Deadline: Monday, October 31, 2022, 11:59 P.M. (PST)

 
The Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institution Educators (AHSIE) is requesting presentation proposals for the 15th Annual AHSIE Best Practices Conference, which will take place March 12 - 15, 2023 in San Francisco, California at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel. The 15th Annual AHSIE Best Practices Conference will be held in-person (no virtual components will be included in this year's conference).

15th Annual AHSIE Best Practices Conference Theme
The 2023 AHSIE Best Practices Conference, La Quinceañera: Celebrando Crecimiento, Past, Present and Future, marks an important point in the history of AHSIE and on our path forward. Over the last fifteen years, AHSIE has created a welcoming space for HSI practitioners from across the nation to share best practices for supporting the rising majority, Latinx and low-income students at emerging and designated HSIs.

Preference will be given to submissions that incorporate this theme. AHSIE invites proposals that:

  • present innovative and transformative initiatives that accelerate equity in higher education through a social justice lens
  • demonstrate institutional efforts that leverage the cultural, familial, and community strengths of Latinx students, faculty, and staff
  • exemplify culturally responsive pedagogy, curriculum, policies, and practices that acknowledge the intersectional identities of a heterogeneous Latinx population
  • describe the successes and challenges faced on their institutional path to taking an asset-based perspective on Latinx student success

       
SESSION TRACKS
The AHSIE conference seeks proposals that demonstrate high impact practices that promote Hispanic/Latinx student success in higher education within the Hispanic Serving Institution context.
 

Conference proposals should be designed to fit one of the following conference tracks:

 

Track 1: Grant Development and Management 

Description: Proposals that focus on providing HSI staff and faculty with the tools to compete successfully for a range of funding sources, including Title III Part F, Title V, USDA, NSF and others. Proposals could feature collaborations across an institution that affirm students’ cultural strengths, equitable hiring practices, anti-bias policies and training, reimagine and restructure governance through an equity lens, etc. Proposals that share best practices for effective management of federal grants collaborations and leveraging of funds to enhance culturally affirming spaces and/or programming are welcomed.

 

Track 2: Servingness  
Description: Proposals that help develop emerging HSIs into a culturally affirming space for students, faculty and staff through educational excellence that is validating and liberating. Proposals could highlight development of staff and faculty in the context of curricular/co-curricular programming that centers the experiences of Latinx students and recognizes their intersectional identities. We also invite descriptions of collaboration and leveraging of resources across departments, institutions, and communities leading to advocacy and the removal of institutional barriers to Latinx student success. Presentations should feature data-supported practical and detailed advice that will be immediately useful to new HSIs, such as how to use qualitative and quantitative data to track and close equity gaps, develop culturally affirming programming, or use programming/training to shift institutional culture and thinking from Racially White Institutions to HSIs.

 

Track 3: STEM

Description: Proposals that highlight innovative programming that create a sense of belonging and culturally validating space for Latinx students the science, technology, engineering, mathematics disciplines. Proposals may include culturally affirming changes to curriculum, redesign to culturally responsive pedagogy, programming that increases recruitment or retention of historically marginalized students, or helps students develop a science identity in STEM disciplines at HSIs.

 

Track 4: Professional Development

Description: Proposals that focus on innovative practices or programming that guide faculty and staff at HSIs through a reflective process that enhances their cultural humility, skills, and awareness of the multicultural strengths of the Latinx community. Proposals may include tool (kit) development/implementation, methods for inter- and intra-campus data collection and evaluation, project management, culture shift, meeting facilitation and consensus building, leadership development, equity training, and/or skills to facilitate difficult conversations. Proposals with evidence of institutionalization and/or campus-wide sustainability will be given preference.

  
Track 5: Student Centered 
Description: Interactive and engaging proposals focused on strengthening academic and libraratory outcomes for undergraduate and graduate students attending emerging or designated HSIs. Proposals should engage students attending the AHSIE conference through a student-centered and strength-based presentation that recognizes students’ agency and contributions in campus decision making and development of the campus HSI identity. Presentations that support graduate and/or undergraduate students through the writing and publishing process, undergraduate research and graduate school exploration, internships and career development, and action oriented praxis for pre-professional are welcomed.
 
