Disruption is an opportunity for reflection and change. This is especially true at this time with our country’s current climate. America is facing an array of crises including social injustice, racism, a pandemic, and a serious economic downturn. This disruption presents an opportunity for frank dialogue to increase awareness and empathy. Our university and college students are very diverse and unique, and this diversity breeds sensitivity to others’ plights. Dialogue is our business, as a community of educators, we like to challenge our students to question the status quo and encourage original thought towards creating solutions. Now it is time to challenge ourselves. Our conference theme, Vistas – Exploring Education from a New Perspective, is an ideal platform for just that… introspection, in-depth exploration, empathy, and collaboration that gives birth to new ideas and solutions to problems that have existed and been perpetuated since the birth of our nation. We are so pleased that our distinguished panel of experts will share their expertise and personal experiences in the areas of diversity, inclusion, and equity, during the UPCEA West Regional Conference’s first General Session, Creating an Opening for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Higher Education.

• Tamika L. Butler, Tamika L. Butler Consulting
• Adam Kasarda, Student disAbility Resource Center, California State University Dominguez Hills
• Dr. Terrence Roberts, Terrence Roberts Consulting, “Little Rock Nine” member
• Amir Whitaker, Policy Council, Southern California, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
• Moderator: Menelik Tafari, Educator, Organizer, Consultant

Overcoming Barriers to Online Learning Research: Perspectives From Two Research Units
Online Administration
Representatives from online education research units at Oregon State University and Boise State University share their histories, mission, organizational structures, and functions. They will share an overview of the research initiatives in each unit and provide examples of collaborations between the units.

• Rob Nyland, Boise State University
• Mary Ellen Dello Stritto, Oregon State University

Pivoting Traditional Education Approaches to Online Project-Based Learning and Virtual Internships
Community and Economic Engagement
Current challenges in higher education have resulted in new, innovative ways to adapt to meet the needs of educators and students. Virtual internships and project-based learning have typically been in-person, but have been transformed into a global learning opportunity, reducing barriers, increasing accessibility and enhancing inclusion. Hear from Capella University and how they implemented virtual internships to assist students and how Riipen has worked to develop online project-based learning with institutions across North America.

• Dana Stephenson, Riipen
• Laura Sankovich, Capella University

How Program Differentiation Led LEAD to Market Success
Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Services
Stanford Graduate School of Business will take you through a case study of its own LEAD program, showing how properly defining market differentiation can increase program performance.

• Neelam Patel-Mistry, Stanford University
• Munir Haddad, Kiosk

Join us for a chance to dive deeply into follow up conversations with the opening general session presenters!

• Adam Kasarda, Student disAbility Resource Center, California State University Dominguez Hills
• Dr. Terrence Roberts, Terrence Roberts Consulting, “Little Rock Nine” member
• Amir Whitaker, Policy Council, Southern California, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
• Moderator: Menelik Tafari, Educator, Organizer, Consultant

Marketing and Business Development in a Recession
Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Services
Everything has changed. Higher and Professional Education is a different today than it was six months ago and it will continue to evolve as we do. Come take a look at how the public and private worlds of education are dealing with marketing and bringing new students and customers.

• Therese Ammiro, University of California, Santa Cruz
• Meni Sarris, SpurCG

Teaching Psychology Courses Online: Redefining and Exploring the Impact of the Synchronous Model
Online Administration
21st Century teaching requires innovation, creativity and flexibility to enhance educational effectiveness. Clinical skill acquisition and learning to provide client-centered care is foundational in educating new therapists. This research incorporates a new approach to online synchronous education that may help therapy students develop essential clinical skills applicable in real-world settings.

• Isa Ribadu, Brandman University
• Jenny Good, Brandman University
• Brittany Aleshire, Brandman University
• Vanessa Holtgrave, Brandman University

It's a Process - How Optimizing Processes Will Help You Get the Most Out of Your People and Technology
Business & Operations
In this session learn about the valuable insights you can gain by understanding your processes, developing a plan to improve pain points, and create greater cohesion across an entire unit or between functional areas.The College of Extended & International Education (CEIE) at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, the university) undertook an effort to map their work processes to create greater business continuity, identify areas for process improvement, and prepare for the imminent launch of a new technology implementation.

• Guy Felder, SpurCG
• Kim McNutt, California State University, Dominguez Hills

• Rovy Branon, University of Washington
• Nancy Coleman, Harvard University
• Kim McNutt, California State University, Dominguez Hills
• Jon Matsuda, University of Hawaii

A Cross-Campus Blended Learning Approach to Student Retention at the University of Arizona
Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Services
This presentation will take a look at data regarding how campus changing allows students to have the flexibility needed to be retained at a large, public 4-year institution that offers main, online, and distance campuses. Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, this topic is especially timely as higher education institutions adapt their learning modalities to remote learning experiences. Come learn how the University of Arizona is handling this particular challenge.

