Higher education is at a crossroads.

Whether we like it or not, the nature of higher education is changing: teaching and learning going digital, more students learning on-line and off-campus, costs and debt keeping our most needy students from enrolling, lack of supports to help them succeed.

Colleges in CT and beyond – two-year, four-year, and technical programs – are trying to address these challenges. It is CHERE’s mission to help share ideas that work and bring practitioners together to seek new strategies and solutions.

Join key policy makers and higher education leaders from Connecticut and the region for an important Two-Day conference. We will examine the nature of higher education today, and the challenges and the strategies that can make a difference.

Speakers include the Co-Chairs of the CT Legislature’s Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee, representatives from the CT Board of Regents, American Association of State Colleges and Universities, and college presidents.

To register and pay on-line with a credit card, please go to:

• https://www.purplepass.com/#189865  for Oct. 11 registration.

• https://www.purplepass.com/#190256 for Oct. 18 registration.

In partnership with Connecticut State Colleges & Universities, Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, Central Connecticut State University and Goodwin College.

CONFERENCE LOCATION: Park in either the Student Center lot or garage (just north of the Student Center), or the Welte Garage (just west of the Student Center).  Conference is in the Constitution Room in Memorial Hall, which is just across a small plaza from the Student Center.  Go up to the second floor and into Constitution Hall, opposite the food court.

TENTATIVE AGENDA

8:30-9:00   Registration and Breakfast

9:00-9:15 Greetings and Introductions              

9:15-10:00     Big Issues & New Approaches to Support Traditional & Challenged Students

George Mehaffy, Vice President for Academic Leadership and Change, American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), Washington, D.C. 

10:15-11:15 Panel:  New Visions for Higher Education in Connecticut

Representatives from the Connecticut General Assembly, college presidents and superintendents of schools  

11:25-12:00 Student Response Panel

12:15-1:00 Lunch and Informal Networking

1:00-3:00 Concurrent Workshops

 WORKSHOPS

• Improving Support for Today’s Increasingly Challenged Students

• STEM “vs.” Liberal Arts: Must It be “Either Or?”             

• Financial Aid and Student Debt

• Adult Education: Pipeline to Higher Education

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on Campus

• Growth Mindset

• Critical Thinking Skills

• Using Big Data to Improve Outcomes