2022 Central Region Conference | Program

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If this is your first UPCEA conference or if you are an UPCEA veteran, don’t miss the chance to network and welcome other attendees at the Newcomers’ Welcome Session on Wednesday, September 28 at 12:30pm in the Governors CDE room. This session includes networking, knowledge sharing, and tips on how to make the most out of your UPCEA membership.

• Ryan Torma, University of Minnesota
• Shannon Owen, Grand Valley State University

Prior to COVID-19 faculty and student services providers working closely with online populations were struggling with how to support “students of concern” in online populations. The sudden pivot to remote learning, the prospect of modified operations for the foreseeable future, and the stress and strain placed on students and faculty created even more challenges. Emergency regulatory actions during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic did allow easier access to telehealth and other remote services, but those changes were often temporary and limited in scope.  Join us for the next participant-driven discussion on the challenges, limitations, and opportunities for designing mental health services for online learners. This session will build on contributions made by colleagues at OLC Accelerate 2019 and 2020 as well as at UPCEA’s Regional and Annual conferences.

• Mitchell Farmer, Purdue University Online
• Lindsay Roberts, Purdue University Online
• Heather Kerr, The Ohio State University
• Jennifer Culbertson, Miami University

Personalized Coaching at Scale
Legislative | Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Success | Applied
In this dynamic panel discussion, National University, a private nonprofit university that serves more than 30,000 working adult learners, online students, and educators, dives into how adopting a holistic student support system across the organization has allowed them to support their diverse populations of learners during every step of their educational journey. Through collaboration with InsideTrack, National started off from scratch with a pilot program that reached more than 800 students who were academically at risk, and drove them to success through one-on-one success coaching. After much success, it has allowed National to implement a coaching methodology that has created tremendous opportunities to rethink how they support their learners through coaching, and also to dig deeper and work more specifically with high need populations.

• Jessica Hector, InsideTrack
• Brad Dotson, National University
• Nima Gholamzadeh, National University
• Kody McCoy, National University

A Cord of Three Strands: Developing Cross-Sector Partnerships To Enhance Continuing Education Programs
Judicial | Community and Economic Engagement | Applied
Join this session to learn more about how cross-sector collaborations among education, industry and government can enhance and grow continuing education programming. In the last year Ashland University collaborated with the Wireless Infrastructure Association, the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation, and community business and economic development organizations to offer 5-G Readiness Certifications, Teacher Manufacturing Bootcamps, and the Ashland Leadership Academy Seminars. These programs, developed in a true collaborative spirit, help to build and maintain a sustainable workforce in Ohio by magnifying the strengths of each partner. In this session learn more about these three cross-sector partnerships as well as specific steps your institution can take to develop new strands to enhance the cord of your continuing education programs.

• Shawn Orr, Ashland University
• James Powell, Ashland University
• David Silverberg, Ashland University

Gamification: The Future of Learning
Governors CDE | eDesign Collaborative | Applied
Ready to level up your course with gamification, but not sure where to start? It’s simpler than it sounds! This panel introduces game theory fundamentals that enhance active learning and authentic assessments. Panelists will offer tips for maximizing intrinsic motivation and helping students achieve a state of flow. Small-group collaboration time during this session will help participants of all experience levels power up: they will leave with the ability to identify gamification strategies that serve their own course learning outcomes. They will also leave with gamification tools and templates to apply in their courses and share at their institutions.

• Bonnie Erwin, Miami University
• Jenny Culbertson, Miami University
• Katherine Marusic, Miami University
• Michael Stram, Miami University

Online Program Success: Applying Market Data to Decisions
Judicial | Online Administration | Strategic
What makes a successful online program today? Institutions are responding to increased demand, but in many cases do not have the data needed to ensure that their programs align with market demand.  What will give you the edge? As it has been for decades in serving adult, working professional, and other “non-traditional” students, it is understanding – and matching – what online students expect from the institution to which they inquire, apply, and enroll. Meeting these preferences and expectations is critical, considering the level of “choice” that online students have today.  But what are these student expectations? RNL – a proud UPCEA Corporate Member – recently conducted a survey of 1,600 prospective online students – degree and non-degree – to help institutions understand what they need to do to both shape credit-bearing programs that online students want and then market and position those programs effectively.