• Grace Patterson, University of Arizona
• Carmin Chan, University of Arizona

Professional Expertise & 21st Century Skills: Building Bridges Between the Academy and the Workplace With Digital Badges
Program Planning and Implementation
This session will present UW Continuum College’s work as an Education Design Lab Badging Fellow where we enhanced and piloted a digital badge in the area of ‘Collaboration’ with a group of learners in our professional certificate programs. Feedback from both our learners and our industry partners on the content and value of our digital badge will be presented, along with the design process that focused on an ‘expert’ model of competency.

• Sandra Janusch, University of Washington
• Marlon Buchanan, University of Washington
• Peter Wallis, University of Washington
• Lalitha Subramanian, University of Washington

Improving Access: Navigating the Corporate Opportunity
Business & Operations
Learn the basics about how higher education can successfully partner with industry to grow enrollment and provide access to adult learners as part of employee tuition benefit plans. The field of opportunity is vast as industry rethinks traditional tuition reimbursement plans to strategies that will better support employee retention and upskilling along with limiting provider choices. Oregon State Ecampus will share its partnership experience to assist in navigating the opportunity and challenges.

• Jessica DuPont, Oregon State University
• Howard Burns, Oregon State University

Business & Operations
Pathways from Non-Credit to Credit---A Deeper Dive examines results from a recent survey to UPCEA members. Data collected in August 2020 will be compared to an earlier study which was deemed a good first step into studying pathways from non-credit to credit. Facilitators will highlight the survey's results regarding trends in non-credit education and will lead a robust a discussion of the challenges and opportunities of non-credit to credit pathways.

• Sandra von Doetinchem, University of Hawaii at Manoa
• Gail Ruhland, St. Cloud State University
• Lynda Wilson, California State University, Dominguez Hills
• Jim Fong, UPCEA

Open for Learning in the Time of COVID-19
Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Services
With record-high unemployment, employees need education to remain in or re-enter the workforce, and employers need skilled and knowledgeable employees for their current and future workforce needs. During this time, how do we convey we are open for learning? PaCE created COVID-19 Courses for Causes, a statewide program offering select free courses to support essential workers and working adults, to give back to the community and promote a greater sense of well-being.

• Sheila Thomas, California State University
• Amanda Olivas, California State University

A Battle Plan for Serving Military Students
Community and Economic Engagement
Many universities and online programs miss the mark serving the modern military student. This session will provide you with a plan to better serve and grow your Active duty, Guard, and Reserve student populations. Boise State’s Military Programs team developed a model that reduces overall student cost, creates a worldwide student pipeline, with a focus on providing concierge-level student support. Participants will learn how to develop military partnerships, reduce student barriers, and impact military students.

• Sean Hunter, Boise State University
• Yani Kirkendall, Boise State University
• Laura Porter, Boise State University

Constructivist Approach to Contingency Planning
Online Administration
From floods and hurricanes to ice storms and pandemics whether teaching remotely for a few weeks or several quarters, learn how this small team (2 instructional designers, 2 technologists, and 4 department colleagues) not only survived the transition but earned kudos from faculty and administrators alike for providing faculty and students with the tools needed to skill up and teach/learn remotely regardless of their knowledge of online teaching and learning.

• Joy Fuqua, Central Washington University
• Ediz Kaykayoglu, Central Washington University

Sense of Belonging in Online Students: Does It Matter and How Do We Foster It?
Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Services
Sense of belonging has been identified as a critical component to the retention of traditional campus-based students, however little has been explored regarding belongingness of those at a distance. This session will share results from a recent study conducted at Oregon State University on sense of belonging in online students, as well as implications for practice and recommendations for the use of belonging as a retention tool.

• Marleigh Perez, Oregon State University Ecampus

Distance Delivery Program for Faculty Development
Program Planning and Implementation
In response to a massive shift of synchronous, campus courses to distance delivery, Washington State University’s Academic Outreach and Innovation (AOI) created a Distance Delivery Mastery Certificate. The launch of this certificate, and the associated trainings, helped prepare a large number of faculty for distance delivery in a short time frame. In this session, we will provide the Distance Delivery Mastery Certificate rubric, self-assessment survey, training objectives and sample slides, as well as qualitative and quantitative data for the training sessions.

• Christie Kittle, Washington State University
• Samuel Aina, Washington State University

Flexible Teaching for Student Success: The Creation of a Responsive Faculty Development Program for the COVID-19 Pandemic
Program Planning and Implementation
In this session, we will discuss an unprecedented faculty development program, the Flexible Teaching for Student Success Initiative at Boise State University. This three-tiered program was designed to prepare faculty to quickly pivot their teaching modality in the Fall 2020 given the nature of the COVID-19 Pandemic. We will discuss the creation of the program along with some lessons learned and feedback from the more than 500 faculty participants.

