At a time when urgent economic, environmental, and social challenges put U.S. higher education at risk, it makes sense for us to focus on questions of sustainability, stewardship, and quality. The 2010 WASC Academic Resource Conference (ARC) is dedicated to supporting institutions of higher education as they identify their sustainability challenges, develop solutions, and demonstrate results. WASC invites 2-year and 4-year colleges and universities to share their work at the western region's meeting place for discovery, new ideas, and networking. 

We invite you to submit a proposal for a presentation at the 2010 ARC. The term "sustainability" has generally been associated with global climate change, environmental issues, and assuring a future for coming generations - and these remain vital concerns. But we also care deeply about the sustainability of the American Dream, economic prosperity, and social equity. To sustain those values, it's essential that more students complete courses of study and attain high levels of knowledge and skill, so they can be fully contributing members of society.

On campus, sustainability has many dimensions, from faculty research to curricular and co-curricular innovation, clean campus operations, and community outreach. It can refer to tangibles, like the financial fitness of the institution, and to more intangible qualities, like its ability to maintain a spirit of collegiality and openness to change under stress. In the larger context of US society, sustainability for higher education can mean the ability to respond effectively to calls for accountability and transparency.

Share with your colleagues the ways in which your campus has defined its sustainability issues, applied its insights to teaching and learning, improved results, and strengthened the institution. Discuss your experience, tell your stories, offer your advice - and present your findings. Help us all to understand better what sustainability means, how it intersects with academic quality, how progress can best be documented and communicated, and how regional accreditation can help.

You are invited to submit a proposal that fits into one of the tracks below. The questions under each track are merely suggestive; you are free to submit on other topics, as well. Please remember that whatever your topic, findings or results, not only process, should be a key part of your presentation. Think, too, about ways to make your session as interactive and engaging as possible.

Track 1: Financial Sustainability

How can institutions strengthen their finances in a tough economy? How are they maintaining their missions in the facte of budget cuts, furloughs, credits limits, reduced endowments, and other challenge? How can they not merely survive but thrive?

How do we get past "business as usual" and short-term fixes? How can structures and functions be fundamentally redesigned?

What innovative approaches to delivery of courses, tutoring, advising, information resources, etc. can improve learning while saving money?

How can part-time, transfer, and "swirling" students best be recruited, served, retained, and graduated?  

How can strategic planning, budgeting, and educational effectiveness be linked? How are data and evidence best used to support improvement?

What kinds of development do boards and administrative leadership need to support cost-effective academic quality, accountability, and transparency? To support environmental and social sustainability?

Track 2: Sustainability, the Curriculum, Co-curriculum, and Learning

What are some models of curricula that include sustainability as a theme? How does sustainability fit into general education? The major? Certificate programs and training? Workforce needs?

What opportunities are there in the Obama administration's initiative for community colleges?

How do opportunities for student research support sustainability?

What are the learning outcomes of a curriculum that includes sustainability?

How can those learning outcomes be assessed? What methods can be adapted?

What are some models of co-curricular focus on sustainability? How does service learning fit in?

How can sustainability connect with institutional outcomes like multiculturalism, global awareness, social justice, ethical conduct, or spiritual development?

What support does curriculum change require from students, faculty, administrators, trustees, or others? What works?

What special challenges do junior and community colleges face? What about research universities and graduate programs?

Track 3: Sustainability and the Community beyond the Campus

How can a campus commitment to sustainability serve the local community - in terms of economic development, environmental health, aesthetics, or otherwise? How can effectiveness be assessed?

What is the campus contribution to the sustainability of the broader economy? To the "American dream" of upward mobility, increasing prosperity, and social equity?

How can campuses contribute to workforce development and the new skills that a sustainable economy will require? What external funding is available?

What support does the Obama administration's community college initiative offer?

What are the expectations of students, faculty and staff, citizens? What does "sustainability" mean to each audience? What kinds of collaboration are possible?

Where are the disconnects between the campus and the community? Potential conflicts in values or cultures? How can we overcome them?

What are national organizations (e.g., AAC&U, AASCU, AACC, APLU, NAICU, ACE, AASHE) contributing to campus and cross-campus work toward sustainability? What about smaller groups like the League for Innovation, CLCC, POD or ACAD?

