Conference Schedule

8:00 - 8:30 a.m. Check in  (Racine Building Lobby)

8:00 - 8:30 a.m. Sponsor Exhibit Tables Open  (Racine Building Lobby)

8:30 - 8:45 a.m. Welcome & Opening Remarks  (Great Lakes Room - R116)

8:45 - 9:45 a.m. Keynote Address  (Great Lakes Room - R116)

• Liz Gross, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Campus Sonar

10:00 - 10:50 a.m. Educational Session I (Breakout Rooms - See Ed Session Schedules)

11:00 - 11:50 a.m. Educational Session II  (Breakout Rooms - See Ed Session Schedules)

12:00 - 12:40 p.m. Lunch & Award Presentation  (Quad Room)

Sponsor Exhibit Tables Open

• Carrie Schade Service to the Profession Award

12:45 - 1:30 p.m. Plenary Address  (Quad Room)

• Claire Brady, Ed.D., President of Glass Half Full Consulting, Co-founder of the Association for Higher Education Consulting and Coaching (AHECC)

1:40 - 2:30 p.m. Educational Session III  (Breakout Rooms - See Ed Session Schedules)

2:40 - 3:15 p.m. Closing Remarks & Updates  (Quad Room)

8:45 - 9:45am - Keynote Address (Great Lakes Room - R116)

Digital, But Not Distant: The New Rules of Influence

What peer trust means for the first year

Liz Gross, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Campus Sonar

Your incoming students already trust someone more than they trust you — and it's probably not who you think. Long before they set foot on campus, they've absorbed a version of what their college experience will be like, built entirely from peers, forums, and strangers online. That peer-trust instinct doesn't disappear at move-in. It follows students into their first semester, shaping who they ask for help, whether they believe your support services are real, and whether they stay past the first hard week.

Drawing on a decade of research into how students and families actually talk to each other online — not what they say on a satisfaction survey — this session unpacks why so many students believe they're "on their own," even at institutions doing everything right. More importantly, it offers concrete, resource-neutral strategies academic and student affairs professionals can put to use immediately: closing awareness gaps, timing communication to when it actually lands, and formalizing the peer-to-peer trust that's already happening informally on your campus. 

12:45 - 1:30 p.m. - Plenary Keynote Address (Quad Room)

The First-Year Experience in the Age of AI: What’s Changed, What Matters, What’s Next

Claire Brady, Ed.D., President of Glass Half Full Consulting, Co-founder of the Association for Higher Education Consulting and Coaching (AHECC)

Today's first-year students are entering college in a world where AI is already part of how they learn, communicate, find information, make decisions, prepare for careers, and navigate everyday life. At the same time, many are arriving on campuses where expectations for AI use are still evolving—and can vary significantly from one classroom, department, or experience to the next.

In this interactive keynote, we'll explore what this new reality means for the first-year experience and for the professionals who help students navigate the transition to college. Through current research, real-world examples, and practical applications, we'll examine how AI is changing student expectations and behaviors, where it can strengthen student support and reduce barriers, and where human connection, judgment, and guidance matter more than ever.

Participants will consider not only how AI can support their own work, but also the emerging responsibility higher education has to help students develop the AI literacy, critical thinking, and judgment they will need throughout college, their careers, and beyond.

10:00 –10:50 a.m. - Educational Session I 

Digital, But Not Distant: The New Rules of Influence - What peer trust means for the first year (Keynote Breakout)

Room R240

Liz Gross, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Campus Sonar

Join keynote speaker, Dr. Liz Gross, for a breakout session to further discuss research, trends, and applications from her keynote address.

Integrating Digital Literacy and Ethical AI Use into First-Generation Bridge Program

Room R239

Amanda Reynolds, MSW, LISW, Loras College

Terrianna Black, Director of Student Empowerment and Success, Director of First- Generation Scholars Program, Loras College

Incoming students come to our institutions with vastly different technological confidence and access. First-generation students may have additional challenges navigating the expectations of college and how to utilize AI. Gen Z students like to see the “why” in the work they do and providing meaningful work may reduce misuse of AI. This technology is not going anywhere, and Gen Z will be asked to use it in their careers- so how do we adapt? This presentation will examine how our new Loras Cares Bridge program and other first year programming is working to create intentional AI literacy and encourages ethical use of technology. Presenters will share approaches and challenges. Attendees will leave with ideas for incorporating equitable AI use for students.

