CHERE to Offer Two-Session November/April Conference on Saving Higher Education

Multi-dimensional views to include underrepresented, first generation, best practices and out-of-state experts

The Center for Higher Education Retention Excellence (CHERE) is sponsoring an innovative two session conference to explore solutions to critical issues facing higher education, with a focus on non-traditional students including underrepresented, first generation traditional age students and adult learners who have never been to college. The conference begins on Friday, November 13 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Central Connecticut State University, and will continue five months later, on Friday, April 29, 2016 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Goodwin College – when the discussion will move from initial ideas to workable solutions.

The latest in CHERE’s series of higher education conferences in Connecticut will include highlights of the nationally recognized retention work for first generation students presented by representatives from the University of Texas-Austin, as well as an expert panel, student panel, and workshops on related higher education topics. Participants are urged to bring a team of at least two people to identify take-home ideas, then come back in April to talk about implementation plans.

Part 1, to be held on November 13 at Central Connecticut State University, is titled Can Non-Traditional Students Save Higher Education, and Vice Versa? Participants will explore issues related to non-traditional students including underrepresented and first generation traditional age students and adult learners who have never been to college. Guest Speaker will be Jennifer Smith, Ph.D., University of Texas – Austin. Dr. Smith is Director of the University Leadership Network, a nationally-recognized incentive-based scholarship program with a focus on leadership, professional development, and experiential learning. The program serves students who may meet all or a combination of: high financial need, rural background, first generation, and underrepresented student populations.

Part 2, to be held on April 29 at Goodwin College, is titled Saving Higher Ed: Identifying Solutions That Really Work. Guest speaker will be George Mehaffy, Vice President for Academic Leadership and Change, American Association of State Colleges and Universities. His division of AASCU is responsible for developing and managing programs for member institutions in areas such as organizational change, civic engagement, leadership development, undergraduate education, technology, international education and teacher education. He works closely with university presidents and chief academic officers on a variety of national initiatives.

The University of Texas - Austin program was featured in the New York Times Magazine in 2014, which concluded: “Most middle- and low-income students struggle to complete a degree…but a big part of the solution lies at schools like the University of Texas at Austin, selective but not super-elite, that are able to take large numbers of highly motivated working-class students and give them the tools they need to become successful professionals. The U.T. experiment reminds us that the process isn’t easy; it never has been. But it also reminds us that it is possible.”

Since its inception in 2013, CHERE has offered 10 day-long conferences on a variety of higher education topics, with attendance from individuals in higher education and high school counselors in Connecticut and the region. This will be CHERE’s first two-session conference, with workshops to include peer support strategies, undocumented students, adult learning, seamless counseling, and first generation students.

“This two-session conference will offer a close look at how non-traditional students can impact higher education – and how higher education can impact the lives of these students. For underrepresented, first generation and otherwise challenged students, there are a range of options and opportunities to excel, if institutions take steps that have been shown to work. The format will allow participants to have constructive dialogue and work on solutions between sessions, and focus on those solutions when we reconvene in April,” Johnston said.

Topics to be covered are expected to include themes such as bridge programs, college readiness, quality access work, seamless counseling, retention/persistence, first-generation students, career and technical education, adult learners, escalating costs, adult learners, public policy issues, and more.

The mission of CHERE is to “understand and improve policies and practices for challenged students that lead to higher college retention, from the summer after high school graduation, through the first year, to graduation, and to employment.”

Co-sponsors of the Nov. 13 and April 29 conference sessions include the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education, the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU), Central Connecticut State University, Goodwin College and the National Resource Center for First-Year Experience and Students in Transition at the University of South Carolina.

For more information or to register for the conference, please call David Johnston, at (203) 640-6201, email him at educationRwe@gmail.com, or visit www.thechere.org.