How to Rethink the Conference Experience

After my recent post detailing how I "crashed" a conference, I figured I'd put my energy to work rethinking how we can frame the conference experience. 

I'll say at the start here that I don't think my ideas are the only way to go. I believe we need a more diverse ecosystem of opportunities for folks to learn from and connect with each other. We've duplicated one model across the landscape of higher ed, and while there are some organizations making good progress, I think we need more of a shift across the board to create better outcomes for everyone involved.

So here is what's on my mind when it comes to rethinking the modern higher ed conference experience:

Accessibility

The biggest thing that needs to change in my opinion is that many people simply cannot even get in the front door. These events are too expensive and prevent many people from going because the cost. And the value given for that money is not good. Something needs to give there, some of which can be controlled by the national organizations (sponsorships, scholarships, reduce overhead) and others can't (more professional development funding for employees). Otherwise, there can be a combination of the other ideas I have.

Focus

Another helpful guidance for national conferences would be to focus. In true student affairs fashion, there is a tendency to accommodate a lot of different presenters. While everyone deserves a platform to speak about what they want, it doesn't do anyone any favors overloading the schedule. Not enough attendees will be able to realistically go to each session and you put speakers in a frustrating position of feeling like their time is being wasted. If you don't have to build out a massive multi day schedule, you could help save on costs for these conferences. Also, there could be benefit in doing more focused, smaller, local events on a more frequent basis. Which brings me to my next point...

Frequency

The final idea here is something I've thought about often. There doesn't exist a coordinated network of local meetup groups for higher ed. Many organizations have local networking groups that help with more focused, frequent professional development. I've lived in a few different states now and have not seen any state branch or regional chapter have any consistent solution here. There have been annual local conferences but that's about it. These can be low cost, held all over the area they cover, as well as far more adaptive to the needs of the community. 

These are general ideas I have on this topic, and I think combining them in a thoughtful manner can have very positive outcomes for our field. We need to breakup with the idea that the only way to do professional development on at scale as a field is with annual conferences (and don't even get me started on overpriced webinars). I'm hoping we can take a step back and rethink this outdated model so that we can all reach higher levels of success.

What I Learned "Crashing" a Conference

I've recently been feeling in a bit of a rut and disconnected from the greater higher ed community. I knew I needed to do something to feel refreshed.

Knowing NASPA was coming to Philly, I reached out on social media to see who I knew that was going. That has always been the most valuable part of conferences to me; growing and maintaining my professional network. It also is always cool to meet people in person I know purely through digital means.

It would have felt like a missed opportunity to not see folks who would only be a short drive away. I never really felt concerned about "crashing" the conference (not paying to attend but meeting people who did). I didn't try to sneak into any sessions or anything. It just does not make sense to me to have to pay exorbitant fees to end up mostly just hanging out with people anyway and skipping the tired old sessions they offer. 

I've written before about my disdain towards national higher ed conferences like ACPA and NASPA. We're in need of a major change with how we provide professional development with these gatherings, which is (and probably will be) a whole other blog post. The cherry on top to all this was that most of the people I met with spoke with displeasure about the session offerings. This feeling is pervasive and indicative of where things are right now when it comes to professional development in higher ed. It's too expensive, it's not relevant, and it isn't giving many people what they want (or need) to grow professionally.

Regardless, what I ended up learning through this process is that you have to sometimes just do what you know is right and what you need. I learned the value of personal (and professional) relationships and that it's important to cultivate them in person when you can. I learned I have great people in my corner and that it doesn't matter how long it might have been since you saw someone last, they'll still be happy to chat if you reach out. I learned that nothing will ever change until we disrupt the status quo.

I feel like I might continue this renegade trend as much as I can. I'd be happy to welcome others as we subvert these outdated paradigms and blaze our own way making experiences that are more valuable and accessible.

I'd love to hear other's thoughts on this. Please reach out via the comments or on Twitter (@HigherEd_Geek).

The Everyday Assessment Challenge

I have to post about CiSA 2013 yet again. It was an amazing experience and I want to share some of the great content from the event.

I know Ashley Nickelsen (@a_nickelsen) from both Rutgers and University of Delaware. She came to speak at CiSA 2013 on her topic of "The Everyday Assessment Challenge" of which she also wrote about for the recent fall edition of the MACUHO Magazine. The link is below and I encourage you to check it out! She has a great perspective on assessment; why it matters, and how to make it more accessible. It's awesome and thanks again to Ashley for sharing her perspective for everyone at CiSA 2013.

http://issuu.com/magazine.macuho/docs/newmacuho/30

Go do great things, everybody!