Wednesday, July 25 3:00pm-5:00pm Registration Grand Ballroom Foyer

Thursday, July 26 8:00 am-5:00 pm Registration Grand Ballroom Foyer

8:00 am-4:00 pm JSU Meeting (includes breakfast) Evergreen I

9:00 am-12:00 pm Pre-Conference Workshop for International Education - China: Building Sustainable Academic Partnerships Evergreen A

In this interactive workshop, leaders of non-profit organizations and government agencies will share policy updates, program details and their own perspectives on building sustainable partnerships between AASCU institutions and higher education institutions in China. The goal of the workshop is to provide AASCU university leaders with strategies for increasing and enhancing academic educational exchange initiatives with China.

Presenters: Ingrid Larsen, Deputy Director of the Office of Public Diplomacy, Department of State, Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs Gao Qing, Confucius Institute Arlene Jackson, Associate Vice President for Global Initiatives, American Association of State Colleges and Universities

9:00 am-12:00 pm Pre-Conference Working Group with RFY/FS Leadership (by invitation only) Evergreen B

9:00 am-1:00 pm Pre-Conference Workshop for Women Provosts Evergreen G

Presenters: Vicki Golich, Metropolitan State University of Denver Clarenda Phillips, Texas A & M University Corpus Christi

9:00 am-2:00 pm Pre-Conference Workshop for the Re-Imagining the First Year Project Evergreen E/F

This workshop is for Re-Imagining the First Year (RFY) campus teams. This will be an opportunity for RFY campuses to hear from each other and from our team of consultants. This session will also expose institutional teams to key elements of strategic finance and the application of a return on investment lens in support of student success. The workshop will focus on best practice for taking current innovations to scale and creating sustainable innovation. Team engagement throughout the session will allow for sharing of experiences and successes, as well as the creation of sustainable innovation action plans.

Presenters: Jo Arney, American Association of State Colleges and Universities Bryan Setser, RPK Group

12:15 pm-2:15 pm Pre-Conference Workshop for New Provosts Evergreen C

2:30 pm-2:45 pm Welcome Remarks

2:45 pm-3:45 pm Opening Plenary

“Beyond “Fake News”: Framing the Next Decade of Higher Education’s Fight Against Misinformation” Grand Ballroom A-H

Introduction: Jane Gates, Provost and Senior Vice President, Academic and Student Affairs, Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education

Presenters: Michael Caulfield, Director of Blended and Networked Learning, University of Washington Mark Canada, Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Indiana University Kokomo Sam Wineberg, Director, Stanford History Education Group Kate Starbird, Assistant Professor, University of Washington

3:50 pm-4:20 pm Afternoon Plenary “New Approaches for First Year Course Design”

Traditionally, individual faculty members create individual courses, a process dating back to the beginning of teaching. But is that model still sufficient in the 21st century? AASCU has been working on one alternative approach, creating a series of first year courses that are created by faculty teams, supported by instructional designers. The courses are multi-disciplinary and technology-enabled, with highly engaging content that has a civic focus. The courses that are being created can be used as entire courses or as modules that can be incorporated into other courses. This session will describe the work underway and the anticipated results.

Moderator: George Mehaffy, Vice President for Academic Leadership and Change, American Association of State College and Universities

Presenters: Patrick Dolenc, Keene State College Kim Schmidl-Gagne, Keene State College

4:20 pm-4:30 pm Refreshment Break

4:30 pm-5:30 pm

Concurrent Session I

Access for All: Keeping the Community College inside the Comprehensive University Evergreen A

Utah Valley University, a public, comprehensive, open-access teaching institution of 37,000 students, serves as a community college and a university. Currently, two-year degrees and certificates make up about 40% of all granted degrees. Moving from a vocational school in the 1960s to a university in 2008, staying committed to its community college role while adding four-year and post-graduate degrees has created significant cultural challenges and opportunities. The need to balance students’ needs, community demands, and internal policies encourages intensive collaborative planning among many university divisions. Nationally, two- and four-year institutions have been exploring similar mission changes. UVU’s experiences and insights can help inform institutions striving to develop more comprehensive academic offerings while creating additional access to the education required to fulfill America’s workforce needs.

Presenters: Kathren Brown, Utah Valley University David Connelly, Utah Valley University Jessica Gilmore, Utah Valley University Michelle Kearns, Utah Valley University

Utilizing data and strategic planning to bring student success to scale Evergreen B

Research suggests that timely educational experiences (including high impact practices and interventions to enhance belonging and growth mindsets) positively contribute to student success, especially among first generation college students and students from underrepresented groups. Despite the demonstrated effectiveness of such practices, the challenge for many universities is bringing this research to bear on large-scale institutional change. This panel will use the case of strategic planning efforts at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, linked to our efforts to “Re-Imagine the First Year,” to discuss ways to use data and planning to expand student success efforts and high impact practices. We will discuss initial findings related to student achievement, faculty beliefs and practices, and challenges and opportunities related to the development and assessment of large-scale initiatives.

Presenters: Tim Dale, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse Enilda A. Delgado, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse Tesia Marshik, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse Natalie Solverson, Director of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse Betsy Morgan, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs/Provost, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse

Re-Imagining the One-Stop-Shop Approach to Wrap-Around Student Support: The Creation of Roadways Evergreen C

Big success doesn't come without big ideas, and big ideas are not born without taking risk. In this session, participants will learn about the recent re-structuring of Student and Academic Affairs at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Inspired by MSU Denver's participation in AASCU's Re-Imagine the First Year initiative, the change led to the creation of Roadways. Roadways is a wrap-around, one-stop-shop approach to student support from admissions to alumni, intended to promote a collaborative, 21st-century model of institutional structure that fosters improved student success. Representatives from Roadways will explain how the purpose of improving student success, in combination with intentional professional and institutional risk taking, ignited a passion for innovation and fuels this new project. Presenters: Lunden MacDonald, Executive Director of Roadways, Metropolitan State University of Denver Lori Kester, Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management, Metropolitan State University of Denver Tesia Marshik, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse Erin Brogan, Metropolitan State University of Denver Measuring and Understanding the Writing Experiences and Perceptions of Students, Alumni, and Instructors Cedar A From September 2017 to June 2018 the Writing Across the Curriculum Program at CSULB has been conducting three simultaneous IRB approved surveys:

1. CSULB Student Survey on Experiences and Perceptions on Writing and the Teaching of Writing 2. CSULB All Faculty and Instructor Survey on Experiences and Perceptions of Writing and the Teaching

of Writing 3. CSULB Alumni Survey on Experiences and Perceptions of Writing and the Teaching of Writing at

CSULB and the Role Writing Serves in Their Professional Lives. With over 1,000 responses and growing, this presentation discusses findings from all colleges, freshmen to graduate students, alumni, and instructors. Two aims are to open up conversations about writing and the teaching of writing beyond anecdotes so we make informed commitments to writing instruction at all levels.

Presenter: John Scenters-Zapico, Cal State, Long Beach

Strategic Budgeting through Student Success and Performance Funding Evergreen H Performance funding budget models, whether established by the state, university, or college are requiring academic units to focus on improvements in areas of recruitment, retention, and graduation rates unlike anything seen in the past. These expectations, bundled with more than ten years of decline in state funding, have enticed the College of Science and Engineering at Western Kentucky University to develop a performance funding budget model that rewards departments for implementation of high impact practices (at no additional cost) that support student success. This session will review the State, University, and College funding models, high impact practices initiated and associated preliminary outcomes, and forecast how the College will focus future budgets toward further innovations. Presenters: Cheryl Stevens, Dean of Ogden College of Science and Engineering, Western Kentucky University Greg Arbuckle, Associate Dean, Ogden College of Science and Engineering, Western Kentucky University Jennifer Anderson, Coordinator for Advising & Student Services, Ogden College of Science & Engineering, Western Kentucky University

Games and Engagement in Lecture Hall Classrooms Evergreen I

Achieving student engagement in large classroom settings is always a challenge. It is doubly so when chairs are bolted to the floor. In this session we will have you play one of the games we run in large sections, discuss how we developed and implemented these activities, and explain our initial results.

Presenters: Jonathan Truitt, Chair of the Center for Simulation and Game-Based Learning, Central Michigan University Gregory Smith, Chair of the Department of History, Central Michigan University

The “Experienced” Learner: Using Games, Community Outreach, and Meditation to Enhance the First Year Experience Cedar B

Inspired by AASCU’s Re-Imagining the First Year experience, Indiana University Kokomo has developed a faculty-fellows model to support faculty in their efforts to incorporate and assess High-Impact Practices (HIP) into their first year General-Education courses. This presentation will illustrate the structure and outcomes of one specific faculty-fellows model, the Experiential Learning Academy (ELA) which supported faculty in their implementation of high-impact experiential learning activities in their classrooms and increased student engagement on campus and across the community. In particular this presentation will highlight how the ELA model contributed to the launch of a campus-wide Reacting to the Past game series to be held spring semester, during the same two weeks, across multiple classes and disciplines, aimed at improving the quality of learning and student experiences.

