Program

Wednesday October 24, 2018

Registration Open (Symphony Registration Desk)

Welcome and Opening Remarks (Symphony Ballroom)

Opening General Session | OPEN for Business: Higher Ed and Industry Partnership ** (Symphony Ballroom)

How can institutions of higher education respond to and best support the changing needs of industry to educate and train their workforce? How can employers respond quickly to provide their employees with the right skills at the right time? How can companies retain their employees and provide lifelong learning opportunities? During this panel discussion, led by Stephen Flavin, Vice President and Dean of WPI’s Academic and Corporate Engagement Division, we will hear from Industry leaders directly about the types of support they need from colleges and universities to meet the evolving education and training needs of their workforce.

• Mario Miele, AbbVie
  

• Chris Kelly, National Grid

• Hugh Allen, MAPFRE/VERTI Insurance

Moderator:

• Stephen P. Flavin, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Concurrent Session A

Using Service Learning to Engage Post Traditional Students for Retention and Graduation
Location: Beethoven
Track: Community and Economic Engagement
This session will explore the research and application of co-curricular service learning programs that are focused on the experiences of typically marginalized post traditional learners and will look at the experiences of adult learners participating in service learning programs through the Community Service Center (CSC) at Bridgewater State University. We will provide examples of collaborative work between the College of Continuing Studies and the CSC to actively engage adult learners in service learning.

• Jennifer Reid, Bridgewater State University
• Jennifer Thibodeau, Bridgewater State University

Sewing it All Together: Dispatches from a Badging Pilot at Northeastern University
Location: Mozart
Track: Program Planning and Implementation
A team at Northeastern University came together to craft a digital badging framework, pilot existing badging platforms, and develop an ecosystem for issuing digital credentials to learners within the Northeastern network of students, alumni and professional partners. Principal members of this team share insights on the process, its current status, and a roadmap forward—for institutions seeking new ways to highlight industry-validated skills gained in the classroom or through professional experience.

• Beth Rochefort, Northeastern University
• Allison Ruda, Northeastern University
• Lars Sorenson, Northeastern University

Scalable Personalized Support for Adult Online Learners **
Location: Haydn
Track: Marketing, Enrollment, and Student Services
This session highlights WPI’s innovative use of Salesforce data integration to develop personalized support to adult online learners, including successes and lessons learned from the past three years of implementation. Participants will leave the session with new ideas for student engagement and retention and ways to measure and examine their existing student-retention processes.

• Brian Degon, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Kara Crosson, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Networking Break with Exhibitors

• Raffle

High Value Credentials for New England: Bringing Transparency to the Region’s Credential Marketplace **
Location: Haydn
Track: Community and Economic Engagement
The proliferation of multiple types and sources of credentials, and questions around the value of credentials, creates a complex environment for individuals, institutions and employers to navigate. This session will illuminate areas opportune for collaboration, including NEBHE’s initiative, High Value Credentials for New England. A facilitated case study will engage the audience in how comparable credential information can be used to build education and career pathways, develop advising resources and create higher education-employer partnerships.

• Candace Williams, New England Board of Higher Education
• Stafford Peat, New England Board of Higher Education

An Innovative Online Program Increases Student Success in Mathematics
Location: Beethoven
Track: Program Planning and Implementation
Lack of basic math proficiency is a significant barrier to student success at Fisher College, specifically continuing education students. Over 50% of these students do not pass a math course on their first attempt. Faculty and administrators collaborated in the development of the Math Boot Camp to address this problem. Cengage’s online learning tool, WebAssign, was used to deliver modular content. This session will address rational for adopting the program, implementation, results, and ideas for expansion.

• Carla DeLucia, Fisher College
• Anne Cardente, Fisher College

"Why Webinars? Because They Work!”: The Evolution of Fitchburg State University’s Webinar Program
Location: Mozart
Track: Marketing, Enrollment, and Student Services
This session will provide you with the evolution of Fitchburg State’s on demand program webinars. We use these webinars as marketing tools, providing the prospective student an opportunity to learn on their own time without barriers such as family and work schedules or time zones. Learn about the challenges and successes, such as program growth we’ve had and how to implement new techniques to improve your school’s future webinars.

