Join us at SCUP 2026 in Minneapolis!

SCUP’s annual conference connects planning leaders from across the international higher education community to share integrated strategies that break down silos and create sustainable solutions.

Learn from higher ed leaders like yourself and gain the confidence and strategies to start tough conversations, examine current practices, and build a culture of integrated planning at your institution. Whether you’re new to planning or a seasoned professional, you won’t want to miss the year’s largest event.

Program

Call for Proposals

Open: Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Deadline: Tuesday, December 2, 2025, 11:59 PM Eastern

Share your knowledge. Help your peers. Bring planning together.

Present at SCUP 2026!

✔ How have you used integrated planning practices to create positive change?
✔ What actionable integrated planning advice and guidance do you have for your peers?

We want your proposal for a session at our in-person 2026 conference in Minneapolis, MN!

What is Integrated Planning?

Integrated planning is a sustainable approach to planning that builds relationships, aligns the organization, and emphasizes preparedness for change.

As an approach or methodology, integrated planning is flexible. It can be applied to a wide variety of planning processes and change initiatives, such as:

• Strategic planning
• Campus master planning
• Academic program planning
• Integrated institutional effectiveness practices
• Unit planning carried out by departments, divisions, and offices
• Leading change
• And more.

How can you tell if you’re doing integrated planning?

What integrated planning looks like in practice will differ from unit to unit, institution to institution. Regardless of the context in which it’s applied, you can identify integrated planning by its hallmarks or characteristics.

Some of the hallmarks of integrated planning:

• Future-focused and Mission-driven: Planning envisions a future aligned with an institution’s mission, makes decisions necessary to reach that vision, and commits to those decisions through actions.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Stakeholders are strategically and intentionally engaged through planning and implementation in order to leverage their knowledge and insights, ultimately building buy-in and commitment.
• Alignment Up, Down, and Sideways: Decisions are guided by institutional priorities, informed by operational insights, and mindful of interdependencies.
• Informed by Internal and External Factors: Internal factors (institutional context, structure, performance, capacities) and external factors (environmental scan, peer benchmarking) are analyzed; these analyses inform the design of planning processes and decisions made during planning.
• Cyclical and Adaptive: Planning, resource allocation, implementation, and assessment are linked in an iterative cycle, ensuring plans inform actions and remain relevant and effective through regular evaluation and adjustment.

If you have actionable advice about how your peers can do the above, we want to share it!

Who Should Submit?

Integrated planning practitioners can be found in any function of a college or university:

• Strategic planning
• Academic affairs
• Institutional effectiveness
• Campus planning
• Student affairs
• Business and finance
• Capital planning
• Information technology
• And anyone seeking to empower their institution to thrive in the future.

They hold a variety of roles and job titles, including:

• Director of Planning
• Associate Provost
• Campus Planner
• Associate Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness
• Chief of Staff
• Space Planner
• Senior Project Manager
• And many, many others.

Bringing Together Different Perspectives and Experiences

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 different voices, and that these voices are given meaningful time to share their perspectives.

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:

Planning Processes and How Tos

• Integrated planning techniques: how to implement the integrated planning hallmarks
• Implementation processes that work
• Tools and technologies that enhance planning (including AI)
• Strategic planning during uncertainty
• Leading change

Integrated Planning Competencies

• Futuring and forecasting
• Building buy-in, particularly with senior leadership
• Navigating institutional complexity
• Adapting plans and projects to change
• And other skills and competencies that underpin successful integrated planning

Today’s Challenges

• Responding to rapid change
• Dealing with financial uncertainty
• Fostering belonging for all
• Determining impacts of enrollment changes
• Planning during leadership turnover

Institutional Effectiveness and Integrated Planning

• Accreditation and integrated planning
• Challenges to data-informed decision making
• Linking assessment to planning
• Implementing integrated institutional effectiveness as a function

Academic Planning

• Academic program planning
• Academic strategic planning
• Linking the academic plan with strategic enrollment management
• Improving student retention and graduation
• Closing achievement gaps

Campus Planning

• Space management and utilization (particularly managing the politics and cultural challenges)
• Implementing the campus master plan
• Deferred maintenance
• Prioritizing capital projects in a reduced funding environment

Session Type: Concurrent Sessions

Concurrent Session Quick Facts

• Sessions will be offered on Monday and Tuesday.
• Most sessions are 60 minutes, but we will have a block of 90-minute sessions.
• Submissions must be made using SCUP’s online submission tool.
• We’re only accepting submissions for 60-minute sessions.
  • On the submission form, you can opt in to be considered for a 90-minute session. There is not a separate submission form for 90-minute sessions.

Read other frequently asked questions.

Concurrent Session Proposal Questions

The proposal form 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.

View the questions included on Call for Proposals Form

Examples of active learning exercises you can include in your proposal.

Not sure how to answer these questions? Check out an example.

• Example Proposal 1
• Example Proposal 2

You will also need to:

• Identify your session’s presenter(s)
• Provide a biography for each presenter (150-word limit)

After You Submit Your Proposal

How Proposals Are Reviewed

• Concurrent session proposals are reviewed by your peers, active SCUP members who have attended past annual conferences. Review scores are based on attendee takeaways, topical relevance, and session organization.

Requirements If You Are Accepted

• Presenter Registration Requirement: All concurrent session presenters are required to register for the conference; presenters DO NOT receive free or discounted registration(s).
• Use of Presentation Materials: Presentation materials such as slideshows and handouts from each accepted concurrent session will be shared on the SCUP Events mobile app for attendees to access during the conference. Following the conference, session recordings and presentation materials 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.

Submit Your Proposal

QUESTIONS? Reach out.