• Rob Nyland, Boise State University
• Devshikha Bose, Boise State University
• Lisa Berry, Boise State University
• Teresa Focarile, Boise State University

A Model for Large Scale Faculty Professional Development: Cohort Groups
Program Planning and Implementation
When faced with a massive transition to distance delivery, there are challenges to supporting faculty on a large scale. Training sessions can be a critical component to the professional development program, but don’t often address every individual’s needs in their entirety. In this session, we will discuss how Washington State University’s Academic Outreach and Innovation (AOI) led over 200 faculty through a 12-week program in preparation for the fall term.

• Christie Kittle, Washington State University
• Theresa Lavoie, Washington State University
• Lindsay Barkley, Washington State University

Upskilling and Reskilling in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond—How Universities Are Fast-Tracking Partnerships to Create Work-Ready “Codeless” Pathways
Program Planning and Implementation
What do you do when nearly overnight you’re asked to serve the immediate needs of a global workforce that is now facing an unknown future? How do you serve employers, employees and the recently unemployed with upskilling and reskilling opportunities that hone a digital mindset and work-ready impact? And how do you do it quickly? You form partnerships. Join this session to hear how we’re rapidly bringing these turnkey programs to the community.

• Sara Leoni, GreenFig
• Therese Ammiro, University of California, Santa Cruz

Creating Virtual Student Onboarding and Engagement Tool for Various Campus Instances in Response to COVID-19
Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Services
The University of Arizona Online developed the “Launch Pad” that is both an onboarding and an ongoing engagement tool within an LMS for both new and continuing students. In response to COVID-19, we worked with campus partners on a version of this resource that benefited students who moved to remote learning. We will explore the successes and challenges working on scaling and sharing virtual resources for the various student populations at various campus locations.

• Adam Davi, University of Arizona
• Heidi Hopkins, University of Arizona

Balancing Work, Life, and a Terminal Degree

• Amy Heitzman, UPCEA

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
• Pamela Wimbush, California State University, Sacramento

Valued Viewpoints: Using Student Feedback to Enhance Online Student Success
Marketing, Enrollment, & Student Services
Developing online degree pathways often necessitates adaptations to student services to meet the unique needs of fully-online learners. The University of Arizona Online campus implemented multiple formal and informal student assessments to understand the needs of their fully-online learners. These student viewpoints offered insights that were instrumental in the face of the wider institutional shift to remote learning due to COVID-19. This session will explore student-centered data collection and strategic planning.

• Carmin Chan, University of Arizona
• Grace Patterson, University of Arizona
• Heidi Hopkins, University of Arizona

Opening Doors to Opportunity: Increasing Access to Skills and Careers Through a Professional and Continuing Education Scholarship Fund
Community and Economic Engagement
In this session, we will present information about the process of setting up the UWPCE Certificate Scholarship Program. We will describe the outreach and development strategies utilized to scale the fund to increase the number of scholarships offered each year. Through sharing our experiences, we hope to continue a dialogue around the role of professional and continuing education units in addressing racial inequity, access, and growing workforce needs through expanding access to education.

• Jo Gubas, University of Washington
• Julie Scales, University of Washington
• Sandra Janusch, University of Washington

Innovation Through Strategic Partnership: Building a Coaching Program at BYU-Pathway Worldwide to Drive Student Success
Online Administration
Steven K. Thomas, Director of Mentoring, BYU Pathway Worldwide shares the journey of building a student success coaching program for a diversity of online learners and how this program has impacted the support provided to students, even during a pandemic. Joined by Carrie Lockhert of non-profit, InsideTrack, Thomas will explain why they took this approach to student support and the lessons learned from collaborating with a strategic partner to bring their vision to life.

• Steven K. Thomas, Brigham Young University
• Carrie Lockhert, InsideTrack
• Kate Ludgate, InsideTrack

The professional and continuing education profession is the entrepreneur in a highly traditional education sphere. We balance the consideration for excellent educational experiences with financial viability. How do these seemingly contradictory concepts form the decision-making bases for leaders in the field? What unique challenges do leaders face when navigating within the respective institutions? In this highly acclaimed session, participants will rotate through three groups as senior leaders in the field speak on a number of key issues. It will be an opportunity to learn about the factors driving decision in the current environment. It will also be an opportunity to meet senior leaders from institutions around the west region. Topics of conversation will include the impact of COVID-19 and business continuity for the PCO education departments; influencing decision-making to highlight PCO education for the campus; what does innovation look like in the current environment?; what do you do to keep up with professional development? 

The group of senior leaders are from the following institutions:

Potential Topics:

• The impact of COVID-19 and business continuity for the Professional and Continuing Education departments.   
• Influencing decision-making to highlight Professional and Continuing Education for the campus 
• What does innovation look like in the current environment? 
• What do you do to keep up with professional development?