4th Annual FGLI Consortium Administrator Conference proposal Form

We are excited to welcome your proposals for the 4th Annual FGLI Consortium Administrator Conference, to be hosted in Chicago by Northwestern University and the University of Chicago from Wednesday, November 15 through Friday, November 17, 2023. Through this professional gathering, attendees will have the opportunity for information-sharing, thought partnership, and community-building with colleagues who support FGLI students at selective colleges and universities. More information about the conference can be found at this link. The Round 2 deadline for session proposals is Friday, September 1 at 11:59 PM ET. 

CONFERENCE THEME AND TRACKS

This year’s conference theme, “Support at Scale: Expanding FGLI Support Initiatives for an Expanding FGLI Student Population,'' acknowledges and addresses an emerging reality: as our FGLI student populations continue to grow, many of our programs no longer suffice to meet the expanding need. Summer programs are capped at certain numbers, staff-to-student ratios are growing, and our FGLI student body is becoming more diverse in the level and type of support that best fits their experiences. The bespoke, individualized approaches we have long taken toward student support (and taken pride in!) are often no longer tenable ways to serve a growing population. 

Our conference will address these questions, considering how growth and scale might necessitate a genuine re-imagining of policies, curricula, and structures. Our call for proposals solicits presentations and workshops that grapple with these questions and/or that provide case studies on potential solutions. We will explore these themes through the following lenses, or “tracks”:

  • Collaborations and Partnerships– What collaborations or partnerships – with colleagues outside of our offices and areas, or even outside of our institutions – might be leveraged to help spread this work more broadly?
    Examples of topics within this track include, but are not limited to:

    • What are some strategies for building meaningful connections and partnerships with cross-campus colleagues, particularly within institutions with complex infrastructure? 

    • What are some examples of programmatic, departmental, or individual collaborations that have worked well to leverage mutual goals across units?

    • What are the ways we can partner with colleagues and programs at neighboring – or even distant – institutions?

    • What are the strategies for building positive relationships with alumni and potential donors?

    • How can we work with community-based organizations and similar partners in ways that best serve our FGLI students in the particular contexts of our selective colleges and universities?

  • Student Success and Student Support– How do we ensure that no students are lost along the way as our FGLI communities grow?
    Examples of topics within this track include, but are not limited to:

    • How can we continue to offer the holistic, individualized support that we value when our student population is growing so rapidly?

    • What are the approaches and initiatives that can best respond to increased demand on mental health support services?

    • What are the ways we can engage with faculty around the pedagogical practices that facilitate FGLI students’ learning in the classroom?

    • What are the programs and approaches that help us to support the growing number of FGLI students preparing for graduation from our institutions and for life after college?

    • What are the ways we can engage with students to co-create programming that meets their needs?

  • Policy and Campus Culture– How might institutionalized policy and cultural change contribute to positive outcomes for our growing FGLI student populations and support our workload as administrators?
    Examples of topics within this track include, but are not limited to:

    • What policy changes have been implemented at your institution to alleviate some of the most common pressures faced by FGLI students and/or the administrators who support them?

    • How might we shift campus culture in a way that builds community for our FGLI students, both with each other and with non-FGLI students? How might these efforts shift as our numbers of FGLI students grow?

    • What are the ways we can engage faculty around the curricular structures that facilitate FGLI students’ successful progress through general education requirements and/or a major?

    • How do we instill institution-wide awareness of, engagement with, and support for FGLI students and FGLI student-serving programs? How might this inform or intersect with institutional values and institutional messaging?

    • How can we best raise awareness about FGLI student experiences among upper-level administrators? What are ways we can build from this awareness to facilitate needed structural changes?

FORMAT OPTIONS OF PROPOSALS/WORKSHOPS

  • Workshop Sessions, 75 minutes: These sessions can take a number of forms, and we strongly encourage an interactive focus. For example, these sessions might involve hands-on work, small group conversations, or facilitated q&a. You may wish to have a co-presenter(s) or co-facilitator(s).

  • Sharing Sessions, 50 minutes:  These information-sharing sessions can take a number of forms, but are shorter in length than Workshops. These sessions might take the form of a more “traditional” presentation, with substantive Q&A or discussion. Or you may also wish to organize a panel session with other presenters to focus on a particular topic or narrow theme from multiple perspectives.

  • Igniter Talks, 5-10 minutes:  These short talks provide an opportunity for presenters to share an emerging idea or initiative-in-progress, share details about a resource that’s been helpful to you or your program, talk through a challenge or question, or outline a ‘case study’ that speaks to larger themes of interest to conference attendees. These Igniter Talks are meant to spark conversation and brainstorming throughout the conference and beyond, and are a great way to showcase your work, to solicit community input about challenges, and to connect with colleagues whose interests and experience align with what’s on your mind.

DEADLINE & Details

  • Deadline for program proposals is Friday, September 1, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET

  • Proposals will comprise an abstract and a session description:

    • Abstract:  No more than 200 words
      The abstract is where you will share the basic description of your session, as well as “the hook.” This text will be used in the conference program shared with attendees.

    • Description:  No more than 500 words
      In your description, please share further detail on the content and context of your session, as well as information on expected format or style (for example: workshop with hands-on activities, brief presentation followed by small-group discussions, longer presentation with time for Q&A). 

  • The proposal review committee will review submissions for content and track alignment and may make suggestions on session or conference track assignments.

  • Drop-in hours for questions, hosted by the Proposal Review Committee:

CONFERENCE PROPOSAL FORM | Deadline: Friday, September 1, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET