Sessions

Boxed lunches will be provided for all Institute participants. Seminar topics will be assigned to different tables. Participants may choose a table based on the topic that piques their interest and on which they desire to have further conversation with colleagues.

Recruitment and retention are two of the leading challenges facing higher education institutions today, but effectively addressing them requires building trust across institutional stakeholders. Enrollment management, student affairs, and academic affairs units each have contributions to make in moving the needle to attract and retain students. This panel will explore perspectives on collaborating within an […]

Amid an ever-shifting job market, internships and other work-based learning opportunities have emerged as a critical bridge between academic learning and workforce preparation. However, there are not enough work-based learning opportunities for all students, and many students struggle to pursue available opportunities due to lack of time, transportation, or social capital. How can colleges and […]

CIC’s Key Indicators Tool (KIT) and Financial Indicators Tool (FIT) reports have provided academic leaders with critical data for institutional analysis since 2004. In 2024, CIC partnered with UQ Solutions to create an updated, interactive KIT and FIT. These interactive dashboard tools allows users to establish customized comparison groups, track their institution’s metrics in comparison […]

Institutions of higher education are charged to both investigate truth as well as communicate truth to its constituents and communities. To do this, researchers and teachers rely upon the existence of academic freedom and free expression. Multiple external events and policies have produced a good deal of stress upon these two primary principles, particularly free […]

This panel brings together contributors and the editor of The Chief Academic Officer’s Handbook: A Provost’s Guide to Visionary Leadership (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2025) to explore how provosts can lead student-centered transformation. As chief academic officers navigate competing demands—institutional change, student needs, and organizational resilience—effective collaboration across divisions becomes essential. Panelists will share research-informed […]

In our polarized era, colleges and universities must bolster students’ capacity for engaging across deep disagreement, cultivating curiosity and tolerance for perspectives different from their own. Higher education institutions cannot achieve these aims without chief academic officers taking a leading role in setting a strategy for free expression, civil discourse, and dialogue across difference, and […]

This session will provide an overview of current legal topics in higher education that administrators need to understand as they make policy, programmatic, and day-to-day decisions at their institutions. Participants will explore relevant legal requirements and practical approaches to meeting student success goals in an environment that is strategic, innovative, and legally compliant.

In an era of intense political tension, institutional and personal uncertainty, and relentless demands on higher education leaders, how does one stay rooted in purpose, connected to joy, and aligned with values? This interactive workshop invites chief academic officers, student life administrators, and their teams to breathe, reflect, and recommit to practices that will sustain […]