Drawing on market data, this lively opening general session will examine current trends that leaders should be aware of in order to maintain program relevance, meet employer demands, and adapt to opportunities in a rapidly changing landscape.

• Sean Gallagher, Founder and Executive Director
  Northeastern University’s Center for the Future of Higher Education and Talent Strategy

New Models for Lifelong Learning in the Global Digital Economy: The 60 Year Curriculum
Program Planning and Implementation
The “60 Year Curriculum” is a response to the emerging global economy’s profound challenge to higher education. It requires integrating instructional, advising, career development, and alumni services to impart the resilience and enable the upskilling necessary for job growth and career change in yet-to-be-invented fields. This session presents insights from a recently published book on 60YC that is based in part on case studies from UPCEA institutions.

• Chris Dede, Harvard University
• Henry Leitner, Harvard University
• Jason Wingard, Columbia University
• John Richards, Harvard University

How Small Schools Can Make a Big Impact: Utilizing the Student Services Philosophy to Claim a Segment of Non-traditional Higher Education
Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Services
Many small liberal arts schools are struggling to keep up with the rapidly evolving landscape of higher education. Small schools often do not have the resources to react to new market demands quickly and effectively. Additionally, these schools are concerned with protecting their brand and the quality of education they provide. Wellesley College and Lasell University; Two schools in the suburbs of Boston Massachusetts have taken on the challenge of how to claim a stake in the future landscape of higher education.

• Whitney Kuhnlenz, Lasell University
• Chris Gray, Lasell University
• Pamela Landis, Wellesley College
• Rob Haley, Wellesley College

Faculty Development: The Continuous Loop of Quality, Training, and Support
Online Administration
There has been a necessity for providing faculty development to address pedagogy and course design. In order to highlight quality design and best practices in online teaching, faculty became students in an online workshop that focused on creating effective courses. This session will discuss the results, future improvements, and additional ways to support faculty development while improving quality for students.

• Valerie Smedile-Rifkin, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Jody Reis, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Kristin Marengo, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Online Administration
The past decade has seen a significant increase in the number of students who prefer the flexibility of online learning to the traditional on-campus experience. As enrollment in online education continues to increase, university administrators face many challenges with providing the necessary support and retain this increasing population. The session will focus specifically on developing strategies to tackle this challenge and improve student success.

• Jasmeial Jackson, Southern New Hampshire University

How to Listen to Your Students When Building Your Strategy
Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Services
Why do higher education marketing teams so often build campaigns for student audiences without ever talking to them? Is it because we think we already know their answers? Or is it because we don't have the money or time? In this interactive session, learn how a small marketing team with a small budget can conduct smart persona research to develop meaningful messages and strategy that generates real results.

• Catherine Sullivan Seraphin, Harvard University
• Kate Kozak, 5HD
• Bill Greider, 5HD

Strengthening UIU's Program Portfolio
Program Planning and Implementation
Dr. Doug Binsfeld, VP of Academic and Student Affairs at Upper Iowa University (UIU), and Steve Probst, Senior Partner at Gray Associates, will explain how to increase enrollment and strengthen an institution's program portfolio. In this presentation, we will explain how UIU identified promising new programs to start, selected a limited number of existing programs to invest in for growth, and is developing an ongoing process for program portfolio management.

• Doug Binsfeld, Upper Iowa University
• Steve Probst, Gray Associates

The 60-year curriculum is the modern approach to a lifetime of learning. Getting a degree, getting a job and never setting foot in a classroom again are not today’s reality, as many people alive now will live to be 100 years old. That means people will have five to seven stages in their lives, not just the three traditional stages of school, work and retirement, and learning must be constant throughout our careers. Automation and changes in the workplace mean professionals must continually retool to stay relevant and competitive. Employers in every industry and profession are looking for higher education to help their workers upskill. Through dynamic conversation and audience engagement, this session will first focus on an overview of this movement and then dive deeply into what a 60-year curriculum means for UPCEA member institutions.

• Rovy Branon, University of Washington
• Jasmeial Jackson, Southern New Hampshire University
• Monique LaRocque, University of Maine 

Moderator: Nancy Coleman, Harvard University 

How Small Teams Can Do Big Things With Student Stories
Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Services
When you’re a small marketing team, you need all the help you can get in telling your program’s story - especially if you’re promoting a new, non-credit program. With the right approach, students can be valuable contributors to your engagement strategy. This session will outline the steps that Harvard Medical School’s HMX online certificate program took to develop and distribute student stories, and dig into the data to assess their impact on enrollment growth.

• Ben Rubenstein, Harvard University

The Power of the Right Question: Inquiry as a Practical Tool for Designing Instruction
Program Planning and Implementation
In the midst of a large and expanding body of research and on effective course design and teaching strategies, how are questions generated that bring the most benefit to our students,  best serve our mission, and the individual strengths of faculty? This is a space where asking the right questions can help inform course design and create purposeful opportunities to improve instruction with high impact approaches.This session will focus on the value of asking the ‘Why” as a  leverage to better understanding in what way the art of inquiry can help us sort through the noise to help faculty (and ourselves) evaluate program and course needs, increase student engagement, and better meet the needs of a diverse student population.