Presenter: Niki Weller, Chair for the Department of Sociology, Indiana University Kokomo

Online College Students Report Evergreen G

Online education is evolving. So are the students who want to earn their degree online. Do you want to know the latest data on today’s online learners. The seventh-annual report reveals how your school can best appeal to this changing, valuable population. Topics include: (1) Why you should optimize course content for mobile-focused students; (2) The return on investment that online learning provides; (3) Online students’ growing demand for career services; (4) Programs you should offer to boost online enrollments; (5) The best ways to market your school to online students.

5:30 pm-6:30 pm Welcome Remarks Mildred García, President, American Association of State Colleges and Universities

Opening Reception and Poster Session Grand Ballroom Foyer

Operation STEM Grand Ballroom Foyer

An NSF funded program to assist STEM majors complete their required mathematics classes in precalculus and calculus.

Presenter: John Holcomb, Associate Dean of the College of Sciences and Health Professions, Cleveland State University Connecting Literature (and History and Other Course Topics) to the Real World: Jack the Ripper Meets Social Media Grand Ballroom Foyer Students learn to apply lessons obtained from reading literature (or material related to other course topics) to real-world issues and can become promoters of positive change if their assignments go beyond the standard analysis/discussion papers to focus on service that matters to them. Using an assignment connecting Marie Belloc Lowndes’s The Lodger (among the first novels about the Jack the Ripper murders) to current social media issues of character assassination and cyberbullying as a model, this poster demonstrates a process to help students progress from being passive readers to being challenged researchers to being caring change advocates/activists. Presenters: Olivia Williford, Indiana University Kokomo Karla Farmer Stouse, Indiana University Kokomo Fixer Upper: First-Year Seminar Edition Grand Ballroom Foyer As part of the RFY project, UWL undertook a revision of course content and student placement into UWL 100, a first-year seminar class with limited enrollment capacity. Presenters will share the processes for course redesign, instructor training, and student placement into the course, and the subsequent results. Presenters: Tim Dale, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Natalie Solverson, Director of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Using a Design Thinking Approach to Develop a Vision of Teaching and Learning for 2025: Lessons Learned Grand Ballroom Foyer The U.S. higher education landscape is evolving in response to global dynamics, disruptive innovations, and rapidly shifting workforce needs. Members of a 15-member university task force envisioned the challenges of the changing landscape as an opportunity to develop a vision to define and characterize the culture of teaching and learning at the university in the year 2025. The presenters will share the results and lessons learned of using a design thinking approach to develop a vision, including a detailed white paper and infographic describing a vision for teaching and learning in the year 2025 at a public comprehensive university. The vision consists of four learning pillars: active, lifelong, flexible, and integrated. Presenters: Bruce Harris, Executive Director of Academic Innovation and the Director of the Center for Teaching & Learning, Dixie State University Michael Lacourse, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Assessment, and Planning, Dixie State University Introducing research activities in freshman classes across disciplines Grand Ballroom Foyer

The Association of American Colleges and Universities has highlighted undergraduate research as a High Impact Practice recommended for integration within first year courses. This poster outlines five research activities that will be implemented in freshmen courses of different disciplines. The common bases of those research activities are proposal development, literature review, data collection, data analysis, and critical writing. Using a combination of teaching and research techniques, students will be able to structure projects following research methods. Also, they will be able to practice qualitative and quantitative skills, and to communicate expert knowledge to the public. The introduction of these research activities in freshman classes aims to enhance student participation in future independent research endeavors. Presenters: Carmen Montaña, Assistant Professor, Sam Houston State University Grant Wiedenfeld, Assistant Professor, Sam Houston State University Effective Outreach and Recruitment of Underrepresented Faculty at California State University, Los Angeles Grand Ballroom Foyer The session is designed to highlight effective outreach and recruitment practices at Cal State LA designed to attract Underrepresented Faculty, including faculty of color and women in traditionally male-dominated fields. Presenter: Michael Cladwell, Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs, California State University

Transformative Student Experiences & Refreshed Learning Spaces As part of a strategic planning initiative, our institution has dedicated funding to provide flexible, adaptive environments that accommodate a variety of learning experiences and the learning technologies to support those experiences. In this poster, we describe the details of these classrooms, chronicle their genesis, discuss essential partnerships, and examine the rooms’ impact on student learning experiences. Presenters: Mary Smith, Interim Director for the Center of Teaching and Learning, Stephen F. Austin State University Megan Weatherly, Instructional Designer for the Center for Teaching & Learning, Stephen F. Austin State University Managing "Very Engaged" Donors in Advancing the Academic Mission Philanthropic support to advance the academic mission is only increasing in importance. But the degree to which donors seek to engage in the implementation of their gifts is also increasing. This poster presentation will outline a relationship management framework to effectively steward donors prior to receiving the gift and, once received, it is being used to implement new academic initiatives. Presenter: Scott Marshall, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Institute for Shipboard Education/Semester at Sea

Friday, July 27 8:00 am-5:00 pm Registration Grand Ballroom Foyer

7:30 am-8:45 am Breakfast Grand Ballroom Foyer & IJK

7:30 am-8:45 am Breakfast for Provosts of Color Cedar A

9:00 am-5:00 pm Grants Resource Center Private Consultations (reservation required) Juniper

9:00 am-10:30 am Friday Plenary Opportunities for All: shared vision, shared work, shared leadership Grand Ballroom A-H

Shared values between our organizations and our work is what allows the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to truly work in partnership rather than as funder and grantee. We see the critical role AASCU institutions *must* play if we are to truly make progress on our shared vision and partnership.

Introduction: Anita Enriquez, Senior Vice President, Academic and Student Affairs, University of Guam

Presenters: Patrick Methvin, Director, Postsecondary Success, United States Program, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Suzanne Walsh, Deputy Director, Postsecondary Success, United States Program, Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationAlexander Nicholas, Program Officer, United States Program, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

10:45 am-12:00 am

Concurrent Session II

Creating an Equity & Diversity Infrastructure Proactively, not Reactively Evergreen B

Through its campus strategic planning process, Washington State University Vancouver created a new role for a fulltime chief diversity officer as one part of the campus' efforts to work toward equitable outcomes for students, faculty and staff. As Williams and Wade-Golden put it in their book The Chief Diversity Officer: Strategy, Structure, and Change Management, "Changing demographics, turbulent political and legal contexts, persistent societal inequities, and other factors have created an increasingly complex diversity environment. For colleges and universities to face these dynamics effectively, new practices are essential." The presenters will discuss the deliberative process that led to the creation of the Campus Director of Equity and Diversity role and the subsequent development of the campus equity infrastructure.

Presenters: Renny Christopher, Washington State University Vancouver Obie Ford III, Washington State University Vancouver

From At-Risk to Role Model: Peer Mentoring in First-Year Studies Evergreen C

For an AASCU grant, ten faculty members who taught developmental courses in fall 2017 each identified a top student to serve as a teaching assistant for the same course in the following term. The TAs (now second-semester first-year students) partnered with their faculty members and served as resources for new students. The students serving as TAs had all been required to enroll in at least one developmental course in their first term. Many were first-generation college students, and some were from disadvantaged backgrounds. Faculty members and TAs met periodically as a group to share successes and challenges. TAs reported this experience left them empowered and increased their engagement at the University. Our presentation will share our experiences and encourage others to try a similar project.

Presenters: Pam Cross, Stockton University Lisa Youngblood, Stockton University

Reimagining the First Year and Beyond: Using a Growth Mindset to Enhance Student Success Cedar A

The RFY project provided UW-Whitewater a rich opportunity to reflect on a wide range of campus practices related to student success. We focused on growth mindset to rethink fundamental programs and processes. Progress includes a new emergency fund, food pantry and student success closet to support students’ basic needs, revision of academic dismissal policies, expanded focus on early alert, and creation of interdepartmental action teams. A mentoring mindset approach is also being cultivated among faculty and staff to raise the level of their interactions with students. We initiated gateway course redesign and included new metrics from the project in our comprehensive strategic enrollment planning process. Discussion will invite participants to share or examine the use of growth mindset approaches to improve.