• Aaron Mahl, Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL)
• Scott Jeffe, Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL)
• Sara Pettingill, Bellarmine University

The Secret Sauce for Authentic Storytelling
Legislative | Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Success | Foundational
Prospective students crave authenticity over production. Any marketing department, regardless of budget, has the opportunity to leverage content for maximum impact. Strategist storytelling can be a powerful tool for increasing awareness of your school and recruiting students.  Throughout the session, attendees will receive practical storytelling tips that are applicable to any medium: a testimonial, blog, email campaign, video interview or social media post. Attendees will also learn how to use their brand personality to inform messaging, how to choose participants for captivating testimonials, how to tailor stock footage for customized assets and more. Case studies include dissecting a pandemic commercial made entirely from stock footage versus one featuring original content. Telling compelling stories about your students, faculty and institution will lead to increased engagement - and fingers crossed - inquiries, applications and enrollments.

• Sarah Whorton, University of Missouri

Designing a Sustainable and Quality Bachelor’s Completion Program to Retain the Adult Learner
Governors CDE | Program Planning and Implementation | Applied
University of Denver’s college of continuing and professional studies offers various options for working adults to return to school to complete their undergraduate degree. Through University College, business professionals transform into learners working to reach their personal and professional goals through career-focused content and opportunities to earn additional credentials throughout degree completion. In this session, we will discuss how University College at DU has developed a sustainable model to drive enrollments and retention. University College maintains an 85% retention rate among undergraduate students. Scholarships, stackable credentials, combined degrees, and more will be discussed as tools to increase the organic student population and sustain motivation in a world where time and money are incredibly valuable.

• Teddy Rose, University of Denver
• Stephanie Swanson, University of Denver

In this dynamic, facilitated panel discussion, learn from PCO leaders how they are building the case for alternative credentials on their campuses, leveraging legacy structures and policies, partnering internally and externally to address workforce needs, and cultivating quality across non-degree credentials. Audience questions will play a critical role in this conversation—bring yours!

• Bob Hansen, UPCEA
• Lisa Templeton, Oregon State University
• Andrea Carroll-Glover, St. Mary's University of Minnesota
• Robert Griffiths, Ohio State University

Join us for a look into the big picture of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in higher education as presented by an esteemed group of Central Region member organizations. This general session will provide an opportunity to hear from leaders as they share insights and experiences on institutional DEI strategies, overall trajectory (where they've been and where they're headed), challenges, and opportunities, along with their ideas for the future of DEI in higher education. Following the panel presentation, this session will include time for facilitated table-based conversations as well. 

• Yolanda Zepeda, The Ohio State University
  
• Sarah Pettingill, Bellarmine University
• Jerry Rhead, Michigan State University

Leveling the Playing Field for Online Students
Judicial | Online Administration | Foundational
Online student behavior is unique and requires a different level of service from point of inquiry through graduation. In efforts to provide a personalized experience for online students, UToledo created an on-boarding position to assist students in the transition from admissions to their academic college, including new student orientation, financial counseling, and academic advising. Since the implementation of the new position, an increase in the yield of our new online students has been achieved. In this presentation we will discuss the new on-boarding process, how it was executed, and the initial results of increasing yield by 56% in the first term.

• Drew Saltzstein, The University of Toledo
• Mitchell Perez, The University of Toledo

Student Perceptions of Project Based Learning in an Online Asynchronous Accelerated Graduate Program
Governors CDE | Program Planning and Implementation | Foundational
The Master of Health Administration degree at the University of Southern Indiana recently underwent a transformation. Courses were transitioned to an accelerated online format (of seven weeks) and a rolling admissions window now allows students to enter the program during six different “entry points” during the year. Other changes to the program include the infusion of a project-based learning (PBL) curriculum in many of the courses.  Implementing a project-based curriculum is widely accepted in many areas of education; ranging from K-12 setting, undergraduate and graduate education to professional programs such as medical school. However, one area where there is a dearth of knowledge as it relates to project-based learning pedagogy is in the accelerated online education realm.  This presentation, co-presented by an instructional designer and a faculty member, will discuss experiences and student feedback of designing and implementing meaningful PBL exercises in the online environment.

• Zack Ward, University of Southern Indiana
• JD Weagley, University of Southern Indiana

Session Canceled: Your Dam Website: Five Reasons Students Aren’t Converting on Your College Site
| Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Success | Applied
A website is an institution’s greatest marketing asset. Yet most colleges and universities admittedly have websites that lack in areas essential to converting continuing ed, online, and professional student prospects at various stages in the funnel. From a lack of visibility in organic searches to content and layouts that hinder user experience, some websites can be more of a barrier than an asset for information and conversion.

