Call for Proposals

THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS IS OPEN THROUGH OCTOBER 15.

Before entering the submission portal, please download and carefully read the Proposal Guidelines and Proposal Submission Instructions. When you are ready, click on the red Submit a Proposal button to the right to get started.

Presentation Submission Criteria

In order to present at the Innovations Conference, you must

  1. be employed by a community college or not-for-profit university, or
  2. be a sponsor* at this event.

*Sponsors must contact sponsors@league.org 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

League Accounts Required for All Presenters

Before beginning the proposal submission process:

  1. 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.
  2. Read the guidelines below.
  3. Download the submission instructions.

A PRINT-FRIENDLY VERSION OF THESE GUIDELINES IS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD HERE.

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. Please note: 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

Up to three Co-Presenters may be added to each proposal (four-presenter maximum). Remember that all presenters are required to have a League account in order to be included on a proposal.

Session Types

  • Forum
  • Roundtable Discussion
  • Poster Session

Conference Tracks

  • 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 and supervisors; presidents).

Proposal Information

The following information must be provided as part of the proposal submission process:

  1. Does your proposed session have a direct, explicit connection to science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics (STEM)?
  2. 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.
  3. Describe the specific activities that will engage participants in learning during the session and describe how each learning activity contributes to achievement of the learning outcomes.
  4. Describe the way(s) the subject of this session is innovative for your community college and/or for the community college field more generally.
NOTE: The League reserves the right to make changes to proposed session titles and descriptions, to change the session type of accepted proposals, to place sessions in different tracks, and to 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.

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. In this conference track, 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 integrate innovation and transformation 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. This conference track affords educators the opportunity to share their innovations in a wide range of instructional techniques and strategies, such as AI, gaming, remote and hybrid learning, experiential learning, learning communities, ethics and integrity in teaching and learning, and critical-thinking skills development.

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, along with our new Center for Workforce Solutions, explores the many ways community colleges are meeting the workforce needs of their communities. This conference track highlights how community colleges work individually or in collaboration with K-12 institutions, businesses, and government agencies in the areas of, for example, business and industry training, college and career pathways and transitions, work-based learning activities, contract training, continuing education, integrated college and industry certification learning models, and community college and industry partnerships.

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 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 a video projector and a screen. A microphone and sound system will be available in larger rooms. Presenters are required to bring their own laptop. Internet access may be available, but it is advised that all presentation material is available on your device.

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 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 provide materials/resources* for participants.

The conference will provide a bulletin board, push pins, a table, and two chairs for each accepted Poster Session. Poster Sessions do not have access to power outlets or an Internet connection. 

*Session materials and resources will also be uploaded to the conference app. Instructions will be sent to selected presenters closer to the time of the conference.