2025 Annual Conference Session Highlights

The Transformative Future: Changing Agents in Higher Education

Keynote Spotlight
We’re thrilled to welcome Dr. Wendolyn Davis, Executive Director for Pathway Alignment at Chattanooga State Community College, as our keynote speaker! Dr. Davis brings extensive leadership and expertise in transfer student success, intercultural engagement, and national service through AACRAO. Her insights will challenge and inspire us as we navigate the transformative frontier of higher education.

From Transactional to Transformational - how the Next Step Days event has reshaped the Onboarding Experience
Hear how JJC Admissions Office took a new recruitment approach to build "Next Step Days" event. The Next Step Days at JJC is an initiative that began in 2022 to assist students who applied to the college and needed assistance on their steps to enrollment. This event is a collaborative effort involving Admissions, Advising, Placement, and Scholarships. JJC has seen enrollment growth by providing the students with this unique experience in getting them connected with student services.

MyCreditsTransfer Statewide Meeting
Join Gina Modica, the Illinois MyCreditsTransfer (MCT) statewide coordinator, to learn updates on the MCT project, including changes in usage and participating institutions and the future plans for MCT. Attendees will have the chance to provide feedback and suggestions and ask any questions around the transfer advising tool, Transferology.

From Interest to Enrollment: Proven Strategies to Drive Growth in Specialized Programs
Discover proven strategies to grow enrollment in specialized programs while staying true to your mission. Using real-world examples from OSF Colleges of Nursing, we'll explore targeted recruitment, digital marketing, partnerships, and streamlined processes that boost applications, increase yield, and improve retention. Leave with practical tactics to implement at your own institution.

Guerilla Data Science: Small Unit Tactics for Business Intelligence Capacity Building
This interactive session will explore ways in which a small Records Office can be positioned to assist Institutional Research efforts in building operational business intelligence for the institution. Example projects will be presented that focus on providing actionable insights to stakeholders (e.g. faculty leadership, academic advising, etc.). A training and development roadmap will also be presented, including software tools and available learning/educational resources.

AI at Work Breaking through Registrar and Admissions Bottlenecks to Deliver Superior Student and Staff Outcomes
Discover how AI and Intelligent Document Processing can eliminate admissions and registrar bottlenecks, speed up transcripts, and improve enrollment. This session highlights real-world use cases where colleges streamline manual processes, cut costs, and enhance the student experience. Learn practical strategies to modernize operations and empower staff with AI-driven tools built for higher education.

Families as Catalysts: How Strategic Family Engagement Drove Enrollment Success at Knox College
Families are the top influencer on students during the admissions process, and including them in outreach can greatly impact your enrollment outcomes. In this session, Knox College and CampusESP will showcase how intentional family engagement strategies can significantly boost results. Drawing on parent research and best practices, we'll explore how empowering families transforms them into active partners in recruitment, yield, melt, and retention.

So we have a few International Students . . . Anybody have a plan?
An institutions struggle with international student enrollment and managing change internally and continuous external pressures.

Retention in Action: TRIUMPH & SURGE as Student Success Models
Triton College's TRIUMPH and SURGE programs demonstrate how structured student contact, balanced programming, and cross-campus partnerships foster belonging and retention for underrepresented students. This session will share practical strategies to design engagement initiatives that strengthen persistence and success outcomes.

From Experience to Credit: Implementing Prior Learning Pathways
Saddle up, partners! This presentation wrangles the journey of expanding the Prior Learning Assessment program at Heartland Community College. Topics: How We Measure Grit: Students can use portfolios, licensures, credentials, faculty-reviewed skills, and more. Law of the Land: Creating policies for clear expectations and procedures Building the Posse: Collaborating with Deans, faculty, and staff to align efforts. Discovery of Gold: Helping students find PLA as a way to graduate faster, save money, and start their next adventure.

Leading with Influence: Building Buy-In Across Campus
Effective enrollment and student success strategies require more than just good ideas - they require campus-wide alignment and collaboration. This session will explore practical techniques for building relationships, gaining buy-in, and leading change when you don't have direct authority over every stakeholder. Participants will learn how to communicate a shared vision, engage faculty and staff in the process, and navigate resistance with empathy and transparency.

Strategic Policy Review - Initiating Change for Student Success
Have you ever seen a policy at your institution hinder student success and wondered why? We can often see the broader effect of polices in our roles that others may not see. This session will talk about how we can explore new and old policies and take action to further student success.

FERPA, Fraud, and Frustration
Do you struggle with knowing what you can and cannot share? Have you seen an increase in fraudulent activity? Are you getting frustrated with both, and not knowing what to do? Then this is the session for you. We will cover some basics, and then troubleshoot together.

Transformative Teams: Building, Motivating & Rewarding on a Budget
What makes a team not just good but great? Let's explore the fundamentals of building, motivating, and rewarding high-performing teams even when your budget says "no." Whether you're leading a large department or a scrappy squad, you'll walk away with tangible, innovative, and budget-friendly ideas to: strengthen team dynamics, spark motivation and engagement, and recognize and reward contributions creatively.

Rethinking How We Identify and Support At-Risk Students
This session will share strategies admissions and enrollment professionals can use to better connect students with the resources they need to succeed. We'll explore practical approaches that reduce barriers, improve communication, and create stronger connections across campus.

Untangling the Knots: Business Process Redesign in Action
Processes are rarely broken — they’re tangled. This session looks at practical ways technology and process redesign can cut through complexity and improve outcomes. Attendees will walk away with tools for mapping workflows, spotting inefficiencies, and building sustainable improvements that better serve students and staff.

Is Your Heart Still In It?
Are you having a difficult time still loving what you do? More work but no more pay? More people drama? More budget confinements? Fear of the unknown? This session will take a look at ways to keep your heart in what you do. Come get some refreshing, refocused, to re-examine and re-energize your love for what you do!

 Becoming a Change Agent in a Time of Need
Spiritual Leader Mahatma Gandhi’s famous quote says, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” As professional leaders, we must create the world we want for us, our families and for the people we serve. This session will outline tips on how to become empowered, creating vision, being ,and an understanding of the people we deal with on a daily basis, so we can be that change artist. The world is different from the one many of us are used to, but we hold the key to being the change artist!