Conference Tracks

The following renewal tracks are designed to address changing needs for professional development, institutions, learners, and policy.

Track One — The Musicians: Professional Development

In the innovative, entrepreneurial world of continuing higher education, we as practitioners must continue to learn and to perfect our craft. Vital skills include developing and marketing innovative programs, providing outstanding customer service, and actively participating in our community. Professional continuing educators must continue to be challenged by, engaged in, and passionate about our field. We must also retool, recharge, and reconnect through opportunities with experienced practitioners. This track focuses on new skills and best practices, as well as innovative methods and programming. For those new to the profession, there is opportunity to learn basic skills and to put on-the-job challenges into a larger context. Interactive sessions will encourage discussion and help participants develop a support network to use after the conference concludes.
Track Two — The Ensemble: Our Institutions

Continuing education often leads the institution to recognize and respond to needs and demands of stakeholders. Increasingly, it is no longer sufficient to be merely responsive; institutions are called upon to be fully engaged in communities promoting educational opportunity and enhancing quality of life for all citizens. This track focuses on the role that universities and colleges must play in fostering an environment that supports creativity, encourages innovation, and inspires faculty, staff and students to engage in outreach and continuing education.
Track Three — The Audience: Our Community of Learners

The continuing education audience is more diverse than ever before. For generations, teaching methodology was "what the student needs next." In the e-world, "next" is now; students who create their own content control instant and ubiquitous information. From Millennials to Boomers to Seniors, much of continuing education's audience is using the tools of technology as fast as they are invented. YouTube, podcasts, wikis, blogs, Web2.0, virtual environments, and the latest digital media make it possible to access information in a nanosecond and share it with international networks just as fast. Learners seeking knowledge are creatively using these innovations to access information. How can continuing education remain relevant to today's learners?
Track Four — The Score: Politics and Policy

Continuing higher education cannot control its own macroenvironment. At the same time, we must find methods to successfully function within our environment. This recognition is the first step in working toward effective continuing education policies and practices. These policies and practices must be seen as viable and valuable by critics, advocates, partners, competitors, and constituencies at all levels and within all sectors of our macro-environment. This track explores the economic, social, cultural, environmental, and technological context of our work, and looks for ways in which a unified, coherent, and comprehensive continuing higher education agenda can address critical public policy challenges in each of these areas.

For more information: Contact: Natalia Kats, UCEA Conference Director, at nkats@upcea.edu or 202.659.3130.

Professional Development

2008 Annual Conference

Conference Tracks

Track One — The Musicians: Professional Development

Track Two — The Ensemble: Our Institutions

Track Three — The Audience: Our Community of Learners

Track Four — The Score: Politics and Policy