  
IN PERSON SESSION TYPES
Please note: You may submit multiple proposals but due to scheduling conflicts and the large number of proposals we receive, individuals may present (as lead or co-presenter) on a maximum of TWO sessions. 
 
 
40-Minute Breakout Sessions – These oral presentations are intended for solo presenters, a lead presenter and a co-presenter. (No more than two presenters for 40-minute sessions). The 40-minute oral presentations should include examples of best practices that have been proven to be effective at HSIs and primarily focus on one of the tracks listed above. The presentation format is a formal 30-minute oral presentation delivered through PowerPoint and a 10-minute question and answer period.

 

60-Minute Interactive Workshops – The 60-minute workshops are intended for group presentations. (No more than three presenters for workshops) that actively engages participants. These sessions allow presenters to discuss their topic and best practices more in-depth and interactively. The workshops must include clear outcomes for participants and engage participants through interactive activities, teamwork, and hands-on experience.
 
5-Minute Lightning Talk Sessions – These oral presentations are intended for solo presenters, a lead presenter and a co-presenter. (No more than two presenters for 5-minute sessions). The 5-minute Lightning Talk oral presentations are a fun and fast-paced opportunity for you to share new and creative ideas for fostering best practices in HSIs. Presentations are limited to 10 minutes and should have less than 20 slides, which automatically advance every 20 seconds. The presentation format is recommended to be a 5-minute oral presentation and a 5-minute question and answer period.   

 
PROPOSAL GUIDELINES:

Please review the following information carefully before beginning your submission: 

  • AHSIE is collecting proposals for in-person presentations only. Anyone submitting a conference proposal will be asked to commit to attending the conference in-person should their proposal be accepted.
  • All proposals must be submitted via the online form. No emailed proposals will be accepted.
  • You will need to create a profile, username and password to login into the proposal submission system and to submit your proposal. Please select the New User option under the email field on the login screen.
  • All presenters must attend and demonstrate that commitment by registering for the conference, in order to be included in the electronic conference program. 
  • Up to two presenters (a lead presenter and a co-presenters) will be allowed for the 40-Minute Breakout sessions. If there will be a co-presenter for your session(s), please have their contact information readily available, as you will be asked to provide this during the submission process.
  • Up to three presenters will be allowed for the 60-Minute Interactive Workshops. Please have your co-presenters contact information readily available, as you will be asked to provide this during the submission process.
  • Up to two presenters (a lead presenter and a co-presenters) will be allowed for the 5-Minute Lightning Talk sessions. If there will be a co-presenter for your session(s), please have their contact information readily available, as you will be asked to provide this during the submission process.
  • If accepted, you will be asked to provide a PDF copy of your slides and/or handouts several weeks prior to the conference. Details will be sent at a later date.
  • Once you start your online submission, you may save and return to it at a later time.
  • We encourage you to prepare your responses in a separate text document and copy into the form fields. This will prevent against losing your work, should there be an interruption in internet connection, either via the website or your local server.
  • Please be sure to allow yourself enough time to submit prior to the deadline. The portal will automatically close and no proposals will be accepted after this time, including those that were in the process of being completed. Proposals will not be accepted past the posted deadline.
  • Pay close attention to character count and spelling/grammar. You are responsible for accuracy of your information. If accepted, this information will be published in the electronic program AS-IS.
  • Proposals with excessive errors in spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation, and those that exceed the posted character or word limit will not be accepted.
  • Submissions will be evaluated based on how well they describe the following:
    • Learning outcomes for participants
    • Evidence of success in HSI setting
    • Applicability of principles and practices in an HSI setting
    • Conference Theme Alignment
    • Formatting/Spelling/Grammar
 

 
For more information, please contact Designing Events: ahsie@designingevents.com.