online learning, digital transformation, and innovation
Depth of knowledge conveyed and expertise of presenters
Practical methods and techniques that others can use and apply
Clear learning goals and key takeaways
Evidence of successful outcomes or lessons learned
Inclusion of evaluation data and/or established theoretical models
Attend a presenter briefing session (scheduled for 3:00 PM ET, Wednesday, April 8, 2026)
Register for the conference by April 22, 2026
Provide electronic versions of presentations, materials/handouts for attendees by June 29, 2026
Adhere to all stated deadlines. In the event the presenter(s) do not meet the event deadlines or are uncommunicative, the conference organizers reserve the right to replace/cancel the session and select an alternate presentation in its place.
Proposals are due January 23, 2026
November 18, 2025: Request for Proposals announced
January 23, 2026: Proposals due
Week of February 23, 2026 : Selected proposals notified
We invite you to help steer the conversation about how online learning can be sustainably scaled, diversified, and deeply mission-aligned, making SOLAR 2026 the defining gathering for senior online leadership.
Workshops: 75-minute session providing a deep dive wherein participants are actively, tangibly engaged in their learning, via collaboration and hands-on interaction. Workshop presenters generally spend less than half of the session sharing their ideas, using the remaining time engaged in activity that promotes interaction and discussion, ending with a takeaway for participants.
Presentation: 60-minute session featuring one to three presenters who share a cohesive series of ideas followed by a robust discussion with the audience. Presentations are sought which involve multiple organizations, as well as content which may be scaled or optimized by attendees from a wide range of institutions.
Panel: 60-minute session featuring a moderator and two to three panelists from different organizations that can provide insights on a common area of interest. Panelists establish a problem or provide context in the first half of the session and then engage participants in a solutions-focused conversation/Q&A in the latter half.
Shorter Sessions
SOLAR Talk: Quickfire introduction of an idea by a single presenter without audience discussion, and with strict guidelines (presentation can be no longer than 6 minutes and use no more than 6 slides, with font no smaller than 28pt). Up to nine or ten Talks are scheduled in one concurrent session, in sequence, to offer attendees numerous, shallow forays into critical topics. A moderator will offer opening remarks, as well as work with Talks presenters to organize a thoughtful order of topics presented, and to ensure smooth, timed transitions between Talks.
Roundtable: 25 to 30-minute table-based, small-group, guided discussion about a specific and timely topic, question, or issue. During one, 60-minute concurrent session, multiple Roundtable presenters concurrently share their ideas at one round table each (up to 9 attendees can fit at each table), and promote the sharing of thoughts, solutions, and questions among their respective tables’ attendees. Roundtables are designed to provide space and time to important but particularly nuanced topics which deserve attention, and as such, attendees are free to move between tables. The Roundtable session will have a moderator who will welcome attendees, invite them to find a topic/table of their choice, and watch the time, inviting presenters to host their discussions twice during the hour, to allow attendees to engage with up to two different topics.
Stop & Share: Hosted during one concurrent session in a large room with multiple tables, Stop & Share presenters will each have their own table, as well as a slide template of up to six slides, uploaded to the app and for presentation (on rotation) on their own laptop or tablet, to allow brief, synchronous conversations with attendees stopping in and milling about. Each informal conversation will center around a hot topic, best practice, or technological innovation.
Need help developing your proposal before you submit it via UPCEA’s Portal?
This AI-powered assistant, the SOLAR Proposal Coach, is here to guide you through the process. Whether you're refining a big idea or starting from scratch, the assistant helps you generate a strong session title, compelling description, clear learning outcomes, and effective engagement strategies—customized to fit SOLAR’s audience and session formats.
Once you access the coach, it starts by asking a few guiding questions to help shape your proposal.
You'll get step-by-step support, helpful prompts, and even a final proposal formatted for submission that you can copy & paste into the submission form**. Plus, it checks to make sure your session’s content matches your selected presentation level, and it offers guidance based on your expertise. It's your creative partner in building a proposal that’s clear, engaging, and ready for peer review.
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Access the SOLAR Proposal Coach(a Custom GPT developed by UPCEA) |
* We encourage proposers to use the AI proposal coach to refine their ideas, but please make sure your session reflects your own experiences and ability to deliver what is described.
** The AI Assistant does not submit on your behalf or access UPCEA’s proposal system. You will not be prompted for any user credentials. Do not enter any personal/sensitive information into the AI assistant. To submit your proposal, go to our submission page.