Concurrent and Roundtable Sessions

Dealing with Difficult Students: An Organizational Approach

LOCATION - Colorado

Presented by: Melanie  W. Thornton, Ed.D., Vice President of Academic Affairs, Columbus Technical College, Columbus, Georgia

If your college department, division, or unit experiences a high volume of student complaints then it may be time to examine your organizational process. Institutions of higher learning exist to promote educational opportunities, skills, and enlightenment for citizens.  As such, we need to minimize student stress without creating a culture of entitlement. Through the use of discussion and case studies, this session will provide avenues for leveraging the organizational chart to manage and reduce student conflict from the classroom to the corner office.

The attendees will benefit by:

• Discovering the weakest link in the organizational process for student complaints.
• Understand the role of organizational structure in mediating complaints.
• Obtain strategies to mediate student complaints.
• Improve their understanding of student stress
• Minimize student complaints

Faculty Onboarding, Training and Development That Leads to Improved Student Experience

LOCATION - Denver

Presented by: Michelle Hutt, Associate Dean, School of Business, IT and Management, Durham College, Oshawa, Ontario, Marianne Marando, Executive Dean, School of Business, IT and Management, Durham College, Oshawa, Ontario

In an increasingly competitive post-secondary environment, a commitment to excellence in teaching and learning combined with student experience have become the differentiator. Faculty and curriculum are a key aspect of what determines the quality and experience of your program.  Find out how an enhanced approach toward hiring practices and the engagement tactics for your contract compliment will organically foster an improved student experience.

Learn more about how to design an organized process toward employee acquisition and identify key operational tactics that will contribute to meeting the over-all strategic institutional goal of improved student experience.

This session will discuss a high level approach to the contract faculty recruitment, orientation, engagement, and employee interaction that is used at Durham Colleges' School of Business, IT and Management.

• Rigorous recruitment and orientation
• Recruitment checklist
• Program and School Connections (Mentorship)
• Jump Start Faculty enrichment
• Classroom interaction and continuous semester development

Start Strong: Creating a Habit of Student Success

LOCATION - Spruce

Presented by: Margo Keys, VP Student Services, Chippewa Valley Technical College, Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Join this session to learn how Chippewa Valley Technical College refined student persistence and completion efforts into a learning module to help students "Start Strong" in their degree programs.  Together teams from Student Services and Instruction created a short learning module filled with essential persistence and completion principles.  Students learn and explore concepts in growth mindset, locus of control, and the benefit of feedback.  Faculty integrate these discussions and activities into the first weeks of the term.  This approach embeds these concepts into core degree courses, orients students to learning support and student development resources, and is a proactive approach to helping students start strong so they can successfully complete their degree.

Learning objectives:

• Gain knowledge of the Start Strong project at CVTC
• Analyze CVTC's approach to embed student success concepts into the classroom
• Examine the student persistence and completion principles used in the project
• Investigate if this approach can be replicated at your college.

Enhancing career opportunities in underserved communities through academic-workforce programmatic partnerships.

LOCATION - Century

Presented by: Felix  Cardona, Dean, academic affairs, Hostos Community College, Bronx, New York

Creating an academic environment that retains students to degree completion while simultaneously creating pathways for career development and employment is a major priority of institutions of higher education, particularly those charged with the mission of enhancing opportunities for underserved communities.  This session will provide guidelines and case examples for developing collaborative initiatives between distinct mission driven divisions within an institution.   These include, examining divisional priorities and identifying areas of potential synergy to develop programmatic initiatives that serve to integrate current short term labor market opportunities with ladders to academic degrees designed to enhance completion and degree attainment. 

The attendees will benefit by:

• Acquire a better understanding of how to identify cross divisional  priorities within an institution.
• Obtain an appreciation for the importance of a planning process for divisional collaboration.
• Strategically anticipate and consider academic governance issues in developing new initiatives.
• Develop practical models for collaborative funding of initiatives between academic and workforce divisions.
• The significance of incorporating academic departments at key junctures of the discussions.

Increasing Organizational Trust

LOCATION - Gold

Josh Baker, Vice President of Instructional Services, Pikes Peak Community College, Colorado Springs, CO

Organizational trust refers to the tendency of members of a group to trust each other. Institutions with higher levels of organizational trust tend to experience increase production, innovation, flexibility, and collaboration. It is clearly one of the most desired characteristics of a work atmosphere, but can be difficult to change. The presenter will reflect on lessons learned from his dissertation and then lead small group reflections and conversations.

Participants will:

• Consider and discuss evidence-based practices that affect culture.

• Reflect on personal leadership philosophy and practices and consider opportunities for improvement.

• Identify opportunities to increase organizational trust at their college.

New Student Success Game Changer: Engaging and Supporting Faculty to Improve

LOCATION - Silver

Presented by: Misty Evans, English Instructor, Murray State University, Murray, KY, Julie Johnson, EdD., Chief Academic Officer, Faculty Guild, Arlington, Virginia

Faculty are key to improving student success, yet not enough attention is given to supporting faculty, both full-time and adjunct, and providing tools to enhance their instructional approach. A relatively new model of personalized and cohort-based professional development, stemming from a multi-year, foundation-funded, national research project, is showing great gains as an essential resource. This model, as documented in the book, Taking College Teaching Seriously: Pedagogy Matters!, focuses on cohort learning, individual reflection, and direct application. This session will explore the model's applicability to high impact success strategies, such as remediation reform, guided pathways, outcomes based funding, equity initiatives, and more, in order to better meet the needs of today's faculty and students.

