Partnerships: Stronger Together

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23

Location: Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, Reno, NV

8:00 am – 6:30 pm

Registration Open

Community Conversation Space – Emerald C
Free space for conversation and networking. Do you have advice you need to seek? Is there a topic you want to talk about? Come to the community conversation space for unstructured time to talk to your peers.

9:00 am- 12:00 pm

Forum Executive Committee
(Executive Committee Members Only)

Alliance Executive Committee
(Executive Committee Members Only)

Closing Seminar—2024 Leadership Academy Cohort
(Academy Cohort and Faculty Only)

12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

Lunch—2024 Academy Cohort and Executive Committees

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Preconference Workshop: Collaborative, Interdisciplinary Planning & Budgeting Practices to Build Capacity with the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO)*
(Registration and payment required for attendance. Waitlist available at the registration desk.)
Collaborative resource planning is essential to build capacity, scale, and sustain institutional initiatives that drive outcomes. This session will share proven models and tools that can be leveraged to bring together finance and non-finance professionals and support interdisciplinary planning and budgeting activities. Attendees will gain access to a free suite of web-based resources at the NACUBO Student Success Hub and have the opportunity to discuss innovative ways of working, presented in a newly released Collaboration Toolkit. The toolkit and resources within were developed with input from a community of 26 colleges and universities through a multi-year grant initiative.

Facilitator: Terri Dautcher, NACUBO

Speaker: Sarah Bousman, University of Nevada, Reno

5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Welcome Reception
Join us for a lovely evening reception where you can meet up with old friends and make new ones!

6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Opening Dinner and Keynote: Transforming Tomorrow: Strategic Partnerships for an Evolving Higher Education Landscape
(The opening dinner and keynote is a ticketed event. Pre-registration and payment required for attendance. We regret not being able to accommodate waitlist or last-minute additions.)
In an era defined by rapid change and unprecedented challenges, higher education institutions are called to rethink, reinvent, and realign their approaches to better serve today’s diverse learners. “Transforming Tomorrow: Strategic Partnerships for an Evolving Higher Education Landscape” explores the vital role of partnerships as a catalyst for innovation and resilience.

In this keynote, Dr. Mordecai Brownlee shares insights on how collaborative ventures can empower institutions to expand resources, enhance academic programs, and strengthen community ties. He’ll discuss how transformative alliances—both within higher education and across industries—address critical issues and create new opportunities for student success, institutional growth, and social impact. Through real-world examples and actionable strategies, Dr. Brownlee will inspire academic leaders to leverage partnerships that prepare their campuses to adapt, thrive, and lead in a constantly evolving educational landscape.

This session will leave you equipped to foster alliances that drive sustainable and impactful change, positioning your institution to shape and embrace the future of higher education.

Introduction: Demarée Michelau, President, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE)
Moderator: Commissioner Barbara Damron, WICHE Chair, and Professor, College of Nursing and School of Medicine, University of New Mexico

Speaker: Dr. Mordecai Brownlee, President, Community College of Aurora

THURSDAY, APRIL 24

7:00 am – 5:00 pm

Registration Open

7:30 am – 8:15 am

Breakfast

8:30 am – 9:00 am

Welcome and Meeting Overview

Jeffrey Alexander, Alliance Chair, Truckee Meadows Community College
Kate Hausbeck-Korgan, Forum Chair, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Raymonda Burgman Gallegos, WICHE

9:00 am – 10:00 am

Don’t Fear the Big Blur: New Partnerships and Credentials for Beneficial Outcomes
BAS Degrees at community colleges? Workforce certification at a university? Dual enrollment? The lines in higher education have never been blurrier. Join this panel of community college, university, and K-12 leaders to discuss how their institutions are coloring outside the lines to serve their students, communities, and workforce needs with new and innovative relationships and credentials.

Moderator: Kaylyn Bondy, Bismarck State College

Speakers: Kari Brown-Herbst, Laramie County Community College, Denise Runge, University of Alaska Anchorage, Brenda Sipe, Northern Arizona University

10:00 am – 10:20 am

Break

10:20 am – 11:10 am

Concurrent Sessions

Transfer Student Success: Embracing the Hot Potato of Statewide Collaboration to Produce Transformative Change
This interactive presentation brings together Idaho state education policy leaders and Idaho community college academic leaders to describe innovative approaches for streamlining transfer pathways in higher education. Drawing on Kezar’s theoretical framework of sensemaking and sensegiving in institutional transformation, presenters will demonstrate how cross-state institutional collaboration drives sustainable change in better supporting transfer students. By examining transfer reform through both systemic and institutional lenses, this session illustrates how theoretical understanding of change processes combine with practical implementation to create meaningful impact.

