1. education
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uwosh.edu/go/asrr
Adult Student
Recruitment &
Retention Conference
March 23–24, 2015
Madison, Wis.
The ASRR Conference is
brought to you by
Adult Student
Recruitment &
Retention Conference
Greetings! Registration is now open
for the Midwest’s leading adult
student and recruitment conference.
Join attendees, speakers and
exhibitors from around the U.S. and
the world to learn what works, what’s
next, and what’s new for recruiting,
retaining and marketing to
adult students.
For 2015, the ASRR Conference brings
you three keynote speakers and three
educational tracks in the areas of your
interest and expertise: recruitment,
retention and marketing. Each track
consists of five breakout sessions.
Stay on one track through the entire
conference, or move between
tracks to meet your personal and
professional interests. New this year
is increased time for discussion and
networking, even as session lengths
and number of sessions offered
remains the same.
ASRR continues to focus on best
practices and policies that you can
apply at your institutions. Learn what
top colleges and universities are doing
to attract adult learners and ensure
they are successful.
Who should attend?
Past participants include staff
from technical, community and
comprehensive institutions. This
program is specifically designed for
higher education staff and faculty
who work with adult nontraditional
students in many capacities, including:
• Admissions
• Adult student services
• Advising
• Career services
• Counseling services
• Distance and online programs
• Financial aid
• Graduate schools
• Marketing
• Minority or diversity affairs
• Outreach and recruitment
• Registrar’s office
• Veteran’s office
New for 2015:
Register two attendees
from your institution
and a third may attend
for free!
uwosh.edu/go/asrr
Conference Schedule
Monday, March 23, 2015
8–9:30 a.m. Registration and networking in the exhibitor’s hall
(coffee and tea provided)
9:30–10:45 a.m. Welcome and Keynote Address
(coffee, tea and refreshments provided)
11 a.m.–Noon Breakout Sessions I
12:15–2 p.m. Lunch and Lunchnote Address (lunch provided)
2:15–3:15 p.m.
Breakout Sessions II
3:15–3:45 p.m.
Networking break in the exhibitor’s hall
(refreshments provided)
4–5 p.m.
Breakout Sessions III
5 p.m. Join colleagues and new friends in the hotel lounge
(dinner on your own)
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
7:15–8:15 a.m. Breakfast in the exhibitor’s hall
(coffee, tea and breakfast provided)
8:30–9:30 a.m.
Breakout Sessions IV
9:45–10:45 a.m.
Breakout Sessions V
10:45–11 a.m. Networking break in the exhibitor’s hall
(refreshments provided)
11 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Endnote Address and farewell until next year
12:15 p.m. Please feel free to continue to network and share
(lunch on your own)
Keynote Speakers
Our distinguished general session
speakers will inspire and energize as
they address the topics of education
and citizenship, doing what you love
and loving what you do, and the
trends that are shaping our work and
demographic landscape.
Stephen J. Black, president of
Impact Alabama
Stephen Black, grandson of U.S.
Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black,
grew up in New Mexico after most of
his family left the state in the 1950s
and 1960s following his grandfather’s
role in controversial Civil Rights
decisions, including Brown v. Board
of Education. Despite growing up
more than 1,000 miles away, from a
very young age he was fascinated by
Alabama and the legacy of his family’s
commitment to public service in their
home state. Mr. Black received his
bachelor’s degree from the University
of Pennsylvania where he graduated
magna cum laude, and he received his
Juris Doctorate from Yale Law School
in 1997. Following his graduation from
law school, he returned to Alabama
to join the Birmingham law firm,
Maynard, Cooper & Gale, PC.
After three years with the firm, he
was called to public service—serving
for a brief time as an assistant to the
Governor, focusing on policy and
economic development projects.
Encouraged by the enthusiasm
of thousands of students he
encountered when speaking across
the state, he turned his focus to
founding and leading the Center
for Ethics & Social Responsibility at
the University of Alabama, where he
has served as director since 2004.
In 2013, Mr. Black was asked by
Chancellor Robert E. Witt to serve
as Special Advisor to the University of
Alabama Chancellor for Outreach and
Community Engagement.