Audience members will:

• Realize the relevancy of faculty and instruction to key student success strategies
• Understand this model of personalized professional development
• Consider possible application of this model to their classrooms and institutions 
• Consider potential integration of this model into student success strategies

Reaching our Leadership Potential Through Essentialist Practice

LOCATION - Tower Court A

Presented by: Bernadette Montoya, Vice President, Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico

Do you want to accomplish more in less time?  Are you focusing on those things in your work that are truly essential?  This session is intended to provide useful strategies that will enable a deeper exploration of how doing less can help us to accomplish more in our work as leaders.  With the foundation being taken from the book entitled, Essentialism by Greg McKeown.

Attendees will benefit by:

• Exploring what is essential, what is trivial
• Visualizing an essentialist mind set
• Creating simple strategies to implement essentialist leadership

Building an Engaged Faculty Invested in Active Learning Strategies

LOCATION - Tower Court B

Presented by: Lee H Grimes, Ed.D., Executive Director, Center for Teaching & Learning, Tarrant County College, Fort Worth, TX,  William Torres, Instructional Design Specialist, Tarrant County College,  Fort Worth, TX, James Gills, Instructional Technology Manager, Tarrant County College,  Fort Worth, TX, Catherine Pena, Educational and Leadership Consultant, Jobs for the Future, McAllen, TX

Tarrant County College (TCC) has partnered with Jobs for the Future (JFF) to create an Active Learning Academy designed to help faculty become leaders in active learning. This year-long, cohort-based program brings faculty from across the college together to discuss and practice six specific and intentional strategies to increase student engagement and understanding of course content. Through regular academy sessions and classroom observations, faculty form a community of practice and gain invaluable knowledge and experience to enhance their teaching.

The attendees will benefit by:
• Learning TCC's approach to implementing a program which supports active learning strategies.
• Understanding the development and research-based strategies curated by JFF and implemented at TCC.
• Obtaining strategies for implementing teaching-based professional development programs at higher education institutions.
• Discovering ways to leverage external expertise and build internal capacity.
• Learning ways to get buy-in and support from administration and faculty to implement professional development programs.

No session at this time

LOCATION - Tower Court C

Reaching Across to Reach New Heights-Building Organizational Bridges through Mentoring Relationships

LOCATION - Colorado

Presented by: Heather Schmidt Albinger, Faculty, Waukesha County Technical College, Pewaukee, Wisconsin, Chris Daood, Dean Student Support, Waukesha County Technical College, Pewaukee, WI,

There are plenty of examples of Faculty mentoring Faculty, Deans mentoring Associate Deans, and Vice Presidents mentoring Deans, usually within the same Division. This round table discussion will explore the individual and organizational impacts of establishing and encouraging intentional mentoring relationships that "reach across" the curricular/co-curricular silos, in particular between Faculty and Student Services leaders.

Reaching out across organizational silos at the individual leadership level can be leveraged to bring the work of key processes at colleges, in particular, strategic enrollment management and student learning assessment, into alignment to reach new heights in continuous quality improvement, accreditation compliance, and student success.

Participants will benefit from this session by:

•  Hearing a conversation between a Faculty Member, currently part of a first year Chair Academy Leadership Development Institute (WLDI), and her mentor, the Dean of Student Support.
• Considering how curricular/co-curricular mentorship expands perspectives in the service to students.
• Appreciating how the Chair Academy’s mentorship curriculum develops individuals to fill key leadership roles at colleges.
• Exploring the potential for cross-functional mentorship to erode silos and create collaborations in key college processes.
• Considering how communication strategies that balance empowerment and accountability in the mentorship relationship can extend to those we supervise with positive organizational results.

Advancing Adjunct Instructors: An Approach to Growth Opportunities through Professional Development

LOCATION - Denver

Presented by: Kristy Callihan, Communication Asst Professor and CETL Director, Pikes Peak Community College, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Karen Summerson, Math Asst Professor and CETL Asst Director, Pikes Peak Community College, Colorado Springs, CO

Based on the growing requests by adjunct instructors to feel included within a college community and also to be rewarded for excellence in teaching and learning, we developed a college wide program for adjuncts. The structure is based upon optional professional development and a reflective format that incorporates implementation into the college classroom and intentional assessment. We will share our design along with lessons learned.

Participants will get to experience the reflection process that is a large part of our program along with receiving design details that can be adapted to your individual setting. This is one session you do not want to miss!

The attendees will benefit by:

• Exploring the impact of an advancement program for adjuncts as individuals and within the college community
• Having a better understanding of potential pitfalls to avoid in developing an advancement program for adjunct instructions
• Obtaining strategies that can be adapted or customized to your institution
• Identifying various recognition and reward opportunities for adjunct instructors participating in an advancement program
• Recognizing the unexpected corollary outcomes from a successful program

A Mile-High Look at the Way You Mentor

LOCATION - Spruce

Presented by: Pamela Bergeron Mauro, M.A., Academy Facilitator, Lansing Community College, East Lansing, Michigan

There is no better way for a seasoned leader to reach new heights than to mentor an emerging leader. Based on Kouzes and Posner's 5 Practices of Exemplary Leadership, this conversation is designed for internal leaders as well as external consultants who want to multiply their effectiveness in developing exemplary leaders.

During this session we will:

• Identify the 10 Commitments of Leadership that drive the Five Leadership Practices.
• Outline the mentoring process.
• Assess mentoring effectiveness.
• Practice activities that can be applied in mentoring/coaching situations.
• Introduce a technique to provide meaningful and supportive feedback.

