Symposium on Transforming the Postsecondary Experience
Innovation And Design So Every Student Can Graduate
October 31- November 2, 2025
Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk Chicago, IL
Gain New Knowledge to Apply to your Work!
Participants will learn about approaches for transforming various aspects of the undergraduate experience and apply that learning to efforts that help their institutions make sure more students thrive.
The event begins on October 31 with the opening plenary at 5 p.m. and ends by 2:30 p.m. on November 2nd.
Pre-Conference workshops will be held on October 31 from 9 am to 4 pm.
Transfer
Drawing on scholarship from the Gardner Institute’s published book, The Transfer Experience, as well as more than 15 years of experience helping institutions improve the transfer experience, track participants will deepen their understanding of ways to create and sustain transfer-sending or transfer-receptive cultures at their own institutions. Positive transfer cultures at institutions are essential to the persistence and completion of transfer students. The participants will be guided to apply what they learn during the track to create a set of plans to help transform their institutions to be a place where all transfer students can succeed.
Gateway Course Experience®
This interactive workshop introduces a comprehensive, evidence-based model for transforming gateway courses to promote student success. Gateway courses, once termed barrier or weeder courses, are, by definition, often foundational (lower-division or developmental courses that serve as a pathway to credit-bearing courses); high risk (courses that yield higher rates of D, F, W, or Incomplete grades); and may have high enrollments within, as well as across, sections (as defined by the institution) (Koch, 2017). During the workshop participants will learn how to implement strategies to help them advance gateway course transformation at their institution.
Transforming the First College Year: Designing a First Year for the Students You Serve
This workshop explores proven approaches to transforming the first-year student experience to improve the retention of students who are most at risk of leaving before their second year. Participants will be asked to examine the experiences they’re offering first-year students, consider how well these experiences are serving the post-traditional students of today, and where some students might need innovative forms of support to persist. Three guest presenters will join us to provide unique and proven illustrations of how to support particular first-year student populations. By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to identify concrete methods for improving specific components of the first college year and have a tentative plan for how they will begin to take action at their own institutions.
Prior to the workshop, participants will be asked to answer a few questions posed by the facilitators in preparation for the session. We invite all educators—faculty, administrators, student affairs, and student success practitioners—who play a role in the first-year student experience and across all levels of prior experience in this work.
The Second Year of College
The second year of college is often overlooked as a pivotal period in the college success and completion journey. Many educators erroneously believe that once students succeed in the first-year, they have it “all figured out.” However, national research shows that a significant portion of students leave higher education after their second year. This track will provide examples of successful practices from institutions on second-year initiatives to allow attendees to observe the landscape of efforts. Participants will engage in scenario building activities that will help them empathize with the second-year student experience and identify available campus resources or potential gaps at their institution for assisting students. Additionally, participants will leave with tangible first steps to transform the second-year experience to increase student persistence on their campus.
Transforming the Academic Advising Experience
Transforming the Academic Advising Experience will help participants develop an initial plan for implementing a purpose-driven advising approach to transform the advising experience at their institutions. Purpose-driven advising focuses on guiding students in identifying their personal values, academic goals, and professional aspirations, then helping students align their educational paths and experiences with those core principles. Purpose-driven advising draws from Lambert & Felton’s (2020) model of relationship rich education, Tinto’s (2018) contemporary model of student persistence, and current work on helping students find their purpose and develop skills necessary for success after graduation. After learning about exemplary practices in purpose-driven advising from selected 2-year and 4-year institutions, participants will consider how to adapt similar approaches at their institutions. By the end of the session, participants should be able to articulate how purpose-driven advising could operate on their campus and will have a roadmap for garnering support to initiate change.
Reducing Structural Complexity in the Curriculum
When considering systems for institutional transformation, one that all students must traverse is the curriculum that makes up a program of study. Curricular complexity tools are used by many institutions to visualize and quantify how prerequisite relationships across courses can create unintended consequences, such as extended time to degree completion, excess credit accumulation, and increased risk of attrition. Participants in this workshop will learn how curricular complexity maps, combined with improvement science techniques, can be leveraged to improve student success through a transformation of curricular structures. By the end of the three-hour workshop, participants will have engaged with colleagues to examine systems, investigated curricular complexity, considered policies and practices related to programs of study, and designed an initial plan for improving outcomes based on evidence.