Rovy Branon, vice provost for
educational outreach at the University
of Washington
After serving for more than seven
years as associate dean at the
University of Wisconsin-Extension,
Rovy Branon packed up and headed
west to become the Vice Provost for
Educational Outreach at the University
of Washington. Rovy returns to
Wisconsin for the first time since taking
his new job for a fifth appearance at
the Adult Student Recruitment and
Retention Conference.
He will bring his unique mix of
technology futurism, humor, and
reality-based perspective to discuss the
imperative to continuously innovate.
Fred Bayley, senior consultant at LERN
Fred Bayley is a Senior LERN
Consultant leading the Certified
Program Planner and providing
customer-service training experiences.
As President of Kiteline Consulting he
is certified in Meyers-Briggs, working
with non-profits, and facilitating team
building. Fred is a speaker and author;
adding humor to life, getting ideas
adopted, and building the ideal team.
He is a former Dean at Community
College where he created a truckdriving program and built it into one of
the prominent schools in the southeast.
Fred is an internationally-known
speaker dealing with organizational
change, community building, and
self-empowerment. Fun, having folks
involved, and providing something
practical that can be used immediately
are trademarks of Fred’s presentations.
Breakout Presentations
Presenters at the 2015 ASRR
represent sixteen different institutions
from throughout the United States.
Breakout presentations were selected
by a multi-institution panel of your
peers. During each breakout, one
session from each of the three tracks
will be offered.
Marketing Track
Numbers are Worth 1,000 Words:
Lessons Learned on the Path to
Reaching Adult Learners—
Anissa Kuhar, manager of outreach
marketing, and Meryl Sussman,
assistant vice president of outreach
adult and non-credit programs,
Northern Illinois University
Are you satisfied with the number of
new adult students generated by your
communications strategies? The NIU
Outreach promotions team was not. We
implemented several credit-program
communications campaigns that
generated strong initial inquiries. But the
true story was in the data: high numbers
of inquiries were not always converting
to robust numbers of qualified prospects.
So, the promotions team decided to test
several approaches. Find out what tools
and strategies NIU Outreach used to
generate the right adults for its programs.
Sharing the Stories of Adult Students
—Amelia Fontella, recruiter/preadvisor, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
The use of student stories as part of
a marketing plan is nothing new. Your
institution likely already features profiles
or stories of current students and alumni
on its website and in other marketing
pieces. But are you maximizing your
students’ stories as a marketing tool? Are
you showcasing the unique perspectives
of adult students? Presented by a writer
with nearly ten years of experience
writing for higher education, this
session provides tried-and-true tips for
finding and sharing the stories of your
students. Key topics include: identifying
adult students with compelling stories,
facilitating the interview process, essential
components of an impactful story,
overcoming challenges in the storygathering and crafting processes, and
maximizing the use of the student story.
An Analysis of Adult and Traditional
Student Satisfaction in Online Courses
—Christina Trombley, director, and
Steven VandenAvond, associate provost,
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
As online education has grown, public
universities have used it as a way to
reach a new marketplace of students,
especially the growing number of adults
who are seeking a degree or looking
to change direction. UW-Green Bay’s
Adult Degree Program began a mixed
methods research approach to analyze
the differences in course satisfaction
between traditional and adult students
in their online degree program. This
analysis provides answers to the question
of whether adult students respond
differently to various teaching methods,
philosophies and frameworks in the
online environment. As traditional and
nontraditional students continue to blend
in online classrooms, retention will be a
critical reflection on how faculty revises
teaching strategies that satisfy
both groups.
How to Build a Performance-Driven
Marketing Website—Chris Hoffman,
director of marketing, University of
Wisconsin-Extension, Continuing
Education, Outreach & E-Learning
A performance website is essential to
marketing success in the PCE space. This
session will show you how to build a site
that delivers the results you need. Unique
selling proposition, keyword research,
device responsive design, onpage SEO,
blogging, video and conversion-centered
design will all be covered.
