Student Success Conference

STUDENT SUCCESS CONFERENCE 2023

February 14 & 15

Working as a community to advance undergraduate persistence and degree completion: A focus on First-Generation college students.

We invite Arizona staff, faculty and students to learn more about supporting First-Generation College students on their path to degree completion.

Award Winners

Outstanding First-Generation Professional Award	Recognizes someone who identifies as a first-generation faculty or staff member that is also working to increase access, and or persistence for the first-generation community.	Anthony Friedrich
Outstanding Graduate Assistant Awards	Recognizes graduate students for their contribution to higher education through their graduate assistantship or internship position.	Garrett Tomlin
Outstanding Graduate Assistant Awards	Recognizes graduate students for their contribution to higher education through their graduate assistantship or internship position.	Leah Bowshier
Outstanding Mentor Awards	Recognizes someone who provides outstanding mentorship and guidance for new staff/employees	Rudy McCormick III
Assessment Champion	Recognizes an individual or department that has demonstrated the ability to intentionally integrate assessment into the goals, planning, daily practices, and improvement of their unit.	Dr. Kendra Thompson-Dyck
Inclusive Excellence	Recognizes an individual for their contributions to higher education and student persistence through creating access for marginalized populations and prioritizing diversity and inclusion in their department.	Dr. Teejay Brown
Outstanding or Innovative Programming Award	Presented to a program addressing a specific campus concern or need. Each program's success has led to an increase in student engagement, success, and retention.	Thrive Center Financial Wellness Initiatives
Outstanding new Professional	Recognizes an individual who has worked at the University of Arizona for 1-4 years and shows a commitment to student success.	Sam Cox
Wildcat Achievement Award	Awarded to someone who has demonstrated a strong commitment to the University of Arizona, student success and retention.	Brandon Hardy
Wildcat Achievement Award	Awarded to someone who has demonstrated a strong commitment to the University of Arizona, student success and retention.	Dr. Lisa Rezende
Trellis Progress Department Achievement Award	Recognizes a valued partner in Trellis Progress.	General Education
Trellis Progress College Achievement Award	Recognizes a College that has operationalized and institutionalized the use of Trellis Progress.	College of Humanities

Previous Award Winners

There are multiple ways to share your work with your campus colleagues. Please consider the variety of options and submit a proposal before January 10th (updated).

Educational Sessions

Virtual

50-minute sessions, choice of format:

Panel discussion (Sessions will feature 3-5 panelists with a panel facilitator)
Workshop (Sessions should heavily feature audience engagement with identified learning outcomes)
Paper session (Sessions will feature three 10-minute presentation of in-depth assessment, research, or scholarly project with time for Q&A and discussion amongst the presenters)

Call for Flash Sessions Will Occur in January

Flash Educational Sessions

Virtual

5-minute presentations. Choice of format:

First Gen stories: Share your first-hand journey as a First-Gen college student. What have you learned and what do you want others to know?
First-Gen champions: Share strategies and lessons learned for supporting First-Gen success at the University of Arizona.

All registered participants should be able to access sessions through the manage registration function in the confirmation and "reminder to attend" email (2.10.23) or page 3 of the conference program linked in the confirmation and reminder emails.

All activities on February 14th will be virtual, including on educational pieces. This is largely to allow for participation from colleagues across all University of Arizona campuses.

Activities on February 15th will be in-person. There will be non-current ways for individuals to participate in strategy sessions.

Participants are invited to participate as they are able in terms of time commitment.

Outstanding or Innovative Program Award

Eligibility Criteria: Within the last two academic years, submitted programs or initiatives must have led to an increase in student engagement, success, retention or graduation. Programs should have a unique approach to a challenging situation and/or specific campus concern or need. There should be quantitative or qualitative data to support the program/initiative's success.

Outstanding New Professional Award (Faculty/Staff)

Eligibility Criteria: An individual who has worked one to four years within higher education at the University of Arizona. The individual has demonstrated a strong commitment to student success at the University of Arizona.

Wildcat Achievement Award (Faculty/Staff)

Eligibility Criteria: This is awarded to one faculty member and one staff member who have demonstrated a strong commitment to student success at the University of Arizona.

Outstanding First-Generation Professional (Faculty/Staff)

Eligibility Criteria: An individual who identifies as a first-generation faculty or staff member that is also working to improve student success, increase access, and or persistence for the first-generation community.

Outstanding Graduate Student Award (2 recipients)

Eligibility Criteria: This award recognizes two graduate students for their contribution to higher education through their graduate assistantship or internship position. This award is based on the following: Must be enrolled in classes at the University of Arizona.

Outstanding Mentor Award (Faculty/ Staff)

Eligibility Criteria: This award recognizes one faculty/staff member who has been an outstanding mentor to an individual or department. This winner has provided outstanding mentorship and guidance for new staff/employees/students.

Assessment Champion Award

The Assessment Champion award is an individual or department that has demonstrated the ability to intentionally integrate assessment into the goals, planning, daily practices, and improvement of their unit.

Please provide a description of the work that best exemplifies intentionally integrating assessment into the goals, planning, daily practices, and improvement of the unit/department.
Examples of such might include an end-of-the-year assessment for a report or an executive summary of an assessment effort. This description should include the purpose of the assessment, assessment instruction(s), key findings, and how the findings were used to improve or develop a new program, practice, service, or policy.

Inclusive Excellence Award

Eligibility Criteria: This award recognizes one staff/faculty member for their contribution to higher education and student success through creating access for marginalized populations and prioritizing diversity and inclusion in their department.

General Eligibility Criteria:

Nominees and award recipients promote and value student success within their daily work.

Nomination Requirements:

Complete the online form
Staff, Faculty, or students nominated must be currently employed by or enrolled at the University of Arizona.
Programs nominated must still exist at the University of Arizona.
Submit a letter detailing:
Relationship to nominee or program. How long you have known or worked with the nominee or program.
Why the individual, program or departments is most deserving of the award(s).
How the individual, program or departments meets the criteria for the award.
Specific examples related to the award description.
How the individual, program or department contributes to student success.

Schedule At-A-Glance

February 14 & 15

The schedule has been created with flexibility and inclusivity in mind. Virtual educational sessions allow for greater participation across the whole of the University of Arizona.

Tuesday, February 14
9:00am	10 Minutes	Welcome	Virtual
	55-65 Minutes	Keynote – Q&A	Virtual
11:00am	50 Minutes	Ed Session 1 Block	Virtual
1:00pm	50 Minutes	Ed Session 2 Block	Virtual
2:00pm	50 Minutes	Ed Session 3 Block	Virtual
3:00pm	60 Minutes	Flash Sessions (5 minutes each)	Virtual

Wednesday, February 15
12:30pm	75 Minutes	Strategy Sessions/Roundtables	In-person (SUMC)
2:00pm	60-75 Minutes	Awards, Call to Action	In-person (SUMC)