Connect. Inspire. Ignite.
SCUP’s Annual Conference is where higher education leaders share their stories — stories of boundary spanning, cross-functional teams, and resource alignment. These stories motivate, connect, and ignite new ideas that help higher education prepare for whatever is next.
Where it all began.
The story of this country began in Philadelphia as our founders gathered to plan for a new nation. They came from very different areas, with many perspectives, and planning a new government brought them all together. The SCUP community is no different–coming together from a variety of perspectives, regions, and disciplines, the SCUP community holds the stories of the ways ideas, resources, and people come together to create integrated planning solutions that make a difference for higher education.
We’re excited to announce that SCUP 2021 will be both online and in-person. Whether you’ll be with us face-to-face or online, we’re looking forward to sharing the stories that have made an impact in higher education.
Stories make us stronger.
Now, more than ever, we need to bring our experiences, our insights, our integrated planning success stories together. Aligning our resources, building relationships, and creating preparedness for change is where the SCUP community excels and is the very definition of integrated planning. For us to be stronger, we must plan together.
The pieces are coming together.
Thank you to everyone who submitted a proposal! We’re looking forward to reviewing all of the stories, strategies, and frameworks that have made our community stronger. Sessions will be posted in February.
Be ready to learn about how integrated planning practices have created positive change, how planning helped to make something right, and what higher education’s next chapter will look like.
Get a jump start.
Start your own integrated planning story now. Here are some hallmarks of integrated planning:
- Cross-functional collaboration: Do people from different departments or functions discuss, decide, and act together?
- Alignment up, down, and/or sideways: How do institutional priorities and day-to-day actions influence each other? How do decisions in one area of the college or university connect to decisions in another area?
- Planning linked to resource allocation and assessment/metrics: Does the plan inform resource decisions? Do performance data inform plan decisions?
- Collaborative governance: Do key stakeholders have a voice in decision making?
- Future-focused, balancing aspiration with pragmatism: Do you work towards a vision? Are your decisions informed by the realities of the external environment?
Do you have an aha! moment to share? Join one of the SCUP member-only listservs and share your story, ask a question, or simply just tell your friends you’re out there. Start connecting now!
Important Dates
- Call for proposals closed December 4.
- Registration opens in February 2021.
Call for Proposals
Deadline was December 4, 2020, 11:59 PM Eastern
Share your knowledge. Help your peers. Bring planning together. Present at SCUP 2021!
✔ How have you used integrated planning practices to create positive change?
✔ What’s next for higher education?
We want your proposal for a session at our hybrid online/in-person conference!
Our plans for SCUP 2021
In this VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) environment, it’s important to remain flexible and ready to respond to change. Currently, we’re planning our 2021 conference as a hybrid event with face-to-face components in Philadelphia and virtual components online.
Who Should Submit?
Integrated planning engages all sectors of the academy:
- academic affairs,
- student affairs,
- business and finance,
- campus planning,
- information technology,
- communications, and
- development.
It involves stakeholders from across the campus:
- faculty,
- students,
- staff,
- alumni, and
- external partners.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
By design, integrated planning is an inclusive practice that brings together perspectives and experiences from across an institution’s community to create solutions. This can only be accomplished when all voices are heard, recognized, and valued.
As you put together your presentation team, consider these questions:
- Whose perspective is missing?
- Whose voice is not being heard?
We strongly encourage you to make sure your presentation team includes diverse voices, and that these voices are given equitable time to share their perspectives.
What Makes a Great Conference Proposal?
Great proposals focus on one of two things: solutions or foresight.
Solutions: help attendees solve a pressing problem.
Foresight: explore innovative new ideas, analyze trends, and prepare attendees for the future.
All great proposals have the following:
Takeaways: give attendees next actions, tips, tools, processes, etc., that can be applied immediately.
Engagement: engage attendees with your content and with each other in meaningful ways.
Topic Ideas
We seek exceptional, well-developed proposals on topics related to integrated planning in higher education.
