Call for Presentations

Higher education both shapes, and is shaped by, the future. It stands in the present, preparing students for a future they will create, even as it remains hauntingly unknown. The 2019 ACCJC Partners in Excellence Conference will explore the awesome challenge educators face as they ponder What the Future Holds.

Are our students prepared for jobs—and societal issues—that aren’t even imagined? Do they balance an appreciation for the past with an agile curiosity about what our future must hold? Do they envision contributing to that better future? Are our colleges poised to launch students into that future? And how does accreditation assist colleges with that task? The conference will feature multiple break-out sessions for members to weigh in on what they are doing to keep higher education responsive, effective, and relevant.

While we know that these are not new questions, many constituent members are now ready and better equipped to share how they are addressing these challenges—and the answers they are finding—with their colleagues in the region. Thus, this call for presentations.

ACCJC invites you, as a member of our higher education community, to contribute to the program of the Partners in Excellence conference. Your research, your collaborative planning, and your initiatives—whether stunning successes or works in progress—can inform and even inspire the efforts of your colleagues across the region. This conference is an opportunity for you and your college to showcase your accomplishments, or to put titles to your frustrations, as you are weaving your way toward educational excellence. Thinking of the ACCJC region as a “learning community,” you can play a vital part in raising the collective level of professional practice on behalf of more than 2 million students.

Concurrent sessions for the conference will be organized under the following themes:

Boldly Going Where No One Has Gone Before: Teaching, Learning, and Assessment
Are we learning the right things from assessment results and program review and using those learnings to improve the student experience? How is our rapidly changing world impacting the faculty role, pedagogy, learning outcomes and assessment strategies? What is the future of the professoriate? How do institutions ensure faculty receive the professional development they need to keep up with rapid changes in technology or in the technological cultures of their students?

Shifting Into Hyperdrive: Initiatives and Best Practices in Support Services
What are the best structures by which faculty, librarians, student services personnel, and other support units can coordinate their work on behalf of student success? What innovations and best practices have led to sustainable increases in student learning and student achievement? What innovations in research and planning, resource development, resource allocation, or governance models have positively impacted student outcomes?

Captains of Tomorrow: Leadership in Institutions
How can trustees, administrators, and academic leaders harness their collective efforts to ensure college-wide effectiveness and sustained strength? In what ways can college and district leadership cultivate innovations that improve student learning and student achievement? How do institutions provide professional development to prepare the next generation of leaders within their ranks?

Charting the Future by Understanding the Past: Institutional Research as Change Agent
In view of increased public interest in metrics of institutional performance, how is achievement data being obtained and used? How have faculty been engaged in using data to validate and improve their efforts? How do institutions use data to discern key trends? Can predictive analytics lead to improvements in student success? How do institutions use data to inform strategic planning that anticipates and plans for change?

Accreditation: The Guardian of a Future Galaxy
In what ways have accreditation self-evaluations and the peer review process been used to add value to the learning experience? How can the accreditation process assist in ensuring relevance and sustainability at a time of enormous change in higher education? How will changes on the national horizon impact institutions in the Western region? How must ACCJC adapt to those changes?

Applicants should consider the audience that would most likely gain value from the presentation and the style that would best support a participant-centered session.

Concurrent Sessions (60 minutes):
Presentations will be organized as 60-minute concurrent sessions. Sessions will cover topic areas within one of the established thematic tracks. Presenters are encouraged to feature practices at their institutions that will benefit others in the region.

Suggested presentation styles include:

• Hands-on interactive workshops
• Discussion of new initiatives and best practices
• Demonstration and/or applied practice of a new tool, pedagogy, or methodology
• Lecture with Q & A
• Presentation of original research

The content description should inform participants whether any advance preparation or skill level is required.

All presentation proposals will be evaluated by a committee of peers. Criteria that will be applied are:

• Overall quality (clarity of purposes, innovative dimensions, likely appeal to participants)
• Transferability to other institutions
• Relevance to the conference theme
• “Fit” for the described presentation style

Applicants should be from institutions that hold accreditation by ACCJC or, in limited numbers, by other regional accreditors, or represent an established higher education organization. Proposals that primarily promote a product or service available for purchase will be directed to the conference sponsorship opportunities.

• All presenters are responsible for registering in advance for the conference, paying the registration fee, and covering the cost of their own travel, lodging, and ancillary expenses. We are pleased to offer a 10% registration discount for up to three presenters, per concurrent session.
• Presenters agree to be available to present in the time slot designated in advance by the conference organizers.
• Presenters who wish to use PowerPoint or other presentation platforms will need to bring a USB stick that contains the presentation file. An LCD projector, laptop and screen will be provided in each conference break-out room.
• Presenters will be asked to forward an electronic version of their presentations (PowerPoint slides, PDF graphs, Word narratives, etc.) for posting on the ACCJC website following the conference. By this means, participants will be able to capture documents of interest from the conference without needing to acquire paper handouts. The deadline for materials submission is April 19, 2019. Please note that ACCJC cannot reimburse presenters for any materials they provide at the conference.