Speakers: Heidi Estrem, Idaho State Board of Education, Angela Sackett, College of Eastern Idaho, Tiffany Seely-Case, College of Southern Idaho, Justin Vance, College of Western Idaho

No One Builds a Good Credit for Prior Learning Program Alone
Over the past 4 years, Salt Lake Community College has worked to create a robust, centralized Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) office to serve their students. This has required extensive partnerships, coordination, and collaboration across the institution, as well as patience and understanding as they navigated the highs and lows of building those partnerships.

Speakers: Kiesha Fehoko, Salt Lake Community College, Andrea Tipton, Salt Lake Community College

From Pathways to Highways: The 2NAU Foundation for Growing Postsecondary Attainment
Increasing postsecondary attainment and contributing to regional workforce needs demands partnership between community colleges and universities. Northern Arizona University’s collaboration with Arizona’s community colleges through the 2NAU model offers a proven roadmap to maximizing affordability, removing academic obstacles, and collaboratively supporting students. They are further demonstrating expanded partnership models through a Universal Admissions program.

Speakers: Lauren Copeland-Glen, Northern Arizona University, John Georgas, Northern Arizona University, Terri Hayes, Northern Arizona University

11:10 am – 11:30 am

Break

11:30 am – 12:10 pm

Concurrent Sessions

Adult Education/Title II Pathways to Economic Mobility and Sector-Based Training
This session will highlight the innovative work being produced through the Good Jobs Northern Nevada initiative across adult education, community college, and workforce system partners. The panel will discuss the evolution of adult education: Integrated Education and Training (IET) models to serve adult learners and Tribal communities across the 70,000 square mile service area in northern Nevada.

Speakers: Arianna Florence, Nevada Department of Education, Alex Harris, Truckee Meadows Community College, Angela Holt, Western Nevada College, Milt Stewart, Nevadaworks, Alexandria Wright, WestEd Center for Economic Mobility

Building an Emerging Leaders Pipeline to Strengthen Institutional Values, Bridge Silos, and Build Partnerships
This panel discussion with leaders at various levels at Colorado State University Pueblo (Provost, Dean, and “emerging leader”) will explore the benefits of developing an in-house leadership program to identify and bring together campus leaders, to promote connections, and to break down traditional disciplinary barriers at the institution while encouraging partnerships.

Speakers: Victor Baeza, Colorado State University Pueblo, Michelle DenBeste, Colorado State University Pueblo, Gail Mackin, Colorado State University Pueblo

A College-Wide Collaborative Course Scheduling Solution
Salt Lake Community College’s (SLCC) class schedule is where their college most concretely realizes its promise of access to students. Being able to create and deliver an institution wide course schedule that meets the needs of your students, your academic programs, and your faculty members can be a challenging proposition. SLCC has created a collegewide strategic scheduling committee comprised of stakeholders across the college to collectively seek out and address ways that they can continually refine their schedule, as well as their internal scheduling processes, to ensure they are meeting the needs of the community they serve.

Speakers: David Brower, Salt Lake Community College, Tom Hanson, Salt Lake Community College

Establishing Cross-Campus Course Sharing
The University of Hawai‘i and University of Montana systems are at different stages of building curricular flexibility between their campuses. This session will discuss the challenges of making cross-campus course sharing a reality and the numerous administrative hurdles that must be overcome to make it possible. However, enabling cross-campus course sharing can provide numerous benefits for students and faculty including allowing for rural students to access programming not provided at their campus, ease transfer issues, and allow for underenrolled courses to reach a larger audience of students.

Speakers: Debora Halbert, University of Hawai’i, Joe Thiel, Montana University System

12:15 pm – 2:00 pm

Networking Lunch and Break
Lunch will be served from 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Enjoy some time together, networking, reflecting on the morning sessions, and return in the afternoon ready for more learning.

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Insights from the Knocking on the College Door Demographics Report
In December 2024, WICHE released the 11th edition of Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates, offering updated high school graduate projections. The demographic trends facing colleges and universities—nationally and in the West—are critical for institutional planning. Future cohorts of students may not resemble those of the past, and colleges must adapt with innovative support services and engaging programming.

How could understanding high school graduation projections inform your institution’s strategic plan?
How can you proactively respond to this demographic inflection point to position your institution for success?

Speaker: Patrick Lane, WICHE

3:00 pm – 3:20 pm

Break

3:20 pm– 4:10 pm

Concurrent Sessions

The Latest Research on Community College Baccalaureate Programs Realized Through a Multiple Partners Collaborative Approach
Innovative higher education policies and programs, grant funded projects, and new approaches may require rigorous research and a collaborative approach to secure or continue support and funding. Presenting the latest research on community college bachelor’s degrees, panelists will share a case study of the “how” and “why” of setting up a mutually beneficial research collaboration between a state system’s office, a high research university, and a private consulting firm.