Proposals on the following integrated planning topics are especially welcome:
Academic Planning
- Academic program prioritization
- Academic program review
- Linking the academic plan with strategic enrollment management
- New paradigms for teaching and learning
- Approaches to instructional design
Change Leadership and Change Management
- Leading culture or organizational change…quickly
- Engaging faculty in the planning process
- Preparing your college or university for post-COVID realities
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
- Integrating DEI values, principles, and goals into day-to-day work across the institution
- Assessing and correcting structural racism at your institution
- Designing equitable planning practices and processes
Planning Processes and How Tos
- Integrated planning techniques and best practices
- Implementation processes that work
- Integrating your planning processes
- Planning during uncertainty and rapid change
- Streamlining strategic planning
- Prioritizing goals
- Departmental planning
Preparing for the Future
- Higher education’s value proposition post-COVID
- Resiliency
- Preparing for the demographic cliff
- Forecasting higher education’s long-term future
Design
- Creating space for community, both physically and remotely
- Outdoor classrooms
- Flexible environments
- Space use changes
Session Types
Concurrent Sessions | Workshops
Concurrent Sessions
Concurrent Session Quick Facts
- Sessions will be offered on Monday and Tuesday (July 12–13, 2021).
- Only 60-minute sessions are available – 90-minute sessions will NOT be available.
- In light of the economic challenges experienced by many in our community, we will relax our registration requirement this year. We are exploring options to ensure presenters can participate regardless of financial circumstances.
- Submissions must be made using SCUP’s online submission tool.
- Read other frequently asked questions.
Concurrent Session Proposal Questions
The proposal form doesn’t ask for an abstract, title, etc. Rather, it asks you specific questions about the content you are going to present. This gives session reviewers a clear understanding of what you plan to cover during your session.
Examples of active learning exercises you can include in your proposal.
View the questions included on Call for Proposals Form
Not sure how to answer these questions? Check out some examples.
Example Proposal 1
Example Proposal 2
Other questions you will need to answer
- Session Presenter(s): Identify your session’s presenter(s)
- Presenter Biography 150-word limit
- Room Set
What type of room set would you prefer to best enhance participant learning in your session? We try to provide preferred room set requests, but cannot guarantee them
- Audio Visual Questions
- Will you show a video?
- Will you play a sound clip?
- Will you go online? If so, what will you do online?
After You Submit Your Proposal
- How Proposals Are Reviewed
- Members from SCUP’s planning academies review concurrent session proposals. Reviews are based on attendee takeaways, topical relevance, and session organization.
Requirements If You Are Accepted
- Presenter Registration Requirement
In light of the economic challenges experienced by many in our community, we will relax our registration requirement this year. We are exploring options to ensure presenters can participate regardless of financial circumstances.
- Use of Presentation Materials
Following the conference, session recordings and presentation materials (such as slideshows) from each accepted concurrent session may be posted on the SCUP website to view and download. By participating as a concurrent session presenter, you agree to allow SCUP to share your content in this way.
QUESTIONS? Email speaker.information@scup.org.
The call for proposals closed Wednesday, December 4, 2020 at 11:59 PM EST.
Workshops
In-depth, interactive learning experiences.
As a workshop presenter, you will offer participants an in-depth educational experience in a structured yet highly interactive learning environment.
Workshop Quick Facts
- Workshops take place on Wednesday, July 14, 2021.
- Submissions must be made using the online submission tool.
- Workshop time is five hours (5 hrs)
- Presenter Compensation – complimentary full conference registrations for a maximum of 4 presenters
- Read other frequently asked questions.
Examples of active learning exercises you can include in your proposal.
View the questions included on Call for Proposals Form
Not sure how to answer these questions? Check out some examples.*
Example Proposal 1
Example Proposal 2
*Please note that some questions on the example proposals may have changed in this year’s updated form.
Other Questions You Will Answer
- Session Presenter(s): Identify your session’s presenter(s)
- Presenter Biography 150-word limit
- Room Set
What type of room set would you prefer to best enhance participant learning in your session?
We try to provide preferred room set requests, but cannot guarantee them
- Audio Visual Questions
- Will you show a video?
- Will you play a sound clip?
- Will you go online? If so, what will you do online?
After You Submit Your Proposal
- How Proposals Are Reviewed
Members from SCUP’s planning academies review concurrent session proposals. Reviews are based on attendee takeaways, topical relevance, and session organization.
QUESTIONS? Email: speaker.information@scup.org.