• Paul Cochrane, University of Southern Maine
• Suzan Nelson, Saint Joseph's College

Scrum Is Not Just for Rugby: How the Scrum Methodology Benefits Online Course Development
Program Planning and Implementation
To increase working efficiency and improve online course quality, Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) has adopted Scrum methodology within its Learning Science and Assessment team. In this workshop, you will learn the basics of Scrum, then examine your own organization’s processes and resources to see how you can benefit from this flexible, collaborative, and empowering development framework.

• Mary Lizie, Southern New Hampshire University
• Diane Creel, Southern New Hampshire University

Identifying Adult Student Traits and Exploring Successful Support Strategies
Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Services
The adult student population can be viewed as an untapped source of enrollments and can provide a rich diversity of knowledge and experience in the classroom. In many campuses, Continuing or Professional Education departments are taking the lead in welcoming the adult learner population to their institutions. In this presentation, we will explore the role, unique needs and contributions of the adult learner population and explain why supporting and advocating for them is important. We will take a brief tour of the current literature on adult students and highlight their specific needs and challenges in the educational marketplace. Then we will introduce you to the real stories of six adult students pursuing their baccalaureate degrees at night. We will conclude by showcasing the efforts undertaken by the Division of Graduate and Continuing Education at Worcester State University to support adult students and foster their success.

• Skip Darmody, Bridgewater State University
• Elena Arranz Alonso, Worcester State University
• Marilyn Cleary, Worcester State University

Detecting Fraud in Admission Applications
Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Services
Fraud in admission is becoming more common. However, staff members may not have adequate training to determine if applicants’ application materials are authentic and what to do if they are suspicious. Come to this session to compare admission processes, discuss trends and required credentials, and share best practices that ensure you admit students primed for success. Participants will review files to determine authenticity, learn about current research and discover methods for detecting application fraud.

• Jacqueline Newcomb, Harvard University

Crafting Veterans’ Edge for Today’s Civilian Market
Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Services
The session shares an innovating BE-EDGE Method that colleges can integrate into their programs to attract veterans and help veterans to capitalize on their already accumulated personal, social, and professional capital. Through BE-EDGE projects, veterans elucidate a new center of their multidimensional core, connect with employers they see as a fit, and utilize their skillset to solve the challenge for which they believe they can contribute most.

• Julia Ivy, Northeastern University

Synchronizing Personal Strategies of Graduates with Strategies of Desired Employers
Program Planning and Implementation
The session discusses the “Make Your Case” experiential learning exercise as a vehicle that allows graduates and career changers to connect with desired employers at personal, social, and professional levels. Colleges can integrate “Make Your Case” projects into capstone courses, internships, or “Make Your Case” competitions for advanced students and alumni.

• Julia Ivy, Northeastern University

As the marketplace continues to shift, and the demand for alternative credentials (micro-, nano-, stackable) rises, this session will cover the recently released Hallmarks of Excellence in Credential Innovation, along with the results of a recent UPCEA survey of 176 institutions on the role that alternative credentials plays in their portfolio of programs. The survey, sponsored by Mindedge, will share actionable data of those members involved in alternative credentialing efforts, in what areas, and with what results. This lively session will examine the emergent phenomenon of credential innovation as well as showcase data that undergird credential evolutions and how UPCEA member institutions are leading this charge.

• Jay Halfond, Boston University 
• Jim Fong, UPCEA 
• Stacy Chiaramonte, Worcester Polytechinic Institute
  
• Valerie Smedile Rifkin, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

The Impact of Alumni Mentorship for Online Music Students at Berklee Online
Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Services
Associate Dean of Admissions Strategy and Operations for Berklee Online, Michael Moyes and Mentor Collective’s Co-Founder and CEO Jackson Boyar will share:-The online, alumni mentorship model being used by Berklee Online-Quantitative and qualitative outcomes from the 2018-19 program-How mentorship can create a sense of belonging and community for online students-How to scale a program to hundreds or thousands of students at a low cost-Best practices for running an outcomes-driven mentorship program

• Michael Moyes, Berklee College of Music
• Jackson Boyar, Mentor Collective

Five Tools and Techniques to Keep Your Prospective Student Engaged
Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Services
The higher education landscape is rapidly changing, and the competition among universities for students is stronger than ever. Prospective students say that universities look and sound the same. How do you break through to reach them in ways that matter? Attend this session to learn the five tools and techniques WPI has implemented in a strategic student-recruiting plan that engages qualified prospective students.  This has led to an 11% decrease in conversion time and higher engagement from prospective students.

• Amanda Keighley, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Susan Hicks, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Lisa Hann, Worcester Polytechnic Institute