Hello Region 8,
We have all been apart for awhile, taking care of business at our home institutions. Region 8 just hosted a wonderfully successful Summer Institute in Portland, Oregon, but the entire region is calling for more…well here it is!
Your Region 8 Conference Planning Committee has officially announced the theme for the upcoming Region 8 Conference:
The Heart of the Matter: Advising for Student Success, Persistence, and Retention
This theme suggestion comes from Jill Wagner at Eastern Washington University. Please see Jill’s description below and start thinking about your presentation proposals.
“The Heart of the Matter: Advising for Student Success, Persistence, and Retention” is named partially in honor of the place we will gather for the 2015 Region 8 Conference. The Coeur in Coeur d’Alene is translated from French as heart. For many of our state Legislatures, retention is the heart of what matters when they annually consider higher education funding. On our campuses, student success and persistence leads to improved retention rates. Advisors are at the core of a team of faculty and staff who foster this success in our students. But how do we do that? What practices are used to teach our students persistence? How do we team with others on campus to build mental toughness in our students? Is there technology (such as early warning systems) that aid in catching students who may be teetering on the edge of leaving school? Possible sessions for a conference centered on this theme may include: Advisor involvement in first-year experience classes; technology that fosters persistence; understanding veteran students and their unique struggles with persistence; research on and techniques to teach mental fitness; advising practices that foster student success; definitions of student success and how advisors play a role in it; and collaborating with administration and faculty committees charged with improving retention.
The conference will be held in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho March 11th-13th, 2015. We hope to see you all there.
Check back later for more information about this conference including the conference logo, call for proposals, scholarships and MUCH MORE!
NACADA Region 8 