The workshop allows participants to map the curricular complexity of a program of study ahead of the meeting so they can dive into analysis with expert help during the 3-hour meeting. We encourage teams of faculty and staff from a particular program of study or disciplinary department to register together. Teams that register at least 2 weeks prior to the Symposium will be asked to identify the program of study they would like to investigate during the session so a custom curricular map can be created for them. If you aren’t able to build a map prior to the meeting, we will have time before the workshop and during to help you make progress.
AI and Student Success: A Strategic Pause for Alignment
As institutions experiment with AI, the key question is whether these efforts are truly enhancing institutional efforts to improve students success outcomes for all students. Join us for an interactive session where institutional teams of faculty and staff use a structured decision-making framework to evaluate their AI initiatives, focusing on how AI can enhance learning, advising, and student services, and discover new strategies to strengthen your efforts. Participants will reflect on their current AI strategies, examine real-world AI use cases in higher education, and discuss strategies for assessing and refining AI initiatives. Through this process, they will explore a model designed to align AI with foundational student success principles, ensuring meaningful and effective integration into higher education’s core mission to create and sustain conditions that help all students complete their degrees.
Prior to the workshop, participants will be asked to answer a few questions posed by the facilitators in preparation for the session.
Pre- Conference Workshops
October 31 from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm.
Teaching and Learning Community 8:00 am- 3:30 pm (Full-day with lunch included)
As we celebrate a decade of faculty professional learning at the Gardner Institute, in this workshop we honor the past as well as the current moment to consider how we can respond to the needs of our students. Through a range of active and engaging exercises, participants in this workshop will learn about approaches they can apply to their own teaching practice with the goal of enhancing the success of all students.
Facilitators:
Stephanie M. Foote, Vice President for Teaching, Learning, and Evidence Based Practices
Josh Caulkins, Fellow, Gardner Institute
Bryan Dewsbury, Fellow, Gardner Institute
Mays Imad, Fellow, Gardner Institute
Brad Wuetherick, Fellow, Gardner Institute
Transformation Institutions Community of Practice 9:00 am-12:00 pm (Half-day)
Participants will be invited to engage in pre-reading, investigation of methodology, and work collaboratively to enhance their Transformation plans. This opportunity is designed to prime new and existing schools to treat any transformation work as an opportunity to improve systems and conduct rapid tests of their respective theories of change. Institutions will also share lessons learned and have time to engage in generative innovation focusing on their most immediate needs related to advancing transformation plans.
This session is for Transforming the Foundational Postsecondary Experience™ Institutions Only:
- Bellarmine University
- Bridgewater State University
- California State University- San Bernardino
- Capital University
- Columbia College of Chicago
- CUNY Queensborough Community College
- Emmanuel College
- Frank Phillips College
- Kentucky State University
- Lindsey Wilson College
- Louisiana State University- Shreveport
- Mary Baldwin University
- Mississippi State University
- Normandale Community College
- Purdue University Global
- Simmons College of Kentucky
- Thomas More University
- University of Alaska Fairbanks
- University of New Orleans
Facilitators:
Brent Drake, Senior Vice President for Operations and Research
Drew Koch, Chief Executive Officer
Brandon Smith, Associate Vice President
From Connection to Impact: Strengthening Dual Credit Pathways Through Counselor Collaboration, Parent Engagement, and Data-Driven Strategies- 9:00 am - 12:00 pm (Half-day)
Building a thriving Dual Credit program requires more than offering college courses—it demands strong, intentional partnerships between colleges and high school communities. This interactive workshop will guide participants through proven practices for cultivating collaborative relationships with high school counselors, engaging families, and leveraging data to expand early awareness- beginning in middle school – and increase outreach and participation in Dual Credit programs.
Key areas of focus for our presentation:
Strategic Counselor Collaboration
- Learn how College Advisors can effectively integrate into the high school support ecosystem by attending counselor meetings and becoming a trusted resource.
- Discover best practices for informing high school counselors about Dual Credit offerings and benefits so they can confidently advocate for the program.
- Explore strategies for helping high school and college counselors amplify their outreach to students—including middle schoolers—ensuring early awareness of college opportunities.
Engaging and Empowering Parents
- Discuss the pivotal role parents play in students’ participation and success in Dual Credit programs.