Speakers: Ken Hang, Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges (WASBCTC), Elizabeth Meza, University of Washington and New America, Valerie Sundby, WASBCTC

Innovation and Collaboration: Transfer Pathways in Engineering to

Address Workforce Gaps
Transfer is a perennially sticky topic, and never more so than in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields with strict prerequisites and increased curricular complexity. This session will look at two examples of institutions that have prioritized transfer pathways for engineering students to meet workforce needs in their communities through National Science Foundation (NSF) grant work and new programs.

Speakers: Indira Chatterjee, University of Nevada, Reno, Anne Flesher, Truckee Meadows Community College, Marjaneh Gilpatrick, Northern Arizona University

Measuring Postsecondary Value Across Transfer Pathways
Existing definitions of postsecondary value focus on financial metrics of ‘return of investment’ (ROI) for students, establishing ratios of program cost or loan debt against median earnings of graduates. However, these metrics have significant limitations, particularly for students in transfer pathways. This session examines the potential of inter-agency partnerships to enhance the understanding of ROI across transfer, and help students make informed decisions about transfer pathways.

Speakers: Julie Garver, Washington Council of Presidents, Summer Kenesson, Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges (WASBCTC)

Co-Investing in Infrastructure: The New Normal in Community Investment
This panel explores two examples of institutions partnering to develop innovative campuses to satisfy local educational and workforce needs. A representative from Colorado State University Pueblo will share their experience developing a new satellite campus to support workforce development in healthcare settings, and representatives from Salt Lake Community College and University of Utah will discuss a unique infrastructure partnership that serves transfer students.

Speakers: Taunya Dressler, Salt Lake Community College, Jason Taylor, University of Utah, Jacob Walter, Colorado State University Pueblo

4:10 pm – 5:45 pm

Graduation and Awards Reception, with Support from the Mellon Foundation
All are welcome, please attend and celebrate our community achievements!

Acknowledgement of the Alliance’s Bernice Joseph Leadership Award and Presentation of the Forum’s Colleague’s Choice Innovation Award

Presenters: Kari Brown-Herbst, Alliance Vice Chair, Laramie County Community College, James Paul Holloway, Forum Vice Chair, University of New Mexico

Graduation of the 2024 Cohort of the WICHE Academy for Leaders in the Humanities

Presenter: Raymonda Burgman Gallegos, Vice President, Programs and Services, WICHE

Graduation of the 2024 Cohort of the Western Academic Leadership Academy

Presenter: Laura Woodworth Ney, Academy Program and Mentoring Coordinator, AGB Search

Dinner on your own

FRIDAY, APRIL 24

7:30 am – 11:00 am

7:30 am – 8:45 am

Breakfast

8:15 am – 8:45 am

Membership Meeting

8:45 am – 9:15 am

Break

9:15 am – 9:30 am

Welcome Back, Meeting Logistics

9:30 am – 10:30 am

Using Data to Plan for the Future: Understanding Students, Demographics, and Financial Strategy with the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS)
In an era of shifting demographics and financial pressures, strategic finance is no longer just the concern of chief financial officers—it’s a conversation for leaders across the institution from student affairs to facilities, and planning to academic affairs. The upcoming demographic changes and economic outlook will impact institutions differently. For example, the South Dakota Board of Regents recently partnered with NCHEMS to develop a tool that assesses how evolving conditions could affect institutional financial viability.

What tools and data do you need for high-level campus-wide assessments?
How can these tools improve decision-making, drive deeper conversations within your institution, and inform discussions with governing bodies?

Join us to explore these projects and gain actionable insights for navigating demographic and financial challenges in higher education.

Speakers: Pamela Carriveau, South Dakota Board of Regents, Heather Forney, South Dakota Board of Regents, Brian Prescott, NCHEMS

10:30 am – 10:45 am

Wrap Up and Adjournment

11:30 am – 1:05 pm

Optional Campus Visit: Tour of Truckee Meadows Community College’s William N. Pennington Applied Technology Center

Campus Visit is a free, ticketed event. Registration is required. Please register through your CVENT app no later than April 17^th. A waiting list will be available at the registration desk for those who do not register in advance, but spots cannot be guaranteed after April 17^th.

Come see the innovative work happening at the William N. Pennington Applied Technology Center at Truckee Meadows Community College.

Attendees are responsible for arranging their own transportation to campus, located at 475 Edison Way, Reno, Nevada 89502. Luggage storage will be available during the tour, and lunch will be generously provided by the host.

The campus is located roughly 10 minutes away from the hotel by car and 10 minutes away from the Reno-Tahoe International Airport for those hoping to go directly from the tour to the airport.