• Amber Deschenes, Fitchburg State University
• Marylyn Gainan, Fitchburg State University

Thursday October 25, 2018

General Session Panel | PCO 2025: The Future of Professional, Continuing, and Online Education ** (Symphony Ballroom)

Engage in a highly interactive session with a panel of senior leaders on where our dynamic field is headed. Alternative credentials, shifting demographics, and new models are already shaping how institutions serve students. This group of panelists will provide their unique perspectives on organizational and market forces that are emerging, how they are responding at their institutions, and how UPCEA members will lead us into the near-term future (2025!).  

• Sandi Pershing, University of Utah | President, UPCEA
  
• Karen Sibley, Brown University
• Bob Hansen, UPCEA

Networking Break with Exhibitors (Symphony Pre-function Area)

• Raffle

Practical Strategies for Motivating and Retaining Post-Traditional Online Learners **
Location: Haydn
Track: Program Planning and Implementation
This session will focus on strategies for designing instruction for the post-traditional learner that promotes retention and motivation. Starting from an overview of the recent research on retention and motivation strategies specific to this student population, we will explore as a group practical applications of this research. Participants will be encouraged to share best practices they have developed that support the success of a diverse population of students.

• Paul Cochrane, University of Southern Maine

Executive Education: Are We Having an Impact?
Location: Beethoven
Track: Business & Operations
Our Vision: Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education is the premier center of learning for public sector leaders who are committed to driving positive change. For the past two years we have committed new energy and resources to building evidence that our programs fulfill that vision. In this session, we will share the results of several experiments underway that seek to answer the question of impact; share ways that we have used this evidence to enhance our programs and drive innovation; engage session participants in small group discussion on what they have tried, what has worked, and what they see in the future of impact assessment.

• Debra Iles, Harvard University
• Mahlet Aklu, Harvard University

Multi-Tiered Virtual Mentorship at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies
Location: Mozart
Track: Marketing, Enrollment, and Student Services
During this session, Dr. Kemi Jona, Associate Dean, Northeastern University College of Professional Studies, and Jackson Boyar, Co-Founder and CEO of Mentor Collective, will dive into Northeastern and Mentor Collective’s collaboration to utilize mentorship to increase persistence and success for adult learners. This session will address the process for developing new strategies that help adult learners succeed; Northeastern’s support model for meeting adult learners’ needs; and Mentor Collective’s methodologies for providing students with personalized support.

• Kemi Jona, Northeastern University
• Jackson Boyar, Mentor Collective (formerly Shearwater)

Lunch & Presidential Remarks (Symphony Ballroom)
New England Region Awards Ceremony

Working Session to Address Current and Important Challenges and Opportunities for NE UPCEA Schools – Work A Plan **
Location: Haydn
Track: Marketing, Enrollment, and Student Services
This workshop will first identify key challenges and opportunities UPCEA NE schools are facing, and then workshop viable solutions and plans to address them. Our goal is to leverage the significant intelligence and experience in the room to generate a useful work product for all attendees.

• Lee Maxey, MindMax, LLC
• Stacy Chiaramonte, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Emotional Intelligence: A Key Ingredient in Successful Partnerships and Careers
Location: Beethoven
Track: Program Planning and Implementation
Emotional Intelligence – the most sought after attribute in organizations today. What is the secret to unlocking your EI? In this interactive workshop we explore EI from a macro perspective, as higher education members of industry partnerships and from a micro perspective, as an emerging leader. Participants can expect to learn: the four areas of EI; how EI impacts your role in an industry partnership; and how you can enhance your EI skills.

• Lori Herz, University of Rhode Island
• Deborah Mathews, University of Rhode Island

2:30 PM – 3:00 PM

Networking Break with Exhibitors (Symphony Pre-function Area)

• Raffle

Concurrent E

OPENing the Door to Special Education:  Partnerships for Excellence
Location: Beethoven
Track: Program Planning and Implementation
Presenters representing a unique collaborative partnership between UMaine Online, the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning and the College of Education and Human Development Special Education program share their experiences designing an online graduate program to address the needs of today’s learners. Successes and challenges will be discussed, and participants will be encouraged to share what works and/or challenges they face in designing appropriate online learning environments.