After the Notification: Coaching Students Through the Digital Hidden Curriculum

Room R237

Mya Andersen, Academic Life Coach, The Student Empowered

First-year students receive constant digital information from campus systems: LMS notifications, advising emails, grade updates, event notifications, registration reminders, and academic alerts. Yet access to information does not mean students know how to interpret it, prioritize it, or act on it. This session explores the “digital hidden curriculum” students encounter after they log in. From the perspective of an independent academic life coach, participants will examine how coaching can help students slow down, make meaning of digital information, ask for help, and turn fragmented digital inputs into confident academic action.

11:00 - 11:50 a.m. - Educational Session II 

Thinking With AI: Reframing Learning, Teaching, and Identity in an Evolving Cognitive Landscape

Room R240

Rebecca Itow, Assistant Vice Provost for Pre-College and College Transition Programs, Indiana University

Sarah Pedzinski, Director of First-Year Seminar, Indiana University

AI is exposing cracks in our assumptions about learning, teaching, and student development. Instead of reacting to individual challenges, educational leaders need a coherent vision to guide programming and decision-making as technology evolves. Drawing on examples from a public university's Transition to College Office, this interactive session invites participants to explore how assumptions about AI influence first-year programming leadership, design, and supports. Together, participants will reflect and discuss how a common approach to teaching and learning with AI can shape decision-making, align programs and practices across contexts, and create more coherent responses to technological change that prepare students to thrive in a networked world. Attendees will leave with provocative questions to catalyze new ways of thinking about how to lead first-year programming in an age of AI.

But what are you DOING with that data?

Room R239

Kaitlyn Giles,  MS, EdD Candidate, Ridgewater College

We’re in an era where we’re asked to “survey this group” and “get feedback on that topic” - but how do we plan for longevity with the assessment process and actually USE the data we gather? We’ll discuss the assessment cycle as a whole and how to plan for sustainability and action.

Meeting Human Needs and Addressing the Digital Divide through IUB 21st Century STEM Scholars Programming

Room R237

Vanessa Johnson, M.A., PhD Candidate, Associate Instructor, 21st Century STEM Programming, Indiana University Bloomington

Vincent Isom, Director of 21st Century Program, Indiana University Bloomington

As AI technologies become increasingly embedded in daily and academic life (Salminen et al., 2024), it compounds an already widening digital divide (Van Dijk, 2017) and the need for digital competence for improving the adaptability and effectiveness of the learning process (Shopova, 2014). The 21st Century STEM Program at Indiana University Bloomington is addressing these challenges by reassessing approaches to community-building, and student communication, using Canvas, and by providing human-centered (Rogers, 1959) structured pathways through program matriculation. Generative AI and digital literacy workshops will further extend this work, keeping students' basic human needs at the center.

1:40–2:30 p.m. - Educational Session III

The First-Year Experience in the Age of AI: What’s Changed, What Matters, What’s Next

Room R240

Claire Brady, Ed.D., President of Glass Half Full Consulting, Co-founder of the Association for Higher Education Consulting and Coaching (AHECC)

Join plenary keynote speaker, Dr. Claire Brady, for a breakout session to further discuss research, trends, and applications from her plenary address.

From Inquiry to Belonging: Using AI, Predictive Insights, and Human Connection to Support First-Year Student Success

Room R239

Kelly Smith, Ph.D., Assistant Dean of Students; Health and Wellness, Carthage College

Ashley Hanson, Vice President for Enrollment, Carthage College

This session explores how students’ use of technology to search for, evaluate, and select a college shapes their expectations and experiences during the first year. From AI-powered searches and virtual engagement to personalized communications, today’s students arrive with new expectations for support, connection, and belonging. Presenters will share insights from enrollment trends, student engagement data, CRM systems, and AI-enhanced communication strategies to help institutions better understand and respond to these evolving expectations. Participants will leave with practical approaches for creating a seamless transition from recruitment to the first year while supporting student success, wellness, and retention.

Swiping Toward Success: Building Belonging, Engagement, and Career Readiness Through the MAP

Room R237

Stephanie Stover, M.S., Director of The Aspire Program, Carthage College

Conner Olsen, Career Specialist, Carthage College

Chynna Chung, M.Ed., Career Specialist, Carthage College

At Carthage College, The Aspire Center has embraced digital engagement not as a replacement for meaningful student development, but as a bridge toward deeper connection, reflection, and purpose-driven learning. This session explores how the Aspire Center implemented Suitable within the college’s MAP (My Aspire Plan) to support first-year student engagement, belonging, and holistic success in an increasingly swipe-based culture. Carthage intentionally leveraged Suitable’s mobile-first platform to meet students where they already are digitally while encouraging sustained engagement with high-impact practices, campus resources, and career readiness experiences.