What You Need to Know Upon Entering the Leadership Ring?

LOCATION - Century

Presented by: Trent Keough, President & CEO, Portage College, Lac La Biche, Alberta

After your choosing to move into a formal leadership role you will inevitably get asked, What's your leadership style? The discourse on leadership is multitudinous and rife with flavor of the moment fads. Be thoughtful in how you respond. Can you verbally place yourself within an inspiring framework of leadership praxis? Could you draw another’s interest and gain her confidence in your description of you, the leader? How you articulate your leadership vision is critically important, especially in the early days of your (first) leadership engagement. By measure of your initial statements, your actions will be weighed for your truthfulness and those judgements determine the trust placed in your leadership. Establish the principled discourse of your leadership, and then self-consciously model the principles you espouse.

The attendees with benefit by:

• Being able to identify the essential characteristic of Leadership 101 discourse.
• Gaining insight into identifying markers of authenticity in leadership.
• Acquire a precise vocabulary for describing the definitive attributes of their leaderships.
• Utilize a conceptual framework for assessing what’s needed of leadership.
• Acquire confidence for when responding to, What's your leadership style?

Interim Leadership: Opportunity or Curse?

LOCATION - Gold

Presented by: Randy Singer, M.B.A., Consultant, Singer, Stanton & Associates, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Yvonne Moritz, RN, BSN, MA (Adult Ed), MSN (ANP), Dean Science, Technology and Health, Okanagan College, Kelowna, British Columbia

Appointing interim or acting Chairs, Deans, and other educational leaders is increasing. While expedient, and often necessary, to deal with a management vacancy, what factors foster the success of a temporary appointee? In this interactive session, participants will explore key interim-leadership issues, from both organizational and individual perspectives, and develop strategies to minimize potential pitfalls.

Attendees will benefit by:

• Discussing the unique opportunities, expectations and challenges of interim leadership.
• Exploring key issues such as managing relationships, and potential conflicts of interest.
• Sharing relevant experiences and ideas.
• Analyzing potential supports for those in acting roles.
• Developing strategies for effective interim leadership.

How Well Do You Really Know Your Team?

LOCATION - Silver

Presented by: Scott Ermer, Dean, Agricultural Sciences, Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

The people you work with day in and day out, how well do you really know each other?  As a team leader, do you struggle with developing a deeper understanding of your team and gaining a new appreciation for what each individual brings to the organization?  Through this interactive session, participants will move from surface level conversations to creative conversations that really matter and provide a deeper understanding and mappreciation of those around you.  We will also discuss and examine generational perspectives and unearth conversations that will help your teams bridge the generational gaps that exist within our work teams and the students we serve.

Participants will benefit from this session:

• Engage in activities that will foster the development of work teams.
• Discover tools to help teams create deeper conversations.
• Recognize how generational differences may influence your leadership perspectives.
• Discuss how we bridge the generational gap among our work teams and students.
• Adding resources to your leadership tool kit.

Developing Your Character Strengths for Well-Being

LOCATION - Tower Court A

Presented by: Presented by Linda Lucia Meccouri, Ph.D., Retired Dean of Professional Development, Northern Essex Community College. Adjunct Professor, Springfield Technical Community College, Chair Academy Facilitation Team

Character Matters! Drawing upon the foundations of Positive Psychology, we will explore the study of what makes life most worth living, by emphasizing elements of life that contribute to human flourishing. Using the complimentary VIA Survey of Character Strengths, participants will identify their character strengths and explore how to enrich and cultivate for a fuller life.  Please register, take the free survey at the link below and bring your report (or your top 5) to the workshop. https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/pro/pcps/Account/Register  Linda Meccouri has experience employing this survey for students, faculty and leadership development.

Participants will benefit from this workshop by:

• • Discovering their own Character Strengths using the VIA survey.
• • Exploring strategies for Using Character Strengths in their own lives for well-being.
• • Hearing examples of using character strengths for student/employee engagement.
• • Discuss ideas for using character strengths in work/personal life.

Five Steps to Radically Improving Employee Engagement & Team Collaboration

LOCATION - Tower Court B

Presented by: Brett M. Cooper, President, Integris Performance Advisors

Do any of these statements apply to your team or organization?

• Co-workers in my organization struggle to ask for help or say “I’m sorry” when things go wrong
• When people on my team disagree, things get ugly and feelings get hurt
• Our meetings often end without a clear agreement on the actions we will take
• People in our organization rarely offer unprovoked feedback or call each other on unproductive behaviors
• Some on our team seem to value their own individual achievement more than our collective success

If you observe any of these at work, then this session is for you! During this engaging session, Brett will draw upon the ideas in the powerful best-seller, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni, to provide practical and relevant tips for how to overcome these issues and create higher levels of organizational health and team cohesion.

The attendees will benefit by learning how to:
• Build Vulnerability-Based Trust
• Engage in More Productive Conflict
• Influence Greater Commitment to Team Decisions
• Foster Higher Levels of Accountability
• Encourage Everyone to Focus on Collective Results

No session in this room

LOCATION - Tower Court C

No session in this room

LOCATION - Colorado

Educating Professionals Prepared to Serve the Public Good

LOCATION - Denver

Presented by: Mary Raeker-Rebek, Executive Director, Center for Global, Professional and Applied Learning, Walden University, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Educating professionals prepared to serve the public good is a value many educators and institutions of higher education hold. Facilitating this learning in students can take many forms.