Advisors Can Do it All (but should they?): Supporting Students in Online Graduate Programs
Governors CDE | Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Success | Foundational
With the growth of online, asynchronous graduate programs, creative retention and engagement strategies are necessary to prevent attrition in these programs. Research into causes of attrition describes disconnection from faculty, advisors, peers, and overall campus community as primary drivers of dropout in graduate programs (Bain, Fedynich, & Knight, 2011). This case study highlights an initiative where program-integrated advisors and success coaches work collaboratively in a student services team to proactively address student issues that often result in high attrition rates in asynchronous online graduate programs. We present this as an opportunity to discuss the necessity of increased student support in online graduate programs to support overall student success.

• Taylor Weast, Purdue University Online
• Scott Smith, Purdue University Online
• Zach Rost, Purdue University Online

Building an Actionable Strategic Plan
Legislative | Online Administration | Foundational
This session will allow for new and experienced PCO members to work through a reliable process for building an actionable strategic plan. This successful approach to strategic development will allow participants to create OKRs -- Objectives and Key Results. Once identified, participants can build specific tactics that move the strategic process forward in action.

• Christina Trombley, Drake University

The pandemic has forced Professional and Continuing Education units to change quickly and in many different ways. PCE leaders must make many decisions quickly about how to best proceed in the new changing environment. Leaders must address questions such as should programs be offered online, hybrid, or in person? Will changing remote work practices impact our programs? How should we update our program portfolio to meet learner needs? Leaders often need to make decisions and act without complete or perfect data—they need to make their best guess and improvise. Yet, leaders can and do draw on their own experience and the experience of others to help navigate these uncertain waters. In this interactive session, we will solicit and share practices that participants have found to be helpful approaches to planning and implementation in response to the many uncertain challenges we face.

• Ryan Torma, University of Minnesota
• Suzanne Rovani, Northwestern University

Coffee Chats are informal, table-based, 45-minute, facilitated conversations around an emerging topic of import, which are heavy on networking and connecting, light on didactic, and sponsored by the UPCEA Networks (communities of practice open to all UPCEA members). Chats are open to any event attendee, regardless of Network-affiliation.

Coffee Chat hosted by the CEE Network: Apprenticeships (and other Workforce Development Frameworks) and Outcomes for Today’s New Normal
Governors CDE | Community & Economic Engagement | Foundational

• Laurel Hogue, University of Central Misouri
• Lori Crose, Oakland University
• Elizabeth Stoner, Eastern Michigan University

Coffee Chat hosted by the eDC Network: Authentic Assessments: Creating, Implementing, and Evaluating
Legislative | eDC | Foundational

• Amanda DeBlau, Kansas State University
• Shawn Orr, Ashland University
• Robert Butts, The Ohio State University
• Anna Jameison, The Ohio State University

Supporting Students with Remote Teams: Rethinking Student Service Staffing within a Traditional University
Legislative | Business & Operations | Applied
The online unit of a traditional land grant institution leveraged return to work conversations to reimagine the future of work and its workforce. This session will highlight a newly restructured student engagement team (nested within the student experience area) as a case study for a new model of staffing within a traditional institution. Composed of recruiting, admissions, advising, and student success coaching, the student engagement team has grown rapidly over the last 9 months - adding a senior manager, four part-time sub-team managers, and over a dozen new staff. To recruit and retain the best available talent, the team has intentionally focused on hiring for fully remote positions. By the end of 2022 the team will have 30+ full time, fully remote. As an added layer of complexity, all of these positions are matrixed and include a dotted line to the programs and/or departments funding the position.

• Mitchell Farmer, Purdue University Online
• Lindsay Roberts, Purdue University Online

Expanding Educational Offerings for the Non-traditional Learner
Governors CDE | Alternative Credentials | Applied
Today’s learner demands relevant, engaging, easy to access content whether they are enrolled in a traditional for-credit program, or earning an alternative credential while upskilling or following a personal interest. Miami Online has integrated the latest research in higher education trends to create a professional education division devoted to meeting the needs of these new audiences. All learners want to feel supported, engaged, and receive meaningful outcomes from their learning experience, and by working with faculty members who are leaders in their content area, students from diverse backgrounds are able to access Miami University quality courses regardless of barriers that can exist between adult/professional learners and traditional educational experiences. Join our team of professional education experts and gain strategies to apply these practices in your own learning environment.

• Katherine Marusic, Miami University
• Kristine Smith, Miami University
• Benjamin Kitchen, Miami University
• Ariana Smith, Miami University