Presenters: Susan Elrod, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of Wisconsin-WhitewaterGreg Cook, Vice Provost and Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of Wisconsin-WhitewaterJodie Parys, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Professor of Spanish, University of Wisconsin-WhitewaterBeth John, First Year Experience and Adjunct Faculty in the Higher Education Leadership Graduate Program, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Rotational Cycle for Faculty Evaluation Evergreen H

In response to academic dean workloads and the desire to strengthen opportunities for engagement to tenured faculty with the rank of Professor, the Nebraska State College System developed a rotational evaluation cycle option. This evaluation option allows tenured faculty who hold the rank of Professor to forgo the traditional annual evaluation process by proposing a multi-year project or initiative that responds to the goals of the college and aligns with teaching, scholarly activity, and/or professional service. The evaluation process, including established criteria, proposal requirements, and evaluation forms will be shared with attendees.

Presenter: Dr. Jodi Kupper, Vice Chancellor for Academic Planning and Partnerships, Nebraska State College System

Persistence and Possibilities: Increasing the Number of Women of Color Chief Academic Officers Evergreen I

According to the Digest of Education Statistics (2014), women represent 41% of the full-time professorial faculty and women of color altogether represent only 8%. The longstanding underrepresentation of women of color in professorial faculty positions in the U.S. has created a similarly longstanding problem of women of color advancing to chief academic officer positions. While significant attention has been given to increasing diversity in the faculty pipeline, less attention has been given to increasing the number of women of color provosts/chief academic officers. Our goal in this interactive session is to present research-based findings and develop strategies for overcoming challenges that prevent women of color from becoming chief academic officers.

Presenters: Clarenda Phillips, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Professor of Sociology, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi Tamara Brown, Professor of Psychology, Dean of the College of Juvenile Justice and Psychology, and Executive Director of the Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center, Prairie View A&M University

Efficiently and Effectively Scaling Experiential Learning and High Impact Practices Evergreen G

This session will cover the common problems faced by both Institutions and students in sourcing, matching, and tracking participation in experiential learning and other high impact practices. The Founder of SOC will present from the perspective of a recent graduate, and from the perspective of a technology startup with a broad view of the educational technology landscape. Staff, faculty & a student will be joining to share how their planning process & the implementation of S.O.C. have enabled more of their students to participate in more high-impact practices-- all the while saving the institution valuable time and resources.

Presenters: Cynthia Harris, Director of W.E.B. DuBois Honors Program, Alabama State University Chris Freire, Founder & CEO, Student Opportunity Center

Re-Imagining the First Year (RFY) High Impact Practices Workshop Evergreen EF

This workshop is for faculty members who participated in the Re-Imagining the First Year (RFY) High Impact Practices (HIP) project. Faculty members will be asked to discuss how HIPs can be added to the first year curriculum. We will also engage in a dialogue about how to scale these practices and how they compliant other student success efforts happening on campus.

Presenter: Jo Arney, Director, Re-Imagining the First Year of College, American Association of State Colleges and Universities Tim Dale, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse

Student Success through the Lens of Literature: The Sequel Cedar B

This is the second part of a dynamic presentation that utilizes quotes from literature to emphasize crucial aspects of developing, implementing, improving, sustaining, and celebrating a comprehensive campus-wide student success initiative. While, the first installment featured early alert systems, appropriate professional attitudes, and decreasing the distance between what an institution knows and what it does, the sequel

highlights belonging, inclusion, data analytics and much more. Attendees should be ready to learn best practices, explore new ideas, and laugh at real life scenarios.

Presenter: Vincent Windrow, Middle Tennessee State University

The Power of System Collaboration and Focus in Transforming Challenges to College Completion into Opportunities for Student Success Evergreen A

The Utah State Board of Regents (responsible for eight institutions, four of which are AASCU institutions) had a strategic plan clearly focused on timely completion, affordable access, and workforce and research. BUT the Regents faced criticism from key stakeholders who did not know about the plan, or, if they did know about it, did not think it focused enough on strategies that would meet the key higher education needs of Utah citizens. The Commissioner’s and Board’s organized efforts to understand the criticisms, focus on the most important priorities to achieve the “big vision” for higher education in Utah, and to communicate about this work with stakeholders has led to less challenge and more opportunity for the system and its institutions.

Presenters: Elizabeth Hitch, Associate Commissioner for Academic and Student Affairs, Utah System of Higher Education Spencer Jenkins, Utah System of Higher Education

12:30 pm – 1:45 pm Lunch Break/Featured Lunch Sessions (by invitation only) Evergreen Ballroom Foyer

Opportunity to Strengthen Community Engagement: A Tale of Two Institutions Evergreen G (Sponsored by Collaboratory)

Reaching the "New Normal:" Understanding Adult Learners and Attracting Them to Your Institution Evergreen H (Sponsored by Abound Colleges)

The “Who” in Student Success: Faculty as the Agents of Change Evergreen I (Sponsored by ACUE)

Sustainable Organizational Transformation Evergreen A (Sponsored by Inside Track)

2:00 pm-2:45 pm

Concurrent Session III

Aligning University Organization to Enhance Student Success Student Evergreen C

Universities are faced with several challenges in improving the success of our students. These include: - Academic Advising needs to be aligned with academic programs - Departments need to be optimized so that programs are administered in units that focus on appropriate degree outcomes - Fiscal resources need to be

optimized to support new program development, faculty recruitment, and facilities maintenance (including equipment replacement). CMU undertook a multi-year process that included:

1. Refreshing our strategic plan to emphasize student success, creative activity by faculty and students,and community engagement

2. As part of the strategic plan implementation, a series of committees were formed to assess whetherthe appropriate organization was in place and, if it was not, to make recommendations

3. Initiate the implementation of recommendations approved by appropriate components of theinstitution as based on university policy. We report here our progress to date and implementationplans. Suggestions will be made on the characteristics of our process that led to success (and thosethat we would change if we were to repeat the project).

Presenters: Ian Davison, Senior Vice Provost/Academic Reorganization Initiative, Central Michigan University Michael Gealt, Executive Vice President / Provost, Central Michigan University

Success through Collaboration: A First-Year Program For All Students Evergreen B

California State University (CSU), Dominguez Hills firmly believes in delivering a transformational education that emphasizes equity, access, and inclusion for all students. CSUDH utilized these three core tenants to launch its First-Year Program for all incoming students. As part of the First-Year Program, freshmen are provided with four-points of proactive and intrusive advising, assigned a peer coach, engaged is tutoring and Supplemental Instruction, and are connected to campus resources. This intentionally designed, high-impact program celebrated the highest second year fall-to-fall retention, a 12% increase over the past 8 years. Not only does this cohort have the highest retention rate to date, but they are also on track to timely degree completion earning a higher GPA with higher number of units earned. The presenters will examine the cross-divisional partnerships of staff, faculty, peer leaders, and administrators that led to this success. During this session participants will be able to identify opportunities, campus partners, and data on their own campuses that will assist in developing their action plan.

Presenters: Maruth Figueroa, Director for the Toro Learning & Testing Center, California State University, Dominguez Hills Bridget Driscoll, Associate Vice President for Retention, University Academic Advisement & Learning California State University, Dominguez Hills

Retention Challenges at Rural Institutions Evergreen A

Student success at the state comprehensive university involves complex multi-divisional collaborations. These approaches are generally strategic, but execution of these solutions only sometimes achieves goals. This presentation focuses on the student success journey of three regional comprehensive universities highlighting a sampling of strategies and available success data. Learning Objectives: 1) Describe the common challenges facing SCU institutions related to student retention and completion with special focus on rural dynamics. 2) Identify solutions that have been applied at three SCUs and the successes and failures of those initiatives. 3) Share the initiatives that have been implemented at their own campuses, including those that succeeded and those that have not met expectations. 4) Recognize avenues rural institutions have utilized to enhance student success.

Presenters: Lynette Olson, Provost at Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg State University Chris Crawford, Provost, Black Hills State University Charles Snare, Chadron State College

Leadership Challenges While Re-Imagining the First Year Cedar A

Leadership turnover can be challenging for any multi-year project meant to enact large-scale change. Nearly half of the institutions participating in the Re-Imagining the First Year project experienced executive leadership changes over the course of the initiative. At Indiana University East, the RFY team lead changed each year and key faculty leadership members came and went as well. The presenter will discuss the challenges the campus faced over the three-year project and lessons they learned, and lead a roundtable discussion with other RFY institutions about difficulties they faced in sustaining the project through leadership changes on their own campuses.

Presenter: Carrie Reisner, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Engagement, Indiana University East

Pursuing Excellence in Online Student Learning and Engagement Evergreen I

Through a system-wide initiative, University of South Carolina system campuses addressed the challenges of student engagement and success in online learning. The USC Palmetto College Innovation Grants project invited proposals to strengthen student enrollment and success. Three of the awarded grants represented exemplary efforts to engage and retain online students. A USC Aiken project offered an online teaching academy for business faculty members. A USC Beaufort project highlighted the use of social media for student success. A USC Upstate project developed an online learner readiness and preparation course for prospective students. Presenters will discuss the innovative approaches to common challenges online learners face.