• Amanda Cupps, University of Maine
• Sara Flanagan, University of Maine

Graduate Certificates: From Data to Insights to Action
Location: Mozart
Track: Program Planning and Implementation
With the proliferation of data analysis tools, it is easier than ever to report on student trends. At Harvard Extension School, we have found that the key to making good use of these tools is to ask the right questions--and that this can be the hardest task. We discuss how our Data Analysis and Certificates teams are collaborating to dig deeper into student choices and outcomes to inform curriculum development, student support priorities, and programmatic strategies.

• Anne Dwojeski-Santos, Harvard University
• Chris Campion, Harvard University

Employer Aligned Portfolio Strategy **
Location: Haydn
Track: Program Planning and Implementation
Our presentation provides insight into competency-based learning opportunities with a focus on a framework for a workforce-aligned, portfolio strategy. We highlight strategic questions and actions for institutions to better align programs, to address this critical trend, with instruction, and delivery to meet the needs of the business community including both employers who need to close skill gaps and employees seeking degrees that support their career progression.

• Dr. Aleksandar (Sasha) Tomic, Boston College
• William Rieders, Meteor Learning
  

This workshop will focus on how to create a culture of respect in one’s organization to engage and retain students, employees, and business partners.

Dr. Paul is the leading authority on employee engagement and respect in the workplace. He earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from Yale University and has worked in the field of human resources and organizational development for over 25 years. His best-selling McGraw-Hill business book “Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work: Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles of RESPECT™” has received critical acclaim around the world and been translated into several languages.

Paul’s upcoming book, “Difficult Conversations: Strategies for Turning Confrontation into Collaboration,” helps individuals restore relationships that have deteriorated due to interpersonal conflict and, especially, in cases where individuals feel disrespected. These same strategies also help to prevent conflict going forward and promote respectful communication in both personal and professional relationships.

Paul is committed to spreading respect in the workplace because it is both the right thing to do and because treating people with respect leads to extraordinarily high levels of employee engagement and bottom line business results.

• Paul L. Marciano, Ph.D.
  Author: "Carrots and Sticks Don't Work"
  #1 Amazon Best Seller in Business Management & Leadership

Reception Sponsored by Brown University (Brown University)

Friday October 26, 2018

Breakfast and New England Region Business Meeting [open to all attendees] ** (Symphony Ballroom)

General Session | The Millennial Manager (Symphony Ballroom)

This presentation by Jim Fong, Chief Research Officer for UPCEA, will focus on how higher education is being shaped by the growing audience of millennials which is quickly becoming the majority of decision-makers, influencers, managers, directors, and organizational leaders.

• Jim Fong, UPCEA Center for Research and Strategy

Beyond Business: How the IE Brown EMBA Program Design Works for Students and Faculty
Location: Beethoven
Track: Program Planning and Implementation
Hear how two established institutions: the IE Business School (Spain), and Brown University (USA) are developing reflective leaders to move beyond business as usual. During this session, we will show how the IE Brown EMBA joint degree program design aligns and adapts to the needs of global, adult learners. We will facilitate an open discussion about the potential opportunities for engagement when we connect continuing, professional, and online education programs to our users’ needs.

• Rebecca Taub, Brown University

Driving Substantial Academic Program Growth in Online Education
Location: Mozart
Track: Program Planning and Implementation
Learn how an online campus grew from two to 55+ online programs in less than five years, 21 added in the last year alone. Cindy Parker, Dean, and Dave Cartwright, Director of Online Academics, will explain the strategy, details, processes, obstacles, benefits and consequences associated with this rapid growth.

• Cindy Parker, Johnson & Wales University
• Dave Cartwright, Johnson & Wales University

Regional Planning Committee Meeting for those interested in joining the 2019 committee ** (Symphony Ballroom)