Participants will reflect on their educational journeys and identify factors that contributed to their own growth in this area. They will identify  existing support at their College/University for developing students as professionals with skills and values that can serve the public good. Strengths and gaps will be named along with possibilities for improvement at the Institutional Level.

Finally, participants will be asked to reflect on their own role as a leader in Higher Education and how they contribute to this important endeavor.

The attendees will benefit by:

• Increasing their  understanding of the role of professional education in today's world.
• Learning ways to help learners connect academic learning with action-oriented methods designed to develop skills needed for serving the public good.
• Gaining practical examples of ways universities can  support professional learning at an Institutional level.
• Reflecting on their own journey  as a professional and the importance of their role in contributing to the public good.
• Connecting with other leaders engaged in educating professionals and sharing ideas.

More Generative Conversations: Exploring Logics-in-Use that Enable and Constrain Leadership Action

LOCATION - Spruce

Presented by: Kate Sikerbol, Doctoral Candidate, Fielding Graduate University, Toronto, Ontario

Leaders have an ethical responsibility to engage their teams in generative conversations that open up new spaces for dialogue and contribute to a sense of mutuality, openness, caring, and respect.

In this workshop, participants will:

• Reflect on the implicit beliefs or unconscious mental models that influence their motivation, behaviour, and emotions;
• Engage in experiential activities to identify implicit beliefs and norms that may enable or impede productive dialogue;
• Consider the results of a research study that explored the logics-in-use utilized by academic leaders across Canada and the USA;
• Use 6 key questions to reconsider these logics-in-use;
• Apply this learning to promote productive dialogue with others.

Developing Trust and Approachability: How to Change Campus Perceptions of Administrative Offices

LOCATION - Century

Presented by: Amaris Matos, M.S., MPA, Director of Academic Affaris, Hostos Community College, Bronx, New York, Christine Mangino, Ed.D., Provost and Vice President, Hostos Community College, Bronx, New York

Perceptions regarding the approachability of individuals in leadership positions has huge impact.  When constituencies do not feel they can easily access leadership, and/or are uncomfortable speaking openly in the presence of leadership, a divide is created that negatively affects the flow of information, consensus-building, efficacy of operations and the degree to which leadership can be dynamic and helpful.  This interactive session will guide participants through an assessment of leadership on their campuses and provide concrete steps for developing a culture of approachability and accessibility.

The presentation will cover:

• How to implement clear processes that create transparency
• The importance of integrating mid-level and upper-level administrators in decision-making processes
• The use of operational planning to create cohesion in a division
• The role of an office website to support administrative structures and processes
• Professional development as a tool to identify and address hidden needs

Strategies for Attracting and Retaining Female Students in STEM Programs

LOCATION - Gold

Presented by: Carrie Vos, Academic Chair, NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology), Edmonton, Alberta

Attracting female students who are typically underrepresented in various areas of study can improve program diversity and increase enrollment pressure. The challenge is to attract as well as retain these students. This session with provide strategies for attracting and retaining more females to STEM related programs.

Attendees will benefit by:

• Better understanding how diversity of students in a program can improve enrollment and retention of students.
• Learning strategies to work with recruitment to attract underrepresented students with retention in mind.
• Sharing strategies to attract underrepresented students, (such as females in STEM) with retention in mind.
• Increased knowledge of the challenges that are faced by females in STEM programs of study.
• Developing a multi-faceted approach to engaging students, academic staff and alumni as program ambassadors to attract underrepresented groups to STEM fields of study

Developing Team - Based and Interprofessional Practice and Education in Professional Health Workforce Program

LOCATION - Silver

Presented by: Dan Ferguson, Director- Allied Health Center of Excellence, Yakima Valley College, Yakima, Washington, Keith A. Monosky, PhD, MPM, EMT-P, Director, EMS Paramedicine Program, Central Washington University, Sandy Carollo, PhD, MSN, FNP-BC, Clinical Associate Professor/FNP Clinical Track Coordinator, Washington State University College of Nursing, Yakima, Washington

Changes in health care delivery and health reform have increased the need for Team-Based and Interprofessional Practice and Education to be essential ingredients in health workforce education programs. The purpose of this session is to highlight the rational for embracing and expanding interprofessional practice and education. The presentation will include understanding the core competencies of IPE; highlight exemplar clinical and education programs including the Yakima Valley Interprofessional Practice and Education Collaborative and a multi-institutional effort to respond to the challenge and introduce the audience to National Level organizations available to support the development and expansion of interprofessional practice and education in health professions training programs.

The attendee will know the benefits, challenges, and models of success for student, clinician, and faculty collaboration around Interprofessional Practice and Education.

• Attendees will be provided with the history and structure of the Yakima Valley Interprofessional Practice and Education Collaborative.
• Participants will also be able to identify the goals, successes and barriers of this collaboration
• Participants will be challenged to consider opportunities to develop interprofessional practice and education partnerships;
• Participants will be provided with information and national level resources to support the development and expansion of interprofessional practice and education.

Project 100 - Putting the Student at the Center of Vocational and Educational Training

LOCATION - Tower Court A

Presented by: Gail Bray, General Manager, Learning Innovation Victoria University Polytechnic, Gareth Livingstone, Manager Learning Systems, Victoria University Polytechnic

This session looks at the creation and implementation of a triple-award winning organisation-wide blended learning solution, which affected 100 qualifications and impacted 614 staff across the business. Attendees will benefit by lessons learnt while being introduced to practical and proven examples that enabled the execution and success of a large-scale roll out.