- Unpack strategies to engage families.
- Learn how to convey the academic and financial benefits of Dual Credit in ways that resonate with parents and guardians.
Leveraging Data to Drive Outreach
- Examine how Dual Credit providers can use high school demographic, performance, and enrollment data to tailor marketing and student engagement efforts.
- Understand how insights from data can help uncover gaps, identify growth opportunities, and align with the unique needs of each school partner.
Supporting Faculty for Success
- Gain an overview of essential support structures for faculty teaching Dual Credit, including training, resource alignment, and collaboration with high school educators.
Whether you are a college advisor, Dual Credit administrator, or institutional leader, this session will equip you with the strategies, tools, and insights needed to foster stronger partnerships, elevate outreach, and drive meaningful student outcomes.
Facilitators:
Akilah Martin, Assistant Vice President
Priscilla A. Sanchez, Executive Director, School & College Partnerships, Lee College
Hidden Populations: Foster / Adopted Youth & Students with Trauma- 1:00 - 4:00 pm (Half-day)
Hidden college student populations refer to students who tend to be hidden from campus institutional systems, processes, and decision-making. These students may be motivated to remain anonymous due to life experiences about which there tends to be social judgement and because they see college as an opportunity to move beyond those experiences; for example, students who were in foster care, have survived sexual assault, were formerly incarcerated, and with similar types of socially stigmatizing experiences. Student desires for anonymity and lack of formal training for higher education professionals may limit the ability of campuses to support these students. This workshop will identify and discuss who is currently considered a hidden population, why and how their life experiences may intervene in their college journeys, and what campuses can do to assess their readiness or their current efforts to provide support.
Facilitators:
Kerri Kearney, Fellow, Gardner Institute
Lisa Will, Fellow, Gardner Institute
Leading Student Success in Academic Units -1:00 - 4:00 pm (Half-day)
This half-day workshop introduces leaders of academic units to a three-part framework for leading student success initiatives that result in sustainable efforts to improve student outcomes. Along with interactive presentations from experts in academic leadership, participants will be working with colleagues in similar roles at other institutions to identify critical next steps for leading a student success initiative appropriate to their academic units, student populations, and institutional contexts.
By the end of the workshop, attendees will be able to:
- Describe a general framework for leading student success initiatives as an academic leader
- Identify initial actions leaders can take for developing awareness, alignment, and/or assistance for a student success initiative
- Draw on wisdom from peers in similar positions about strategies that do and do not seem to work when launching and leading initiatives
We encourage participation by those who currently provide leadership to academic colleges, departments, schools, or other units — including deans, department chairs, associate/assistant deans, associate/assistant department chairs, and school or program directors. Academic leaders who have been selected for but have not begun their terms of service in these or similar roles are also welcome.
Facilitators:
Paul LePore, Fellow, Gardner Institute
Scott Newman, Fellow, Gardner Institute
Suzanne Wilson Summers, Fellow, Gardner Institute
Conference Registration Fees –
Register before August 1 for the early bird rate: $795
Regular Registration: $855
Student Registration (graduate and undergraduate): $425
Half-Day Pre-conference Workshops: $200
Full-Day Pre-conference Workshops: $375 (includes breakfast, lunch, all-day beverages, and afternoon snack)
The Transformation workshop is included in Transforming the Postsecondary Experience™; there is no additional fee.
- Participants whose main designation is Student are eligible for a student discount. Email events@gardnerinstitute.org for the code.
- Registrants from Transformation schools receive a 20% discount on the posted fees
- Registrants from non-Transformation schools who register for both The Graduate Student Experience and the Symposium receive a 10% discount on the combined fees. Contact events@gardnerinstitute.org for code.
- Registration Fee includes: Opening reception, two breakfasts, two lunches, refreshment breaks, and conference materials.
Hotel: Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk, 301 E North Water St, Chicago, IL 60611
- For more information contact events@gardnerinstitute.org
Conference Location Information:
Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk, 301 E North Water St, Chicago, IL 60611
Chicago is home to cultural attractions, two scenic waterfronts, and the iconic deep-dish pizza. Chicago has been Voted the Best Big City in the country for a historic eighth year in a row. Enjoy an accessible and diverse city with theater, live music, and more.
Hotel Information:
Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk, 301 E North Water St, Chicago, IL 60611
$205 per night