Creating Successful Statewide
Adult Learner Public Awareness
Campaigns—Rosalind Barnes Fowler,
director of public awareness and
outreach, Board of Regents of the
University System of Georgia
Promoting a single institution’s programs
for Adult Learners can be daunting—
scaling to a broader audience is even
tougher. This session will examine the
careful development of an adult learner
public awareness campaign. From the
arduous task of gathering statewide
marketing research through honest
conversations with college dropouts,
to developing a comprehensive
communications plan that encompasses
marketing to a diverse population –
this session will review the elements
needed to create an awareness/outreach
campaign that is far reaching and lasting.
Finally, the session will explore ways
to maximize limited resources through
collaboration and partner engagement.
Recruitment Track
Build It and They Will Come:
Adult Program FYI Sessions—
Angela Nackovic and Justin Hardee,
adult admissions representatives,
College of DuPage
College of DuPage has been offering
information sessions to prospective and
current adult students for more than 15
years. In 2014, we wanted to change
things up and offer sessions that spoke to
the programs and careers adult students
were interested in learning about. We
also created a well-oiled, and marketsegmented publicity plan that drives the
right students to their desired area of
interest. This has resulted in an increase in
application and enrollments.
Catfish Noodling in a New Area-Teege Mettille, director of admissions,
Northland College
Recruiting students from a new area is a
challenge very similar to catfish noodling.
With one, you can find yourself wading
through murky waters, reaching for one
thing only to find another, while always
fearing being dragged underwater. The
other is fishing with your bare hands. This
session will discuss the trials, tribulations,
and best practices with starting new
initiatives and recruitment plans.
Extraordinary Customer Service—
Fred Bayley, senior consultant, LERN
Transform your customer service into
something extraordinary. As a result more
repeat business will improve your bottom
line. Customer service separates you from
your competition. Extraordinary customer
service comes from focusing on the few
essential elements that yield big results.
Discover how easy it is to tweak your
customer service from the ordinary to the
extraordinary. You’ll take away a customer
service plan that will help you focus on
the key elements that will get you started
on your pathway to success.
Virtual Advising and Recruiting:
Opportunities to Increase
Recruitment and Retention of Adult
Learners—Cathi Jones, marketing
coordinator and general transfer
advisor, University of South Alabama
Baldwin County
The number of adult learners who
participate in online learning has
increased in the last two decades due
to its many advantages. However, a
high dropout rate in online learning
still persists in higher education. Due
to the large numbers of students many
campuses serve, ensuring successful
advising and retention is difficult. Virtual
advising and recruiting can be an
effective tool for decreasing the dropout
rate by keeping students engaged. This
program explores how educators can use
online technology to increase retention
by providing flexible, efficient contact
with the online adult learner.
Promoting Credit for Prior Learning
for Recruiting Adult Students—
Louise Bradley, credit for prior learning
and English instructor, Chippewa Valley
Technical College; Rebekah Phillips,
adult advisor and prior learning,
Western Technical College; Jenna
Kulasiewicz, credit for prior learning
and grant coordinator, Southwest
Wisconsin Technical College
In a recent survey, 62% of adults identified
credit for prior learning as a reason
they chose the school they attend. As
recruiting the adult student becomes
more competitive, having a strong credit
for prior learning program in place is
increasingly important. In this workshop
Jenna, Rebekah and Louise plan to share
the CPL strategies they have developed/
used as they have remodeled the credit for
prior learning programs at their colleges.
Come and find out what has worked
well and what hasn’t in order to increase
enrollment of adult learners at your college
through credit for prior learning.
Retention Track
Marooned on the Undecided Island:
Assisting Adult Learners to Navigate
a Career Change—Meryl Sussman,
assistant vice president of outreach
adult and non-credit programs, and
Anissa Kuhar, manager of outreach
marketing, Northern Illinois University
Do you have adult prospects who check
“undecided” as their program choice?
The Outreach Promotion Team at
Northern Illinois University worried about
the adult learners who wanted to start
on a new path but were unsure which
direction to take. We developed the
Navigator as a communication vehicle
for adults to learn about employment
trends, career paths and NIU programs
that might help them reach their goals.
For those still “exploring,” Navigator
offers upbeat newsletters, links to articles
and surveys, webinars on new careers,
and personalized support to regain
confidence. All this is done within tight
institutional budgets by maximizing
automated communications.