Topics include:

• • A transformational approach to Vocational Education and Training.
• • Why is Change Management so important?
• • The utilisation of the ADDIE model of instructional design for roll-out.
• • Project Management to meet deadlines, deliverables, stakeholder management and communications.
• • Agile development enabled to support the cost-effective rapid eLearning and assessment creation.
• • LEAN thinking to support the process driven approach required to visualise redesign, provide transparency, manage Just-In-Time development and support communication.
• • Retraining and refocussing 379 teachers to facilitate a blended learning solution effectively.
• • Showcase of the Student Journey Live in the Learning Management System (LMS)
• • Benefits of Quality Management and Data Analytics
• • Introducing emerging technologies into the blend such as VR and Humanoid Robots.
• • ROI and commercial success.

SESSION CANCELLED

LOCATION - Tower Court B

The Five Agreements of Leadership

LOCATION - Tower Court C

Presented by: Dr. Gillian McKnight-Tutein, Vice President, Academic and Student Affairs/CAO, Front Range Community College, Westminster, CO, Dr. Jana Schwartz, Dean of Pathways/Student Success, Front Range Community College, Westminster, CO

This is a challenging time to be a leader in higher education. The tasks are many, the challenges significant, and often the resources are dwindling. We also know our students are depending on us to lead with excellence. Using Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom as a framework, we will discuss our vision for ourselves as leader and how to leverage the strengths of those around us. This session will provide opportunities for participants to consider how they are bringing their best self to their work and consider new ways to manage self-imposed chaos and approach each day with intentionality. As Iyanla Vanzant states “When you do not show up as who you are, people will fall in love with who you are not”. In this session we will ask that participants share with honesty and vulnerability and continue to discover who they really are as leaders.

Attendees will benefit by:

• Connecting their daily leadership tasks to the greater meaning behind their work.
• Reflecting on their currency and how to leverage the currency of their teams.
• Learning how leadership language and the ability to ask excellent questions leads to the opportunity to approach each task with purpose.
• Find the courage to both confront and be confronted.

Consulting as a Career, Service and Business

LOCATION - Colorado

Presented by: Lynda Wallace-Hulecki, Principal  Consultant, JL Research & Systems Design Ltd., Victoria, British Columbia

In this roundtable discussion, participants will examine consulting from multiple dimensions: as a career, as a professional service, and as a business. This session will be of interest to individuals who are either: (a) considering a potential career in consulting, and would like to learn from the experience of others; (b) planning to hire a professional services consultant, and seek insights on factors to consider; and (c) experienced in working as (or with) consultants, and would like to share their knowledge with others.

Potential topics for discussion include:

• Why organizations seek a consultant
• What the roles of a consultant are (and are not)
• Factors to consider in hiring a consultant of good fit
• Factors to consider in securing a client organization of good fit
• Why become a consultant
• Key attributes that make a great consultant
• The business aspects of consulting

Embedding Strengths Across an Educational Institution to Build Capability, Culture, and Engagement

LOCATION - Denver

Presented by: Gerard Glennon, Industry Commercial Engagement Leader, Victoria Polytechnic, Melbourne, Australia, Wayne Butson, Director, Service Industries and Transition Education, Victoria Polytechnic, Victoria, Australia

Organisations are seeking to build capability from within, enhancing employee engagement through supporting the growth and development of their current and future leaders.  Victoria Polytechnic has commenced a Strengths based approach to recognise the unique talents each individual brings to their team and to the broader organisation.  This approach is designed to build an organisation, which celebrates diversity; grows from the strengths of each individual and team; and achieves success through the recognition and utilisation of the collective talents and strengths. 

This development and engagement directly contributes to the realisation of a positive culture that is reflected in employee engagement and performance, and through the engagement of students in meaningful personal transformation.

This session will provide participants with an overview of Victoria Polytechnic's approach to utilising Strengths to build individuals, teams, and the organisation.

Participants of this session will benefit by:

• Developing an understanding of Victoria Polytechnic’s approach to building capability, culture, and engagement through Strengths
• Identifying strategies to integrate StrengthsFinder and active reflection into leadership development
• Building awareness and understanding of embedding Strengths and building sustainability for ongoing growth and development

Millennials as Leaders in Higher Education: Supporting a New Generation

LOCATION - Spruce

Presented by: Jesse Black-Allen, Academic Program Manager, Seneca College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Amanda Nowensky, Faculty and Coordinator of GEA and EAP300, Seneca College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Cassandra Gifford, Coordinator, Resource Technology Programs, Northern Lakes College, Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada, Enda Morley, Academic Chair, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

In higher education, there has been extensive discussion on serving millennial students. However, the youngest of this cohort of students is already moving into post-secondary, and older millennials are assuming roles as graduate students, professors, and educational leaders.

This presentation will focus on millennials as new leaders in higher education,particularly on challenge of earning credibility (Espinoza & Schwarzbart, 2015) and leading/managing across generational differences (Fitch & Van Brunt, 2016).

Four leaders from Canadian colleges will draw on their experiences to present research and conceptual frameworks, facilitate scenario-based discussions, and interactively explore best practices for fostering multigenerational collaboration in post-secondary education.

Benefits for attendees:

• Identify key research, concepts, and resources related to millennialleadership.
• Discuss strength-based strategies for young leaders.
• Discuss how to support and mentor the next generation of leaders.
• Critically examine stereotypes about generational cohorts and leadership.
• Explore institutional best practices to foster multigenerationalcollaboration.