What's the role of listservs, wikis, and new technologies in supporting collaborations - regionally, nationally, and globally? 

Track 4: Sustainability and Campus Operations

"Going green" - what does it mean, how much does it cost, and how much does it save? What other benefits does it bring?

What are some successful models for responsible management of water, waste, recycling, energy, food production and consumption, etc.?

Where do LEEDS-certified buildings fit in? What are the pros and cons?

What are the barriers to institutional change and how can they be overcome?

What are appropriate roles for students? Faculty, staff and administrators? Trustees? Others?

How can good stewardship connect with the curriculum? Co-curriculum? How can it be assessed?

Track 5: Assessment, Student Success, and Institutional Learning

What's new in assessment of essential outcomes like communication, quantitative skills, information literacy, or critical thinking?

What are the learning outcomes of a curriculum that includes sustainability? How can those outcomes be assessed? What methods can be adapted?

 How do we sustain the momentum for assessing learning in times of financial stress? Where are there potential cost savings?

What are we learning from Achieving the Dream? What can 4-year institutions learn from 2-year and community colleges? How can we work together?

What is "the next level" in assessment and educational effectiveness, and how do we get there? What does it mean to "close the loop"?

How do we get from pockets of activity to an institution-wide system?

How can we use evidence more effectively, share functions (like IR), and pool resources (like assessment expertise)? What about cross-institutional collaborations?

 

Track 6: WASC Accreditation Processes

How does an institution sustain educational effectiveness in the face of budget cuts and financial uncertainty?

How can we at WASC - ACCJC as well as ACSCU - support the sustainability of our institutions and their educational quality?

What do ACCJC and ACSCU expect from campuses regarding program-level assessment? Program review? Retention and completion rates? What are some successful models?

How can WASC expectations be met effectively yet economically?

What makes for a strong Institutional Proposal? Strong CPR and EER reports? A successful team visit?

How should institutions respond to team findings and Commission actions? Following reaccreditation, how can momentum for improvement be maintained?

What role might WASC play in national (and international) conversations about educational quality, accountability, and sustainability?

How to submit a proposal

You can propose a 60-minute session; a 30-minute session (in this case you will be paired with another presenter on a related topic and share a 60-minute session); or a poster. Sixty- and 30-minute sessions should strive for a variety of perspectives and offer speakers from different institutions. If you don't want to be placed in a combined session, be sure that your own proposal includes representatives from at least two institutions. We especially encourage partnering between 2-year and 4-year institutions. The poster session offers an opportunity to present your work, particularly work in progress, in an informal setting that encourages one-on-one conversation and networking.

The standard presentation format - panel, slides, discussion, Q & A - is welcome. But we also strongly encourage alternatives. For example, you may want to demonstrate a pedagogy (e.g., case study or problem-based), lead the audience through the nuts and bolts of a technique (e.g., creating a rubric, conducting a focus group); show a video, then have participants analyze it; or get everyone working on a wiki.

Proposals will be selected based on 1) overall quality (thoughtfulness, innovation, tangible results, etc.); 2) transferability to other institutions and situations; 3) relevance to the conference theme; 4) interactive format; and 5) appeal to the diverse interests of conference attendees. Preference will be given to proposals that include representatives from different institutions.

Presenters will be responsible for registering in advance for the meeting, paying the conference registration fee, and covering their own travel and lodging.

Presenters who wish to use PowerPoint slides or to connect to the web will need to bring their own laptop; an LCD projector and screen will be available in the meeting room. Presenters are encouraged to provide handouts either electronically or in hard copy; however, WASC cannot reimburse the cost of duplication. Further logistical details will be provided closer to the time of the conference.

The deadline for submitting a proposal is Wednesday, October 1, 2009.

Proposals must be submitted online.  The proposal form can be found here:  ARC Proposal.   

If you have problems with the above link, you can cut and paste the following into your web browser:  

https://spreadsheets3.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFAtRTcxNnR4Y2phR3I1VE5wT2VBcVE6MA..

Presenters will be notified of the status of their proposal during the month of December 2009.

Barbara D. Wright
Associate Director,
Western Association of Schools and Colleges