Presenters: Alice Taylor-Colbert, Director of Innovation, Univ. of South Carolina Palmetto College David McCurry, Director of Distance Education, Palmetto College Coordinator, Univ. of South Carolina Upstate

Managing a Natural Disaster: Lessons Learned by Academic Affairs Cedar B

On March 19, 2018, an EF-3 tornado directly hit Jacksonville State University. While there was no loss of life, numerous buildings were badly damaged or destroyed, over 1000 students, staff, and faculty members were displaced from their residences, and all aspects of the spring semester were severely disrupted. With many classrooms, offices, student housing, and network and phone services unavailable for the remainder of the term, decisions had to be made on how to complete the semester, issue grades and academic credit, relocate classes and faculty, support displaced students and personnel, maintain normal operations, and prepare for upcoming semesters. This session will present the complex administrative decisions made and lessons learned from managing the academic impact of a large-scale natural disaster on a college campus.

Presenters: Rebecca Turner, Provost, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Jacksonville State University Lisa Williams, Associate Vice Provost, Jacksonville State University Joe Walsh, Vice Provost, Jacksonville State University

Using Analytics to Reconceive the Course Schedule at Multiple Scales Evergreen G

From the perspective of a provost or faculty member, rethinking the course schedule poses an administrative and cultural challenge. The schedule is, after all, the foundation on which the educational experience rests. Any solution that aims to improve how the schedule operates impacts the day-to-day activities of faculty, students, and administrators. Taking on this effort is both daunting and a journey, especially at sizable comprehensive institutions with diverse programs, disciplinary cultures, and a tendency towards decentralized management. This session will provide an overview of Platinum Analytics as well as some concrete examples of how Western Kentucky University is applying course demand analytics to improve the first year experience, encourage higher-order planning in general education offerings and increase efficiency and student alignment in departmental resource allocation.

Presenters: Sarah Collins, Chief Strategy Officer, Ad Astra Information SystemsDoug McElroy, Associate Vice President for Academic Enrichment and Effectiveness Western Kentucky UniversityJessica Steenbergen, Scheduling Applications Coordinator, Western Kentucky University

Breaking the trade-off between Cost and Quality Evergreen H

“Doing more with less,” while simultaneously uncovering avenues for growth, is the new normal for most state college and university leaders. Yet all too often, tough conversations about cost reductions and strategic investments yield drastic changes like shuttered programs, mandated minimum class sizes, and "hard and fast" faculty loads. In contrast, leading institutions have proven it is possible to target incremental unit-level shifts that -- in aggregate -- sum to a more favorable institution-wide cost of instruction without compromising the student experience. A precise understanding of capacity vs. demand and cost vs. outcomes, alongside contextualized peer benchmarks, has proven to be an effective, less draconian vehicle for change. Join a discussion about latent drivers of instructional costs and areas of hidden opportunity within academic departments.

Presenter: Melissa Boog, Salisbury University

The Role of Department Chairs in Supporting Student Success Evergreen EF

Department chairs play a significant role in shaping a culture where student success is the central focus of faculty and staff. Yet, this topic is rarely on the department chair training agenda, usually overshadowed by tips about faculty governance and lessons on budgeting. Even the most dedicated chair might not realize their potential for promoting student success. This session will make the case for the chairs’ role in today’s student success agenda and describe a workshop model that can be tailored to any campus to introduce chairs to the topic .

Presenters: Jo Arney, Director, Re-Imagining the First Year of College, American Association State Colleges and Universities Randy Swing, Consultant, Association for Institutional Research Jillian Kinzie, Associate Director, Center for Postsecondary Research and NSSE, Indiana University School of Education Tim Dale, Chair and Associate Professor, Political Science and Public Administration, University of Wisconsin – La Crosse

3:00 pm-3:45 pm

Concurrent Session IV

A Social Belonging Faculty Development Intervention Evergreen A

This session will present a social belonging intervention targeting faculty members teaching in the top ten enrolled first year courses at Fort Hays State University, a state comprehensive university in Hays, Kansas. The goal of the intervention is to increase the average percentage of underrepresented students earning grades of C or higher in these course sections. Faculty development training modules have been created using Curatr - a game-based social learning system. An incentive-driven implementation strategy will be used.

Presenters: Tim Crowley, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, Fort Hays State University Jeff Briggs, Interim Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs Fort Hays State University

Toward Institutional Change: A Holistic Approach to Student Success Evergreen B

Like many regional comprehensives, St. Cloud State University has seen downward trends in recruitment, retention, and four- and six-year graduation rates over the past several years that have had an impact on both budget and morale. In 2017, we made an intentional, institution-wide decision to reframe these challenges as opportunities to become a more student-centered university. In this presentation, we will share the current state of this still in-process shift, which includes examinations of both our early successes and missteps. We will focus in particular on how we improved partnerships between academic and student affairs to break down barriers to student success and promote students’ sense of belonging; created new spaces to engage in strategic enrollment management planning; and democratized our use of institutional data to empower faculty, staff, and administrators to identify and take ownership of opportunities to improve students’ experiences and outcomes.

Presenters: Glenn Davis, Interim Assistant Provost for University College, St. Cloud State University Daniel D. Gregory, Interim Assistant Provost, Vice President for Academic Affairs, St. Cloud State University

Academic Affairs and Student Affairs - Innovative Ways to Work Together to Embrace Student Success Evergreen C

Student Affairs and Academic Affairs can work together to positively affect the success of first-year students at institutions of higher education. However, the continued disconnection between academic affairs and student affairs may negatively affect first-year students. This session provides participants with "25 Ways to Connect Academic Affairs and Student Affairs", research-based strategies to promote student success for first-year students, and participants will have an opportunity to share strategies from their respective campuses.

Presenter: Jennifer Edwards, Associate Professor of Communication, Assistant Vice-President for Student Success and Multicultural Initiatives, Tarleton State University

“Put me in coach” – First-Year Success Coaching Utilizing a Case Management Model Seeking what it means to be a Teacher-Scholar in a Learner-Centered Evergreen I

In a collaborative effort, the Office of Student Success and Institutional Research at Central Michigan University completed a Success Coaching Program Analysis in 2017. This work led to improvement of efforts including the implementation of a CRM solution to better segment messaging, track all student outreach, interactions and appointments and implementation of a case management model with the Fall 2017 incoming class. The Program Analysis focused on the outcomes of success coaching as well as the risk factors often associated with early departure. An early “known” when launching the project is the numbers don’t work. Over fifty-percent of new students have one or more associated “risk factor.” The team integrated academic alerts with campus CARE reporting procedures to streamline reporting and improve efficiency. The session will describe the structure, lessons learned and early outcomes of the program.

Presenter: Evan Montague, Director of the Office of Student Success, Central Michigan University

Seeking what it means to be a Teacher-Scholar in a Learner-Centered Environment Cedar A

Seeking an adaptable definition of the Teacher-Scholar, academic leadership tasked directors of Teaching and Learning centers from five regional campuses of Indiana University to define, support, and reward teacher-scholars. The discussions that ensued revealed challenges and opportunities for each campus. From initial approaches to conclusions, each campus grappled with nuances and implications of definitions. Conversations with faculty invited (re)consideration of what each campus actually values and how each institution communicates these values to its faculty. In taking on the challenge of exploring the possibility of a definition that could transcend regional institutions, each campus embarked on a journey into the very essence of how each defines faculty-student engagement and how this in turn presented an opportunity to discuss what it means to support faculty in a learner-centered environment.

Presenters: Christopher Young, Director of the Center for Innovation and Scholarship in Teaching and Learning and Associate Professor of History, Indiana University Northwest Julie Saam, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Director of the Center for Teaching, Learning and Assessment, Indiana University Kokomo

GC Reads: Thinking Creatively about Common Reading programs Cedar B

At Georgia College, a small public liberal arts college in middle Georgia, all incoming first year students are asked to engage in a common reading experience. For many years, this program followed traditional models and provided each student a physical copy of a book at Summer orientation sessions, with the expectation that students engage with the text prior to coming to campus. However, program assessments revealed low participation among students and faculty. This session will describe a new common reading initiative, GC Reads, that aligns the common reader to open educational resources, institutional/liberal arts values, academic resources and tools, and embeds the common reader in first year curriculum in new, innovative ways. Presenters will also discuss aspirations and future opportunities of the program.