Appreciative Inquiry and Logic Models - Strategies - Strategic Plan

LOCATION - Century

Presented by: Ann Krause-Hanson, VP Strategic Marketing, Innovation & Effectiveness, Waukesha County Technical College, Pewaukee, Wisconsin, Dr. Dawn Voigt, Program Development & Evaluation Coordinator, Waulesha County Technical College, Pewaukee, Wisconsin

Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) has just completed its "2018 and Beyond" Strategic Planning process. A new vision was developed using appreciative inquiry (using positive experiences to develop energy, creativity, collaboration, and innovative thinking). Strategic directives, goals, activities, and metrics/targets/benchmarks were added using a logic model framework (graphical depiction of logical relationships between the resources, activities, outputs and outcomes of a program).

Participants will:

• Learn about the process(es) used at WCTC
• Experience a partial AI as its relates to visioning
• Develop a high level goal using a logic model
• Create cascading goal examples
• Share personal strategic planning experiences with the other participants.

Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end.   - Leonard Nimoy

Solving the Mystery of Effective Personal and Organizational Communication

LOCATION - Gold

Presented by: Judy Korb, Executive Vice President, Emeritus, Johnson County Community College, Olathe, Kansas

What is something we do all day (everyday) and yet are often challenged to do it well?  What is one of the most frequently-sited behaviors necessary for effective leadership?  What is the most consistent criticism of organizational culture?  Communication!!  Leaders face many opportunities and challenges communication fits perfectly in both categories.  We spend much of our time communicating and yet; it is often identified as the weakest link in our personal leadership, team interactions and organizational culture.  We will unravel the mysterious qualities of communication by revealing clues to enhance opportunities and minimize challenges.

Attendees will benefit by:

• Identifying factors that contribute to effective and “not so effective” communication.
• Exploring the clues provided by listening.
• Understanding the emotional connection to effective personal and organizational communication.
• Learning techniques to enhance personal, team and organizational communication.
• Solving the mystery of why effective communication can be an elusive goal for leaders.

Utilizing Emotional Intelligence to Enhance Leadership Development

LOCATION - Silver

Presented by: Corey Campbell, Dean of Students, Keiser University, Florida

Teams can be emotional incubators and social situations are one of the largest emotional triggers in human beings. The Intellectual Quotient (IQ), while helpful is a partial element of the acumen needed for effective leaders. Emotional Intelligence (EI) plays an essential role in workplace success and productivity. Understanding the components and concept of EI, can have a prominent influence on leadership style, group cohesion and organization productivity. Realizing the impact of EI gives perspective to identify and comprehend both interpersonal and intrapersonal behavior.

The attendee will benefit by:

• Learning how to integrate components of EI in both his/her personal and professional life.
• Having a better understanding of the needs for EI in ones’ own life both personally and professionally.
• Personal reflection upon his/her work-life relationships and leadership techniques.
• Enabling him/her to become a more effective leader using EI principles with his/her colleagues in both personal and professional settings.
• Achieving a better understanding of EI

Mr. Roboto, Tweety Bird and the Pods (Not K-Cups) High-Tech Trends in Higher Education and How They Will Cyber-Ethically Affect Us in the Future

LOCATION - Tower Court A

Presented by: Bruce Seger, Professor, Suffolk Community College, Brentwood, New York

Robots, Twitter and Podcasts are just of the few of the in vogue cyber-technologies. From the White House to Amazon to higher educational institutions, these technologies are becoming the norm on how to communicate, problem solve and automate. They all have both positive and negative implications for education. Lack of human interaction, potential elimination of jobs, artificial decision making, copyright, privacy and the need to economize thoughts are just a few of the implications.

Leaders must be cognizant of not only the history, basics and evolution of these technologies , but also how they will impact student interaction, informational skills and privacy, In addition, leaders must determine how to best incorporate these items into programs and operations and concurrently how to create appropriate policies to address the needs of the college community and be in conformity with the current cyber-laws and regulations.  

The attendees will benefit by:

• Analyzing the impact the programs provide and issues they present.
• Investigating current and future cyber-laws and regulations affecting theseitems.
• Acknowledging how these technologies can have both positive and negativeimplications.
• Determining the best policies to address these technologies whilesimultaneously anticipating future issues.

Empowering Yourself and Your Team

LOCATION - Tower Court B

Presented by: Greg Reents, Director of Outreach and Recruitment, Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ

Empowerment is a concept represented by feelings of self-determination, meaning, competence, and impact that applies to a variety of situations beyond the workplace. Although some may consider this attribute innate, this session will aid attendees in developing or strengthening their existing behavior. This presentation will include an interactive group involving their empowerment level.  It’s important to find meaning in life and what or who(m) empowers you as a leader. Please join us as we discuss, apply and define personal empowerment with activities related to real-world applications.

The attendees will benefit by:

• Real-life actual events shared as examples of inspiration others used to empower themselves and their team.
• Examining what level of empowerment is appropriate for a variety of situations.
• Delivering empowerment exercises to their direct team.
• Exposed to six empowerment stages.
• The use of technology to engage your team and collect real-time data.

Unconscious Obstacles to Effective Time Management and How to Overcome Them

LOCATION - Tower Court C

Presented by: Audrey Reille, MBA, Ed.D., Executive Coach for Higher Ed.

Leaders know they should prioritize, “eat their frog first”, say no to unreasonable requests, delegate, and allocate their time optimally. However, something often stops them from implementing best practices. Over-achievers may spend too much time on projects, seeking perfection, and refusing to delegate because they need control. People who value relationships highly may find it difficult to say no to anyone and take on too much work. New leaders who haven’t developed enough self-confidence may procrastinate on intimidating tasks for fear of failure. The key to better time management is not to discover revolutionary new ways to get organized, but to implement and follow-through on known best practices. Participants will discover what cause them difficulty and how to disrupt habitual thoughts and behaviors. They will also better understand what unconscious needs and beliefs prevent their co-workers from improving their work performance and how to help them get unstuck. 