Our Journey Down the Road Less
Traveled: Supporting Adult Students
at a Traditional 4-Year University—
Amy Meyer, academic and career
advisor, and Jenny Lamberson,
program development and advising
coordinator, Winona State University
Winona State University is recognized
for providing a quality education and
experience to students, primarily
traditional-aged learners. How and why
then do we attempt to move a 156 yearold institution in a direction to better
serve the unique needs of adult learners?
Join us to learn about WSU’s journey
in paving the way for adult students by
building support from the ground up. We
will share our two years of research and
advocacy efforts, rewarding successes,
frustrating disappointments, and where
we want to go next. A demonstration
of our new online orientation for adult
learners will be shared.
Evidence-Based Change:
Case Studies in Improving Service to
Adult Learners—Donna Younger,
associate vice president of higher
education, CAEL
This session will present examples of
institutional use of survey data to make
decisions and implement change projects
to focus academic programs, student
support, and institutional infrastructure
on the adult learner. The case studies of
two institutions that have used the Adult
Learner Inventory and the Institutional
Self-Assessment Survey within the
ALFI Toolkit (Adult Learner Focused
Institutions) will provide the foundation for
a discussion about linking evidence and
institutional culture to direct improvement
efforts. Participants will also engage in an
interactive exercise in interpreting and
using evidence from surveys.
Retention Management on
a Dime—Amy Griswold, outreach
program manager, University of
Wisconsin-Platteville
The University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Distance Learning Center (DLC) serves
more than 2,500 online students
annually. The DLC utilizes delivered
functionality within PeopleSoft (PASS)
to leverage the needs of a CRM with
functionality that already exists. This
presentation will show how to leverage
the 3Cs within PeopleSoft to create
a solid communication plan, provide
students with up to date resources, and
to ensure advisors have the most up to
date information on their student with
tracking of comments
and communications.
Best Practices in Adult Online
Student Orientation—
Jennifer Schubert, student
services coordinator, University of
Wisconsin Oshkosh
A growing number of universities
recognize the need to offer
baccalaureate degrees in online format.
Understanding the needs of adult,
degree-seeking students is important
in online degree planning, including
the need for effective orientation. Not
only is it critical to implement, it is just
as critical to continually monitor for
effectiveness. Research suggests the
theory of self-efficacy is a key element
in the design of effective online student
orientation. This session will present
the planning, implementation and
measurement of an online orientation
developed to enhance self-efficacy.
Attendees are invited to share their
own successes and exchange contact
information so that we might work
together to achieve greater success in
this area of our work.
Hotel Information
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 West Dayton Street
Madison, WI 53703
(800) 356-8293
A block of rooms has been reserved
for conference attendees at the
Madison Concourse Hotel at a
special rate of $70 for single or $110
double occupancy. These rates are
available until Feb. 20, 2015. For hotel
reservations, call (800) 356-8293. Be
sure to mention the Adult Student
Recruitment and Retention Conference
to receive conference rates.
The Madison Concourse Hotel is in the
heart of downtown Madison near the
State Capitol, State Street, Overture
Center, University of Wisconsin campus
and Monona Terrace Convention
Center. It is located five miles from the
Dane County Regional Airport.
Registration Information
New for 2015: Register two
attendees from your institution and a
third may attend for free! We ask that
each group of three registers on the
same order. You will need to gather
the information for your group of
three before you sit down to register.
For assistance, please call us toll-free
at (800) 633-1442 and ask for the
ASRR conference registration desk.
To receive the discount on the third
registration, use the promotion code
3RDFREE when you register.
Registration deadline
The deadline for registration is March
9, 2015. After this date, please
call the UW Oshkosh Division of
Lifelong Learning and Community
Engagement for conference
availability. Fee payment must be
received by the registration deadline.
Questions and
more information:
Conference registration: Monday,
March 23, 2015, 8–9:30 a.m.
contact the UW Oshkosh Division of
Lifelong Learning and Community
Engagement at (920) 424-1129, tollfree at (800) 633-1442 or via e-mail
at [email protected].
Conference Fees
Conference Manager
Conference dates: Monday, March
23 and Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Register today for our early
registration discount!