Presenters: Erin Weston, First Year Initiative Coordinator, Georgia College Jamie Addy, First Year Librarian, Georgia College

Integrating Noncognitive Skills into Student Success: Promising Practices Evergreen G

While many acknowledge the role of noncognitive skills in student success, institutions still struggle to identify ways to integrate noncognitive factors into strategy, policy, and practice. California State University-Fullerton will share lessons learned, strengths and challenges around holistic assessment, and impacts on student success practice. The session will provide an overview of assessment and implementation practices, detail how noncognitive assessments were used at CSU-Fullerton, as well as results related to strategy, practice, and student success. In particular, CSU will discuss: (a) the voice of the student through surveys and/or qualitative interviews; (b) advisor/coach experiences in working with students using an approach informed by noncognitive assessment; (c) how holistic advising affected the use and development of co-curricular resources; and (d) impacts on student success rates.

Presenters: Victoria Monaghan, Director of Strategic Initiatives in Higher Education, Educational Testing Service Mary Ann Villarreal, Associate Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, California State University-Fullerton Silvia Zamudio, Student Support Coordinator for the Office of First Year Experience, California State University-Fullerton

Using the New York Times to Promote Digital Information Literacy on Campus: A Case Study with Georgia College & State University Evergreen H

Navigating the vast digital landscape for credible information sources has becoming increasingly challenging for students. Georgia College & State University recently transitioned from a print readership program with The New York Times to a digital Site License Program to help address this issue. The Times is used both inside and outside their classrooms to help add relevancy and elevate the campus discourse. One very successful program on their campus is a weekly Times Talk program. Times Talk at Georgia College is entering its thirteenth year of offering a lively weekly campus-wide current events facilitated discussion which draws 40-70 participants every Wednesday at noon in their campus library. Discussions are facilitated by a different volunteer faculty, staff, student or local community member featuring a current/controversial topic and incorporating New York Times news or opinion articles. This session will provide an overview of The New York Times digital Site License Program and how it has been successfully incorporated at Georgia College to help meet their mission of educating engaged citizen-leaders.

Presenters: Janet Hoffman, Professor of Rhetoric, Georgia College & State University Kandace Rusnak, Director, B2B Digital Programs, The New York Times

Fostering a Student Success Culture Evergreen EF

In today’s political and social climate, many faculty and staff can become dispirited and overwhelmed by the amount of work they must attend to and the criticisms of higher education that bombard them regularly. In this session, we will discuss ways to engage colleagues in working together on larger institutional goals such as improving student success and supporting greater equity and inclusion. We will examine this question from the perspective of faculty and staff leadership as well as campus-wide leadership. Participants will engage in an exercise to identify how their own project or questions connect to one or more overarching institutional goals and priorities and how their interest might complement other efforts directed at a similar question or concern, discuss how to create some momentum and interest in the project by exploring what issues matter most to their colleagues. Participants will leave with a strategy to position their project with colleagues in order to more productively respond to external threats or potential threats that their institution is currently facing as well as address key institutional goals and priorities.

Presenter: Judith Ramaley, Portland State University

3:45 pm-4:00 pm Refreshment Break

4:00 pm-4:45 pm

Concurrent Session V

Retain and Sustain-Impacting Retention for Minority Males through Intentional and Intrusive Engagement Evergreen A

Winston Salem State University (WSSU) serves a high number of minority, low income, and first generation college students. The cumulative disadvantages of these students result from historical race and class inequities that converge to limit not only access to higher education; but also opportunities that allow them to persist once in college. Within this group, continued disparities of education attainment exist among minority males in relation to their female counterparts. The Retain and Sustain male mentoring program is part of the First Year Experience at WSSU. Long term goals of the program, are to effectively establish strategies that will empower minority male academic achievement. This session will share the results of our pilot project and provide effective strategies for engaging at risk minority male students.

Presenters: Theodis Chunn, Academic Success Counselor & Coordinator of the Freshman Male Initiative, Academic Affairs, Winston-Salem State University Joseph Baker, Pre-College Coordinator for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education (NC-MSEN Center), Winston-Salem State University

Connecting the Dots between International Student Recruitment and Retention through the Cultural Contribution Scholarship Evergreen B

In response to challenges currently facing the recruitment and retention of international students in today’s political climate, at Minnesota State University, Mankato, we have taken a unique approach toward facilitating these efforts. The Cultural Contribution Scholarship has become the tool through which the institution has increased international student enrollment from 564 in 2010 to almost 1,400 students today. The cultural contribution is supported at the Minnesota State System level and has enabled Minnesota State University, Mankato to develop self-supporting activities that merge academic and cultural activities. These provide international students with opportunities to acclimate into American culture while realizing success within the context of an institution of higher education. In effect, this creates a collaborative relationship that responds to the campus.

Presenter: Anne Dahlman, Acting Dean of Global Education, Chief International Officer, Minnesota State University Mankato

Shared Leadership in a Time of Growing Complexity: Moving from “Me” to “We” Evergreen C

We have entered a time of constant turbulence and change in higher education. Responding to these challenges will require new ways of working together, knowledge sharing and collaboration. While experienced leaders may have ideas of their own, they must learn to embrace concepts of shared leadership. In other words, they must move from “me” (my ideas) to “we” (our ideas). Leaders must learn how to cultivate

teams of people who share an interest in the issue and who have complementary experiences to develop a collective agenda. This approach builds ownership among the faculty and staff who are instrumental in implementing and sustaining the desired changes over time. Participants in this session will gain strategies for moving from “me” to “we” as campus change leaders.

Presenters: Susan Elrod, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Judith Ramaley, President Emerita and Distinguished Professor of Public Service, Portland State University

Measuring and Delivering the Optimal Course Schedule Evergreen I

Degree program roadmaps provide the student with a sample path towards graduation. When used with the appropriate software and an appropriate method to collect and display course demand data, these roadmaps can inform the build of a schedule that best fits student demand, while preserving the student’s choice to deviate from the default roadmap in ways that still ensure optimal graduation time. In this presentation, we outline the process used at CSU, San Marcos to measure student course demand accurately, to offer a course schedule that best meets student demand, and to assign instructional resources to colleges (FTES targets and dollars) in a way that meets student course demand.

Presenter: Kamel Haddad, Vice Provost in Planning and Academic Resources, California State University, San Marcos

Let's Do Something Different Evergreen H

As part of an RFY HIP grant, I investigated moving students in a mathematics class from “drill and kill” to “discussion and engagement.” Students need to discuss and attempt rather than copy and follow. In a world of electrics where math problems can be solved for you, students need to engage in the process of solving problems. They need to learn to discuss the “how” and “why” of solving a problem instead of just asking “what” is the solution. In this session we will look at group activities and questioning strategies to help students engage in the “how” and “why” of problem solving so they can find the solution.

Presenter: Stacia Prince, Coordinator of Teacher Preparation Programs, Stephen F. Austin State University

The Pitfalls and Potentials of Academic Departmental Reorganizations Cedar A

This session will describe the factors and process considered in creating and implementing an academic department reorganization at Chadron State College. First, these will include internal and external factors that led administration to consider a reorganization. Second, the decision-making process that transpired will also be discussed, including a variety of possible structures and their effect on student learning. We will describe the stakeholders and constituents involved, as well as the degree of their involvement. Third, we will discuss the rationale for the reorganization, including the type of structure agreed upon, the timeline of implementation, budgetary considerations, and impact upon student and organizational learning. Fourth, troublesome points will also be outlined. The prospective provided is from the Vice President for Academic Affairs and a Dean.

Presenters: Joel Hyer, Academic Dean, Chadron State College Charles Snare, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Chadron State College

Teacher Education Shortage and The Winona State University Education Village Project: Transformation of Teacher Education Cedar B

Winona State University is one of the 14 NExT Teacher Education Initiatives funded by the Archibald Bush Foundation. This transformation gift served as the impetus for teacher preparation changes in curriculum, College of Education organizational structure, and environment as teacher. The Education Village is a culmination of years of work leading to the innovative curriculum delivery and renovation of three buildings as an education campus dedicated to preparing teachers, counselors, and educational leaders for the future. This session will provide a timeline for change and engage the audience to consider possibilities for the future.

Presenter: Tarrell Portman, Professor in Counselor Education and Dean of the College of Education Winona State University

Re-Imagining the First Year as a Foundation for Culture Change Evergreen EF

AASCU’s three-year RFY project has provided our 44 campuses with countless ideas, resources, and networks to put to work for the mission of student success. Now what? Many of us have started trying out some ideas, drawing on resources, and tapping networks to launch initiatives on our campuses, and we can continue doing so to create the best possible environments for student success. None of our efforts will go very far, however, if we do not have positive, powerful cultures of student success on our campuses. In this session, three leaders of RFY Campus Innovation Teams will reflect on ways they have leveraged RFY as a starting point for crafting cultures of student success on their campuses. Participants will have opportunities to share their own reflections and ask questions of the candidates and one another.

Presenters: Mark Canada, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, IU KokomoLinda Van-Goad, Provost, and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Framingham State UniversityMark Gumble, Assistant Vice President for Learning Support Services, University of Central FloridaRandy Swing, Consultant, Association for Institutional Research

4:00 pm - 5:00 PM World Education Services (WES) Reception (invitation - only) Balsam room

5:30 pm -7:00 pm (invitation-only) Provosts Reception & Program Grand Ballroom I

7:00-8:30 pm Provosts Dinner (invitation only) Cedar Ballroom

A special offering for all current and emerita Chief Academic Officers or Provosts, including those serving in an interim capacity with discussion led by Dr. Emile “Mel” Netzhammer.

Saturday, July 28 8:00 am-3:00 pm Registration

Grand Ballroom Foyer

7:30 am-8:45 am Breakfast Grand Ballroom IJK

7:30-8:45 am Provosts Breakfast Cedar Ballroom

9:00 am-12:00 pm Provosts Program Cedar Ballroom A special offering for all current and emerita Chief Academic Officers or Provosts, including those serving in an interim capacity

9:00 am-3:00 pm Grants Resource Center Private Consultations (reservation required) Juniper

9:00 am-9:45 am

Concurrent Session VI

Building Campus-Wide Commitment to College Completion and Career Success Evergreen A

This presentation will explore the intentional practices to build a campus wide commitment to college completion and career preparation implemented by Harris-Stowe State University. The presenter will share how collaborative partnerships with the AASCU Re-Imagine First Year initiative and other organizations have created multiple pathways for student success from first year through college completion to gainful employment.

Presenter: Dr. LaTonia Collins Smith, Associate Provost, Harris-Stowe State University

Transforming Student Engagement through Community-Based Arts and Humanities Evergreen B

Motivation and academic integration are crucial factors for the success of first-generation college students. With support of the Provost's office, faculty at our university have developed community-based projects in the arts and the humanities intended to increase student engagement in the curriculum. In this presentation, we discuss two of these initiatives: (1) the Inclusion Poster Project, in which Art and Design students created site-specific installations displaying messages of diversity and inclusion to our campus community, and (2) the Intergenerational Learning Collaborative, an effort that brings students together with adults in their 70s and 80s for semester-long discussions of issues in philosophy and other disciplines. We show how these and other projects-in-progress have contributed to greater engagement among the students at our university.

Presenters: Tim Connolly, Professor and Co-chair of the Modern Languages, Philosophy and Religion Department, East Stroudsburg University David Mazure, Associate Professor of Art + Design, East Stroudsburg University

Coordinated Care: A Collaboration between Fitchburg State University's Academic Affairs and Student Affairs Divisions Evergreen C

Fitchburg State University has built a successful collaboration between its Academic Affairs and Student Affairs divisions around a coordinated care model. This last academic year, the University expanded its "CARE Team" so that it could perform "academic well-being" checks, and it created a committee structure for the review of suspension and dismissal appeals. One important outgrowth of the collaboration was the analysis and eventual revision of our probation, suspension, and dismissal policies.

Presenters: Sean Goodlett, Assistant to the Provost for Student Success, Fitchburg State University William Cummings, Dean of Students, Fitchburg State University

Linking Silos for the Student: Designing an Academic Support Network Evergreen G

One thing we know about the academic experience at California Polytechnic State University is that students engage in a variety of support services, whether through a department, college, or campus-wide program, and access to those services is often more helter-skelter and less systematic. We saw opportunity in that fragmented system and sought to enhance support services by applying a network mindset. In this presentation, we will share our process for understanding how the complex web of academic support operated through the identification of support programs (nodes), the evaluation of how those programs were connected (links), and the analysis of gaps in services (broken links). The results have helped us design a more intentional hub for academic support services that creates a clearer path for student success.

Presenter: Dawn Janke, Director of Cal Poly's University Writing and Rhetoric Center, Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo Beth Merritt Miller, Assistant Vice Provost for University Advising, Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo Brian Tietje, Vice Provost of International, Graduate and Extended Education Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo

Using the First Year Experience -FYE3 (Empower, Engage, Explore) For Retention Efforts at a Historically Black College and University. Evergreen H

The Winston-Salem State University’s First Year Experience (FYE) program is part of the Reimagining the First Year Experience Project; a yearlong initiative designed to improve student success outcomes for freshmen. The program explores campus resources, empowers students, and engages them in discussions around social justice issues. In the Spring Semester, students complete signature projects related to the tenets of social justice. The body of research on first year seminar courses indicates that persistence and degree attainment increases as a result of the implementation of these courses (Porter and Swing, 2006); Passarella and Terenzini, 2005). Evidence also suggests these courses benefit students across all demographics by increasing student-faculty interaction, involvement in co-curricular activities, and academic satisfaction. This session describes the program, challenges, and opportunities for success.

Presenters: Natasha Jeter, Director of First Year Experience, Winston-Salem State University Sonya Melton, Academic Success Counselor, Winston-Salem State University

Theodis Chunn, Academic Success Counselor & Coordinator of the Freshman Male Initiative, Winston-Salem State University

Designing a New Way to Communicate the Quality, Relevance, and Value of Higher Education: The Essential Employability Qualities Certification Evergreen I

A growing body of research reveals significant gaps between what college students learn and what they need to be successful in careers. Employers frequently express dissatisfaction with graduates they hire, indicating that they lack “soft skills.” What graduates need are in fact a set of Essential Employability Qualities, including people skills such as collaboration, teamwork, and cultural competence; problem-solving abilities such as inquiry, critical thinking, and creativity; and professional strengths such as communication, work ethic, and technological agility. The Quality Assurance Commons partnered with 27 academic programs from 14 institutions to design the Essential Employability Qualities Certification, or EEQ CERT. It is a new approach for assuring and communicating program quality, relevance, and value by directly addressing student preparation for the dynamic world of work of the 21st century.

Presenter: Melanie Booth, Executive Director, The Quality Assurance Commons for Higher & Postsecondary Education

Flipping an Entry Level Mathematics Course Evergreen EF

We briefly describe the implementation of a flipped classroom for an introductory algebra course and go on to describe student usage patterns with regards to course resources (videos, pre-class assessments) as well as student attitudes toward those resources. Additionally, we examine longer term outcomes for students in this course, including grades and persistence in taking their next math courses. Finally, we describe how this research is informing the next revision of course design.

Presenters: Paul Krouss, Professor of Mathematics, Washington State University Vancouver June Canty, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Washington State University Vancouver

10:00 am-10:45 am

Concurrent Session VII

Ashland, Oregon, HIPsters Evergreen A

This panel presents ongoing work using High Impact Practices at Southern Oregon University, a Re-Imagining the First Year campus supported by funding from AASCU. Two presentations describe work on first-year general education courses and collaboration with library, faculty, and instructional support colleagues. Both describe the work of framing a "big idea" and more finely-grained scaffolding of shorter assignments toward a larger goal. The revision of Language in the USA involved the main writing assignment and its connection to a take-home examination on research skills. The creation of Introduction to Geographic Information Systems will utilize structured reflections to track development of skills and connection of concepts to other courses. The final presentation discusses the implementation of active and team-based learning strategies to enhance classroom engagement and learning outcomes.

Presenters: Edwin Battistella, Professor of English, Southern Oregon University

Jaime Trammel, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, Southern Oregon University Paul Condon, Assistant Professor of Psychology

These Times Are Changing: Focusing on Student Success While Transforming from a Junior College to a Regional University Evergreen B

How can we focus on student success during times of great change? Dixie State University in the fastest growing university in Utah. Over the past fifteen years the institution has transformed from a small junior college with less than 3,000 students to a regional university of nearly 10,000 students. In this session we will share how the Reimagining the First Year initiative has helped DSU focus on student success by improving orientation, first year experience, reforming general education, redesigning developmental education, embedding active learning into the curriculum, implementing a caseload advisement model, and implementing a systemized plan for data informed decision making across campus.

Presenters: Nancy Hauck, Associate Provost, Dixie State University Jeff Hoyt, Assistant VP of Student Affairs, Dixie State University Bruce Harris, Executive Director of Academic Innovation and Leadership and the Director of the Center for Teaching & Learning, Dixie State University

Political Ideology Diagnostic: A Tool for Reframing Political Discourse Evergreen C

Although we live in an increasingly polarized political climate, we are complex individuals with the capacity to embrace multiple, sometimes conflicting political perspectives. This session introduces a Political Ideology Diagnostic that confronts dysfunctional polarization in our classrooms, on our campuses, and in our communities. The diagnostic provides an online tool that we believe effectively replaces the linear spectrum “left” to “right” approach to exploring ideological differences. The two-dimensional nature of the diagnostic fosters greater critical thinking and de-briefing provides users with opportunities to explore dissonance generated by their own results. After giving session participants the opportunity to work directly with the diagnostic, we then explain the framework in greater detail. We conclude the session by demonstrating hands-on applications of the diagnostic that we have developed.

