Call for Proposals
The official call for proposals is closed. However, if you missed your opportunity to submit a proposal and are still interested, contact Robin Piccirilli after January 3, 2023.
Presentation Submission Criteria
In order to present at the Innovations Conference, you must
- be employed by a community college or not-for-profit university, or
- be a sponsor* at this event.
PLEASE NOTE
*Sponsors must contact Event Producers prior to submitting a proposal to present.
*Sponsor proposals must include at least one community college co-presenter to speak to the success of your partnership.
Benefits of Presenting
- Share your expertise with colleagues
- Receive recognition for your innovation
- Obtain feedback about your practice or program
- Play an important role in a leading international conference
- Expand your professional portfolio
Before beginning the proposal submission process:
- Make sure all presenters have a League account. ALL presenters are required to have a league account in order to be included on a proposal. Click here to create an account.
- Read the guidelines below. (A print-friendly version is available here.)
- Download the submission instructions.
Key Presenter
The Key Presenter is the principal contact and is responsible for coordinating all correspondence among co-presenters and the League as well as managing and facilitating the presentation. The individual who submits a proposal to present is automatically designated as the Key Presenter and will receive all correspondence regarding the proposal. This designation cannot be changed.
Co-Presenters
The Key Presenter must add co-presenters to the proposal prior to submitting. In order to be included on a proposal, all co-presenters need a League account. Co-presenters who do not yet have a League account can create one here. Up to three co-presenters may be added to each proposal (four-presenter maximum).
Session Types (descriptions on tab above)
- Forum
- Roundtable Discussion
- Poster Session
Conference Tracks (descriptions on tab above)
- Leadership and Organization
- Learning and Teaching
- Student Support and Development
- Workforce Preparation and Development
Session Title
Session titles may include up to 10 words. The title should catch the attention of conference participants while accurately reflecting the session topic. Titles should not include special characters (e.g., !) or all capitalized words (e.g., NOW) unless these elements are part of an official title or acronym.
Session Description
Session descriptions may include up to 150 words. The description is a succinct paragraph accurately informing participants about the session, and should follow these instructions:
- In full sentences, summarize the topic and session content; include the major points to be covered.
- Indicate employee groups that are the primary audience for this session (e.g., faculty, deans and directors, managers, presidents).
Proposal Questions
The following information must be provided as part of the proposal submission process:
- Does your proposed session have a direct, explicit connection to science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics (STEM)?
- Does your proposed session have a direct, explicit connection to diversity, equity, inclusion/social justice?
- Is your proposed session about your institution's 2021-2022 Innovation of the Year Award-winning innovation?
- Provide one to three learning outcomes for participants. Learning outcomes must indicate how participation in the session will increase, enhance, or otherwise impact participants’ knowledge, skills, and/or perspectives related to the session topic.
- Describe the specific activities that will engage participants in learning during the session (e.g., active learning, demonstration, discussion, creation).
- Describe in what way(s) the subject of this session is innovative for your community college and/or for the community college field more generally?
*The League reserves the right to edit proposed session titles and descriptions, change the session type of accepted proposals, place sessions in alternative tracks, and encourage joint presentations if multiple proposals are submitted on similar topics.
The Innovations Conference incorporates ideas, initiatives, and inspirations from four vital tracks into the broader conference goal of encouraging and facilitating student and organizational learning through innovation, experimentation, and institutional transformation. The conference features Special Sessions, Forums, Roundtable Discussions, and Poster Sessions for each track, along with General Session Keynotes aimed at inspiring innovation and change in community college education.
Join the most energetic professionals in community colleges as they come together to showcase their model programs, share lessons learned, and look to the future by exploring innovations in (1) leadership and organization, (2) learning and teaching, (3) student support and development, and (4) workforce preparation and development.
STEM-RELATED PROPOSALS ARE INVITED FOR EVERY TRACK.
Leadership and Organization
Accountability mandates, fluctuating funding, demographic shifts, and the rapid pace of change continue to challenge community college administrators to explore innovative strategies for leadership and organization. Learning organizations, knowledge management, quality principles, liberation management, and leading from the soul are only a few of the techniques used today to meet community college leadership challenges. In this stream, the League invites colleagues committed to transforming their community colleges to share their leadership, organizational, and staff development programs, processes, and perspectives in an effort to help all community college leaders learn how to blend diverse innovations together to make a difference in community college education.
Learning and Teaching
Community college professionals continue to develop new and innovative ways of approaching learning and teaching, many of which promote the learning-centered movement. This conference stream affords educators the opportunity to share their innovations with colleagues around the world. Classroom assessment and research, learning styles, learning communities, service learning, distance learning strategies, interactive computer-aided instruction, multimedia in the classroom, ethics in instruction, and critical-thinking skills development are only a few of the wide range of instructional strategies featured.
Student Support and Development
The diverse needs and backgrounds of community college students have challenged student services and student development personnel to build and implement some of the most innovative approaches to serving students in higher education. This track features a wide array of student activity and leadership programs as well as proven and promising methods for tackling the challenges of recruiting, admissions, advising, assessment, accessibility, orientation, early warning systems, learning support systems, enrollment management, retention services, and counseling.
Workforce Preparation and Development
The League's Workforce Initiative explores the many ways community colleges are meeting the workforce needs of their communities. In a continuing effort to further this initiative, this conference track highlights how community colleges work individually or in collaboration with K-12 institutions, businesses, and government agencies in the areas of contract training, continuing education, tech-prep programs, school-to-work initiatives, work-based learning activities, business and industry training, integrated academic and technical learning models, college and career transitions, and community college and industry partnerships. Some of these initiatives include the exploration of e-learning in workforce training as well as the certification of workplace skills.
PLEASE NOTE: PRESENTERS WHO NEED A LAPTOP OR TABLET FOR THEIR SESSION(S) ARE REQUIRED TO BRING THEIR OWN.
Proposals may be submitted for one of the session types listed below. All sessions are one hour. Because time slots for each session type are limited, the League reserves the right to change the session type of accepted proposals.
Forums
Forums are traditional breakout sessions that form the core of conference offerings. Presenters are expected to use active learning techniques to engage audiences; to provide materials, resources, and/or links to online content*; and to respond to follow-up requests for more information. Lecture-only presentations are strongly discouraged.
Forums are supported with wired high-speed Internet access, a video projector (with HDMI and VGA connectors) compatible with Windows and Mac platforms, a microphone, speakers, and a screen. Presenters who need a laptop/tablet or an adapter other than those mentioned above for their session(s) are required to bring their own. The League does not provide this equipment. (Presenters who need to rent equipment/adapters from the AV company will be charged a fee; availability is not guaranteed.)
Roundtable Discussions
Roundtable Discussions afford a personal and interactive setting for exploration of key issues related to a conference track with up to 10 participants. Roundtables are particularly well suited for exploratory topics and topics that require small group interchange. Roundtable presenters are expected to facilitate substantive discussions or small group activities and to provide materials/resources.*
Roundtables cannot accommodate equipment other than a battery-operated laptop computer provided by the presenter(s). Roundtables do not have access to power outlets or an Internet connection.
Poster Sessions
Poster Sessions take the form of an exhibit and are delivered primarily through the use of graphs, diagrams, pictures, data, and narrative text on bulletin boards. Presenters must arrange for their own display materials in the 15 minutes prior to their session. During their assigned time periods, presenters informally discuss their presentations with participants by making brief remarks, sharing information, and answering questions about the presentation topic. Participants are free to move from one presentation to another during the Poster Session. Presenters are encouraged to have provide materials/resources* for participants.