For Professionals
On or before Feb. 23: $245
After Feb. 23: $265
For Students
On or before Feb. 23: $95
After Feb. 23: $125
Fees include all conference sessions
and materials; Monday’s coffee,
refreshments, and lunch; and Tuesday’s
coffee, refreshments, and breakfast.
Jason Kauffeld, Division of
Lifelong Learning and Community
Engagement, UW Oshkosh
Sponsors
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh,
Division of Lifelong Learning and
Community Engagement
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
University of Wisconsin-Extension
Cancellation policy
If notice of cancellation is received
by the registration deadline, you will
receive a full refund of fees minus a
$35 processing charge. No refunds
will be made for cancellations received
after March 9, 2015. Registrations may
be transferred to another person in
your organization at any time at no
charge. If possible, please inform us
of such transfers in advance of the
conference. UW Oshkosh reserves
the right to cancel any program due
to insufficient enrollment, as well as
the right to limit enrollment due to
excessive demand.
UW Oshkosh is an affirmative action/
equal opportunity institution.
If you desire special assistance and/or
accommodations, please notify us by
the registration deadline. Requests are
kept confidential.
Register by
February 23rd and
receive an early
registration discount!
uwosh.edu/go/asrr
Are your recruitment and retention strategies meeting
your institution’s goals and your students’ needs?
Learn about new and successful approaches for
reaching this important demographic. Go online to
register, view session descriptions, and download
the conference brochure. uwosh.edu/go/asrr
Please indicate your method of payment:
Registration fee enclosed. Check No._____________Amount________________
Please charge the registration fee to:
VISA
MasterCard
Card No._____________________________________________________________
Expiration date________________________CVS code_______________________
Cardholder’s name (please print)________________________________________
Cardholder’s signature_________________________________________________
Purchase order attached. Purchase order No._ ____________________________
Printable Registration Form
Bill my employer.
Adult Student Recruitment & Retention Conference
Monday and Tuesday, March 23–24, 2015, Madison, Wis.
You can also register online at uwosh.edu/go/asrr
Attention_ ___________________________________________________________
Employer____________________________________________________________
New this year – if two participants from your institution register, a third can
register for free! If you are registering as a group of three, please send all
three registration forms together. Use promo code 3RDFREE.
(Please PRINT legibly)
Name________________________________________________________________
Job Title______________________________________________________________
Institution_____________________________________________________________
Employer’s address____________________________________________________
_ ____________________________________________________________________
Mail or fax to: UW Oshkosh, LLCE, 800 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh, WI
54901-8623; Fax: (920) 424-1803.
Please make your check payable to UW Oshkosh LLCE. Unless otherwise
requested, your canceled check will be your receipt.
For more information call Lifelong Learning and Community Engagement at
(920) 424-1129 or toll-free at (800) 633-1442.
Address______________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip_________________________________________________________
The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh/Extension asks that you voluntarily respond to the questions
below. The cumulative demographic information will be used to enhance our programming efforts.
Office phone__________________________________________________________
Gender:
Mobile phone_________________________________________________________
E-mail address ________________________________________________________
Special dietary needs:__________________________________________________
Promo Code: ______________
Male
Female
Are you enrolled in this program
primarily for career purposes?
Yes
No
Race/ethnicity:
Age:
Under 18
18-34
35-49
50-64
65+
Black (not of Hispanic origin)
Asian or Pacific Islander
American Indian or Alaskan Native
Hispanic
White (not of Hispanic origin)
If you require special accommodations, please contact us at (800) 633-1442.
The Madison Concourse Hotel is located just five miles from the Dane County
Regional Airport in the heart of the city. 1 West Dayton St., Madison, Wis 53703,
(800) 356-8293, concoursehotel.com
Fees: Register today for our early registration discount!
For professionals For students
On or before Feb. 23: $245
On or before Feb. 23: $95
After Feb. 23: $265
After Feb. 23: $125
A block of rooms has been reserved for conference attendees. Call before
Feb. 20, 2015 to reserve rooms at the special rate of $70 for single / $110
for double occupancy. Please mention the Adult Student Recruitment and
Retention Conference to receive these conference rates.