Presenters: Kimberly Schmidl-Gagne, Program Manager for accreditation processes and for diversity and multicultural student initiative, Keene State College Patrick Dolenc, Lead Scholar for the AASCU Economic Inequality Blended Learning Course, Keene State College

An unexpected retention win: Helping under-competitive students find a “Plan B” Evergreen G

Each fall, about 400 first-year students arrive at NAU’s Flagstaff campus, aspiring to a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing. When they apply a year later, they vie for only 30 seats. Anxiety abounds in this student population throughout their first year; unsurprisingly, they retain to the university at lower-than-average rates. Using data to identify “under-competitive” students early, NAU intervened with a course which challenged students to develop a “parallel plan” for a major. Rather than “scare students off” to other universities’ nursing programs, this course improved retention rates by nearly 10%. Context, course content, and intervention ethos will be discussed.

Presenters: Melissa Welker, Executive Director of Student Success, Northern Arizona University Alicia Krzyczkowski, Assistant Director, First Year Experience, Northern Arizona University

John Dewey’s “Busy Workshop” and Urban Agriculture: Capacity-Building in STEM for Undergraduates at UNT Dallas Evergreen H

This presentation focuses on the new Urban Agriculture initiative at UNT Dallas, a collaborative partnership with El Centro College designed to advance STEM skills among undergraduate students. Funded by the Department of Agriculture, the program draws on John Dewey’s concepts of the “busy workshop” to create an interactive laboratory that promotes engaged and applied approaches to biology, agriculture, public health, information technology, and mathematics. This presentation also highlights the role of success coaching, cohort advising, and pedagogical research in student motivation and program design.

Presenter: Glenda Balas, Professor of Communication and Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, UNT Dallas

Change in a Minority Serving Urban Institution Evergreen I

The term “change” in New Jersey City University, a minority-serving urban institution, means both opportunities and challenges. From the students’ point of view “change” presents opportunities, such as flexible schedules, distance learning, different pathways, career planning, cutting-edge programs, and diverse curriculum. From the faculties’ point of view “change” can be viewed as challenge which often requires adaptation to the newly induced expectations in a short period. Because, “change” may demand utilizing new technologies, facilitating new pedagogical requirements, implementing new assessments methods, and developing new programs and curriculum maps to address ever-changing job-markets’ demands. From the administrators’ point of view, however, “change” conveys both opportunities and challenges, such as: developing new academic procedures and policies, finding necessary resources to implement and sustain new initiatives, and ultimately recruiting and retaining new student demography.

Presenters: Nurdan Duzgoren-Aydin, interim Assistant Provost for Academic Affairs, New Jersey City University NJCU Frontier Set Core Team, New Jersey City University Daniel J. Julius, Provost and Senior Vice President, New Jersey City University

10:45 am-11:00 am Refreshment Break

11:00 am-12:15 pm

Concurrent Session VIII

Celebrating Undergraduate Research: Successes and Lessons Learned in Hosting NCUR 2018 Evergreen A

The University of Central Oklahoma (UCO), a predominately undergraduate institution of more than 16,000 students, was selected to host the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) in April 2018. This session chronicles UCO’s experience as the host institution, from the submission of its bid to host NCUR through the post-conference wrap up, with commentary from the principal colleagues involved in the process, including the Provost and co-Chairs of the NCUR 2018 Planning Committee. As the premier event for student-centered research in the country, NCUR typically exceeds 4,000 participants and the multi-year planning process for NCUR 2018 engaged every campus division. This session should interest anyone

considering hosting an NCUR conference in the future, as well as attendees interested in expanding their campus involvement with NCUR.

Presenters: John Barthell, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, University of Central Oklahoma Dana Hardwick-Jackson, Assistant Director of the Office of High Impact Practices, University of Central Oklahoma

Opportunities for the RFY Institution: High-Impact Practices for the First Year Learning Community Evergreen EF

Research has shown that High-Impact Practices (HIPs) significantly increase the likelihood of student success when implemented in the college classroom (Kuh, 2008). They serve to improve engagement with both course content and the university community, and ultimately lead to increased retention of the first-year student. During this session, we will discuss using HIPs in the first-year learning community to foster both personal and academic success in college freshmen at an RFY institution. In this cross-disciplinary collaboration, we will discussion how we reinforce critical thinking and course engagement using HIPs across courses in the Mathematics and Communication disciplines. HIPs discussed will include integrating collaborative assignments, common intellectual experiences, intensive writing, undergraduate research and diversity, into the basic communication and mathematics courses.

Presenters: Sara Holmes, Program Coordinator and Lecturer of Communication and Technology, University of North Texas at Dallas Richard Chandler, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, University of North Texas at Dallas

We Define the Future: A Collaborative Approach to the Changing Landscape at CSUSB Evergreen B

It is no surprise, the divisions of academic affairs and student affairs often work in silos. Last year, our campus launched a new brand identity, We Define the Future. “We Define the Future” is more than a tagline. It is our promise that we will be a partner in changing the landscape of our region for the better for generations to come. It promises Bold Vision, Coyote Pride, Affordable Excellence, Life and Career Ready and Human Impact. These promises are being delivered through strategically placing our academic and student affairs teams together. This presentation will highlight some of our collaborative activities including our African–American Recruitment and Retention Task Force, Faculty in Residence Program, Athletics Honor a Faculty Member Program and Career Center Internship Program

Presenters: Shari McMahan, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, CSU San Bernardino Brian Haynes, Vice President for Student Affairs, CSU San Bernardino

First Ever First-Year Student Adjustment to College: Cultivating Community, Voice, and Place for First-Year Students at GSU Evergreen C

In Fall 2014 Governors State University (GSU) welcomed its first freshman class of 242 students. GSU incorporated four high impact practices—learning communities, first-year seminars, common intellectual experiences, and writing intensive courses—aimed at improving student learning. These practices have proven beneficial for first-generation students who come from economically-challenged communities and/or identify as students of color, the “new majority” student population representative of GSU. This longitudinal project investigates students’ perspectives on factors that influenced their college experiences, with particular

attention to the results from a qualitative analysis on the learning community model in this newly-formed four-year institution. This paper will discuss how students are shaped by their high school preparation and cultural backgrounds as they navigate first college experiences with peer and faculty relationships.

Presenters: Amy Vujaklija, Governors State University Jayne Goode, Governors State University Jelena Radovic-Fanta, Assistant Professor, Governors State University

Student Success through the Lens of Literature: The Sequel Evergreen G

This is the second part of a dynamic presentation that utilizes quotes from literature to emphasize crucial aspects of developing, implementing, improving, sustaining, and celebrating a comprehensive campus-wide student success initiative. While, the first installment featured early alert systems, appropriate professional attitudes, and decreasing the distance between what an institution knows and what it does, the sequel highlights belonging, inclusion, data analytics and much more. Attendees should be ready to learn best practices, explore new ideas, and laugh at real life scenarios.

Presenter: Vincent Windrow, Middle Tennessee State University

Turning the challenge of state-mandated corequisite courses into an opportunity to improve developmental education Evergreen H

In Fall 2018 Texas will require all 2- and 4-year institutions to phase in corequisite remediation as a replacement for all developmental education courses. While the challenge for 2-year colleges is certainly more pronounced than for 4-year institutions, all higher education institutions are scrambling to meet the mandate before the deadline. At Sam Houston State University, we approached this transition as an opportunity to improve several aspects of student success for first-year mathematics students. This presentation will include a description of our corequisite model and the necessary resources, some early results from a one-year pilot, as well as a description of other efforts to improve student success in gateway courses.

Presenter: Brian Loft, Site Team Coordinator, SHSU Frontier Set, Sam Houston State UniversitySusanna Shupp, Program Coordinator for Developmental Education, Sam Houston State University

Creating an HIP-Focused Faculty Learning Community Evergreen I

12:30 pm-1:45 pm Featured Lunch

Opportunities Uncovered with Course Scheduling Evergreen A

In this session two AASCU institutions will discuss how they turned to the course schedule to respond to enrollment trends, capacity constraints, budget cuts and curriculum changes, and how they got the buy-in across their campuses to implement change. Ad Astra will also provide insights from the Higher Education Scheduling Index peer database on the efficiency and effectiveness of course scheduling and resource utilization

Presenters: Amy Bippus, Vice Provost for Planning and Budget, Cal State Los Angeles Lisa Hunter, Associate Provost for Curriculum, Assessment, and Academic Support, SUNY Fredonia

Selecting the Freshman Experience: A Multiple Guided Pathway Approach Evergreen B

Students enter college with many diverse strengths, weaknesses, and needs. The peril of the past has been one size-fits-all approach to application, integration, acclimation, and matriculation – or too often, devastation. This session presents one university’s development of specially-focused pathways that allow students’ choice. The Intercultural Student Engagement Center (ISEC) Academy focuses on cultural, social, and academic aspects of first-year students who identify as students of color and/or who are first generation, Pell eligible, and have some academic need. The second is the Freshman Guided Pathway designed for students with mid-range (18-25) ACT scores, who are first generation, and receive no institutional merit scholarships. The pillars of this Pathway include getting connected; getting educated; and getting rewarded. This session is designed to be informative and collaborative.