The attendees will benefit by:

• • Discovering what patterns keep them overworked and why.
• • Identifying new ways to get their needs met and to reduce discomfort.
• • Improving their time allocation, productivity, and effectiveness.
• • Becoming more self-aware and more empowered.
• • Becoming better leaders by understanding other people’s unconscious blocks and ways to overcome them.

The Disenfranchised Adjunct - What Can be Done?

LOCATION - Colorado

Presented by: Christopher N Gherardi, Associate Dean of Faculty/ Professional Advancement, Suffolk County Community College, Selden, New York

The adjunct is sometimes the most important Faculty member at your College or University. What can be done to bring them into the College Community more fully? Do they have rights, seniority, tenure, promotions, professional development opportunities, access to travel funds? What does your College do to embrace the faculty that could be teaching the majority of your classroom assignments?

A roundtable discussion to come up with a best practices worksheet for all to share at their school.

• Adjunct Orientation
• Adjunct Professional Development
• Semester Assignments
• Seniority
• Promotions

College to Career: Supporting the TransitionFrom College to Workforce

LOCATION - Denver

Presented by: Amanda Gryzkewicz, Program Manager, Mesa Community College, Mesa, Arizona

Participants will learn how three different organizations engage students in off-campus and on-campus sites. Using Jumpstart, America Reads and I Can Math, individuals will learn all aspects of creating programs that build student skill level and prepare them for work after college. Using the Mesa Community College model of workforce development and engaging students, participants will understand how to transfer these models to their college community and build a stronger workforce. 

• Understand how to integrate college students in to the workforce and prepare them with hands-on training and necessary skills
• Look at programs that have "reversed" workforce development and have integrated employees in to community colleges using the Jumpstart model
• Learn how creating a nonprofit and partnering with community colleges and universities can provide hands-on training and development using the I Can Math Model
• Understand how to take an established program and provide students with work-study jobs that translate to careers post-graduation using the America Reads model
• Understand the professional development and training required to successfully support students' transition to the workforce and how to replicate it at your university

I Watched the Dark Sky Lighten . . . Leadership and Metaphor

LOCATION - Spruce

Presented by: Joan McArthur-Blair, Co-President, Cockell McArthur-Blair Consulting, Victoria, British Columbia, and Jeanie Cockell, Co-President, Cockell McArthur-Blair Consulting, Victoria, British Columbia

Leaders are always searching for the words that will uplift themselves and others. Words that will launch their organizations into the future or comfort in the darkest of times. The power of metaphor matters - the words we choose matter. Come create poetry & short narrative - find your leadership inner author. This workshop is for anyone who wants to play and create with words. No experience required!

You will:

• Listen to poetry
• Create poetry
• Create narrative
• Read aloud your creations (if you want)
• Be uplifted by the words of your colleagues

Leadership Learnings From Major Organizational Change

LOCATION - Century

Presented by: Paul Wilson, Dr, General Manager, TAFE Queensland, Brisbane, South Brisbane, Queensland

In 2013 a decision was made by the Queensland State Government to restructure the public sector VET provider, TAFE, by establishing a new statutory body.  An ACT was passed that enabled 13 previously autonomous institutes to form a new single entity, TAFE Queensland, operating through six regional identities from 1 July 2014.  When coupled with a new fully competitive funding environment it has provided significant leadership learnings for the regional managers.  As the only non-TAFE appointed regional manager this presentation provides my personal reflection of the TAFE Queensland journey over the initial years of operation.  

The key learnings addressed will be:

• The negative impact of government policy in Australia on quality VETeducation
• The power of positive leadership in developing culture
• The benefits of collaboration, and competition
• The impact of team development in enabling change
• How honesty is always the best policy in leadership

Building and Sustaining Employee Engagement:
A Research-Based Training Approach with Diagnostic Survey

LOCATION - Gold

Presented by: Presented By: Jeffrey D. Yergler, Ph.D., Department Chair and Academic Program Director Undergraduate Programs, Golden Gate University, San Francisco, CA, and Wayne Butson, Director Service Industries and Transition Education, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

Since Gallup began tracking employee engagement in 2000 in the US, the percentage of engaged employees has stayed relatively stable at roughly 30%. The question must be raised, with the hundreds of thousands of dollars that have been spent by organizations to address employee engagement, why has the percentage of engaged employees remained the same? Jeffrey Pfeffer (2015) pinpointed the problem when he observed that while organizations may have addressed engagement they have failed to hold leaders and managers accountable for building and sustaining engagement. This workshop will present a training model and diagnostic tool that can equip leaders and managers to build, sustain, and measure employee engagement.