Presenter: Barbara Burch, Faculty Regent, Professor/Provost Emerita, Western Kentucky University Pamela Petty, Professor and Assistant Director, Institute for Transformative Practice in Higher Education, Western Kentucky UniversityDaniel Super, Assistant Professor, and Director of Institute for Transformative Practice in Higher Education, Western Kentucky University

Conflict Resolution for Managers and Supervisors: Bringing People Together - A Realistic Case Study Evergreen C

This workshop is designed to help participants define their role in mediating conflict and refine skills through application and practice. Utilizing a case study approach, Dr. Caldwell will provide an intense immersive experience for attendees, who will walk away with a defined set of best practices and ideas for rehearsing techniques with colleagues in a productive manner.

Presenter: Michael Caldwell, Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs, California State Los Angeles

Helping Faculty Help Students: Northern Arizona University’s Faculty Professional Development Efforts Evergreen G

Faculty members are critical to the success of students. As part of the Re-Imagine the First Year initiative, Northern Arizona University is developing an enduring culture of student success through comprehensive faculty professional development programming. This session will highlight 1.) our partnership with ACUE to support faculty members’ development of evidence-based teaching practices, 2.) our locally-developed Persistence Scholars Program that is focused on engaging faculty in the scholarship of academic persistence, addressing myths and misconceptions about persistence, and expanding their understanding of what it is like to be a first-year student at our university, and 3.) our programming that aims to increase faculty members’ understanding of the common and unique needs of our diverse student population, including culturally diverse, first-generation, high-performing, and at-risk students.

Presenters: K. Laurie Dickson, Vice Provost and Professor of Psychological Sciences, Northern Arizona University Flower Darby,Vice Provost and Professor of Psychological Sciences, Northern Arizona University

RFY to OMG to A-OK: Weathering the Storm of GI 2025 in Southern CaliforniaEvergreen H

California State University, Northridge, was one of the seven California teams chosen to participate in Re-imagining the First Year of College (RFY). But six months into our three-year commitment, we were blindsided when the California State University system announced its own set of goals for all 23 campuses, laying out graduation improvement targets so ambitious that not even the hyperbolic language of text messaging could adequately capture initial campus reactions (hence “OMG”). In this session, our team shares what we’ve accomplished at CSUN by combining RFY momentum and efforts with the CSU system’s mandate for our students. RFY is ending this summer but our work will continue beyond RFY.

Presenters: Cheryl Spector, English professor and the Director of Academic First Year Experiences, California State University, Northridge Helen Heinrich, Director of Data and Analytics for Academic Technology, California State University, Northridge

Leading Across Divisions: Building Capacity and Resiliency in the Face of Change Evergreen I

The Vice Presidents at the University of Northern Iowa have worked to build processes and systems of collaboration across all three divisions, as well as to shift the culture towards increased interaction and interrelationship. Leadership philosophy and principles will be shared during this session, as well as examples of developing campus-wide capacity for this type of synergy. Additionally, a discussion of the importance of regular interaction between the Vice Presidents will be discussed. Ultimately, the goal of this elevated emphasis on partnerships and teamwork is to proactively prepare for change and build resiliency across the campus.

Presenters: Jim Wohlpart, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Northern Iowa Paula Knudson, Vice President for Student Affairs, University of Northern Iowa Michael Hager, Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations, University of Northern Iowa

Putting Finance in the Service of Student Success Evergreen EF

Institutions today are presented with a large menu of potential initiatives that might impact student success. Those large expenditure requests, however, too often come without an understanding of total cost and the potential return on investment. This session will share current research from rpk GROUP on capturing ROI from student success initiatives. Participants will learn how this framing and analysis allows institutions to make more strategic investments, support smart reallocation, and enhance transparency, communication and accountability. Case studies examples will be provided, including research on new advising models, open educational resources, and competency based education models.

Presenter: Brian Setser, RPK Group

2:00 pm-2:45 pm

Concurrent Session IX

Facing the Challenge of low completion rate courses Evergreen A

Low completion rate courses present clear opportunities to disrupt pedagogical norms. At Indiana University Southeast, our faculty and administration worked together to reduce DFW rates in targeted courses by implementing co-requisites in lower level writing (W130 & W131) and lower level math (with the corresponding credit bearing math course). In a separate set of initiatives, faculty targeted the high DFW rate in Accounting (A201) and Anatomy (A215). In three of the four areas, there was a significant reduction in the unproductive credit rate, however, we also encountered some challenges that serve as cautionary tales. Provost and Senior Vice President

Presenters: Donna Dahlgren, Dean of Student Success and Persistence, Indiana University Southeast Angela Salas, Indiana University Southeast, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Honors Program Director

Capitalizing on Professional Development Opportunities for Continuous Conversation on Quality Evergreen C

Through initiating two series of events each semester, the Department of Institutional Effectiveness and Research at Texas A&M University-Commerce conducts professional development opportunities for faculty and staff offering skills, knowledge, and best practices in active workshop settings. These opportunities are designed to strengthen the growth of existing efforts and utilization of data to inform decision making and engage faculty and staff in an ongoing conversation regarding assessment and educational quality. These rolling event series are informed by feedback and provide a forum for training related to emerging topics in assessment, strategic planning, utilization of data, policy analysis, and best practices in data. A&M-Commerce expanded these conversations by developing the inaugural Quality Day training for approximately 120 faculty and staff representing every area of the institution.

Presenters: Natalia Assis, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Institutional Effectiveness and Research,Texas A&M University-Commerce Shonda Gibson, Associate Provost for Institutional Effectiveness and SACSCOC Accreditation Liaison, Texas A&M-Commerce

Incorporating Teaching Fellows to Support Student Engagement and Success for First Year Students Evergreen G

Student engagement and peer mentoring are critical components to support student success and retention. This session will provide an overview of the programmatic structure needed to effectively implement a Teaching Fellows Program as a component of the First Year Experience. The Teaching Fellows Program supports high impact practices and engage both the first year student and the peer mentor. The Teaching Fellows serve as teaching assistants in the First Year Seminar Course during the fall semester. They continue serving as peer mentors to that same cohort of students during the spring semester. This session will provide the essential elements, key stakeholders, training components and the programmatic structure to successfully incorporate a Teaching Fellows Program at your institution.

Presenters:Kesha Lee, Executive Director for Student Academic Success, North Carolina Central UniversityMonica Leach, Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for the Division of Enrollment Management and Academic Affairs, North Carolina Central University

Changing an Introductory STEM Course in Response to the Changing Landscape of Higher Education Evergreen H

As part of the AASCU-RFY Project at Framingham State University, Biology and Sociology faculty collaborated to incorporate high-impact practices into an introductory biology course to better support first-generation students, low-income students, and students of color. We created a curriculum that aims to: 1) develop students’ science identity, and 2) develop students’ understanding of the social implications of genetic diversity. For our first objective, professional biologists of different cultural and racial backgrounds shared stories of their career paths with the students. Students reflected on these conversations and on their own identity as scientists. For our second objective, students analyzed their own DNA and explored and the relationship between science, society, and social justice. This interdisciplinary collaboration made introductory biology more relevant to our students.

Presenters: Rebecca Shearman, Associate Professor in the Biology Department, Framingham State University Lina Rincón, Assistant Professor in the Sociology, Framingham State University

3:00 pm-5:00 pm Closing Plenary and Reception “Opportunities Disguised as Challenges: Student Success Past, Present and Future” Grand Ballroom

The closing plenary will have trivia and a Ted-like talk with themes of past present and future: delineating the actions/policies that campuses engage in that do not help students (past); review what we have learned over the past few years; and what we need to prepare for in the coming years.

Presenters: George Mehaffy, Vice President, Academic Leadership and Change, AASCU Jo Arney, Director, Re-Imagining the First Year of College, AASCU Jillian Kinzie, Associate Director, Center for Postsecondary Research and NSSE, Indiana University School of Education Tim Dale, Chair and Associate Professor, Political Science and Public Administration, University of Wisconsin – La CrosseMark Morales, Undergraduate Student, University of Wisconsin, La Crosse.

Meeting Adjourned