Participants will Benefit by:
• Becoming familiar with the ongoing issues around building and sustaining employee engagement
• Learning about the E6 Employee Engagement Training Process
• Understanding the six components that fuel engagement
• Appreciating the importance of measuring employee engagement progress
• Listening to anecdotal data of the E6 process in action

Collaborative Holistic Approach to Student Success

LOCATION - Silver

Presented by: Shari Olson, College President, South Mountain Community College, Phoenix, Arizona, Troy Melendez, Counseling Faculty, South Mountain Community College, Phoenix, Arizona, Ryan Senters, South Mountain Community College, Phoenix, Arizona, Christine Neill, Coordinator of Assessment, South Mountain Community College, Phoenix, Arizona

What started as the development of a tool to assist students with their journey from undecided to establishing an academic plan has evolved into a cross-disciplinary student engagement first year experience. The primary vehicle for delivery of this experience is our student success course (CPD150). Most first time college students come to college uncertain about their strengths, undecided about their academic interests, and at risk of attrition in the first year. To address this critical issue, SMCC created a cross-divisional team of staff and faculty from Counseling, Psychology, Assessment, New Student Orientation and Academic Advising to develop a highly-coordinated student experience integrated into all CPD150 student success courses. Students use the My360 Guidebook to Major and Career Exploration as a tool to gather self-assessment information and reflect on their learning as they go through the process of exploring majors and careers that align with their interests, talents and personality.

The attendees will benefit by:

• Having a better understanding about assessment tools that assist students in selecting their majors, while increasing self-awareness.
• Obtaining strategies to create a cross-disciplinary, cross-divisional college team focused on student success and retention.
• Learning about next steps in the creation of a certificate in Strengths-based Student Leadership, which will create a student, peer-to-peer success coaching model.
• Obtaining strategies to create an employee volunteer model for student success coaching.
• Learning about the impact that professional development has on deep-learning across the organization which allows the college to organically grow high-impact experiences for students that create lasting change.

Starting an Educational Podcast Will Promote Learning, Engagement and Your Campus

LOCATION - Tower Court A

Presented by: Jason  Donner, Associate Professor of Communication / Program Coordinator of Fine Arts and Communication, West Kentucky Community and Technical College, Paducah, Kentucky

Educators look to engage students in a mobile and unique way. This session will show the process of designing, producing, recording and promoting an education based podcast on a regular basis, for inclusion in the classroom and online settings. Educational podcasting will also promote your program subjects and institutional public image.  The presenter has hosted and produced 3 seasons of the Old Kentucky Tales podcast, produced in a college recording studio, sponsored by NPR station WKMS and featured on iTunes and the NPROne app.  Attendees will hear portions of the show, including guest interviews, featured comedy segments and pre-produced mock commercials for early 1900's newspaper ads.  Emphasis is placed on the planning and recording of your educational podcast, whether using professional equipment or simply recording to your smartphone.  West Kentucky Community and Technical College is a 2017 nationally recognized Top 10 community college.

Attendees will:

• Discover the engagement benefits of educational podcasting for teaching online and on-ground students
• Learn the steps, and questions to ask yourself, when designing your own podcast
• Observe how a podcast is produced, recorded, edited and uploaded for students and the world to hear
• Hear podcast segments that are insightful, funny and exemplify how you want your podcast to sound
• Experience a mini recording session as we post a podcast preview segment in real-time

Mastery of Teaching Institute: Cultivating Faculty Scholars as Vanguards of Teaching Excellence

LOCATION - Tower Court B

Presented by: Presented by: Kelly Tribble, Ph.D., Director, Faculty Development, Tarrant County College, Fort Worth, TX, Lee H. Grimes, Ed.D., Center for Teaching and Learning, Tarrant County College, Fort Worth, TX, James Gills, Center for Teaching and Learning, Tarrant County College, Fort Worth, TX, William Torres, M.A., Center for Teaching and Learning, Tarrant County College, Fort Worth, TX

Summary

Come learn about this innovative approach to engage faculty to take the lead in researching and promoting high impact instructional strategies.

Tarrant County College has developed an institute of faculty scholar/practitioners and provided a platform for conducting research and educating their colleagues about the results. Since 2014, this successful professional development program has provided participants with the opportunity to conduct research on teaching practices and student learning in the community college environment. This cohort-based program leverages a strong partnership with the Office of Institutional Research to design and implement a student success intervention in the classroom and study the results. Each cohort culminates in the presentation of findings to their peers at the annual Academics Day for all faculty. The studies are published in our college journal of research in education and are submitted to peer reviewed journals.

The attendees will benefit by:

• Learning Tarrant County College's approach to implementing a program which supports research among community college faculty.
• Discovering successes in sharing and promoting research-proven instructional strategies with faculty as exemplars.
• Cultivating methods to inspire and empower faculty to conduct research that is meaningful to them.
• Acquiring tips for developing key partnerships with Institutional Research, Chairs, Deans, and Public Relations.
• Gaining ideas to improve engagement in professional development offerings for faculty.

Using Compassionate Leadership to Improve Communication, Collaboration, Motivation, Effectiveness, and Loyalty

LOCATION - Tower Court C

Presented by: Audrey Reille, MBA, Ed.D., Executive Coach for Higher Ed.

Most interpersonal challenges in the workplace stem from people’s inability to understand the situation from the other person’s perspective. Typically, employees, faculty, or managers believe that their point of view is the right one. Their attachment to being right and convincing others prevents them from solving problems. They make other people wrong instead of listening with care and a genuine desire to understand. Embracing compassionate leadership is a powerful way to reduce conflict, make better informed decisions, improve collaboration, foster teamwork and loyalty, improve morale, and achieve a higher level of excellence. Developing compassion and understanding may be challenging for people who have dramatically different backgrounds, experiences, fears, needs, or values. Attendees will discover how to quickly identify other people’s needs and how to make them feel understood and appreciated. They will become more influential and empower their teams to perform at a higher level.

The attendees will benefit by:

• • Understanding how people’s needs shape their work performance.
• • Learning how to meet people’s needs to inspire them to do their best.
• • Becoming more comfortable being authentic and transparent.
• • Improving employee engagement and performance.