2026 Student Life Professional Development Conference View Other Sessions

Join us for the 2026 Student Life Professional Development Conference - Anchored in Purpose: Evolving Work, Steadfast Mission! This conference is dedicated to recentering ourselves in the midst of increasing change in complexity at work, enabling future opportunities for us and our students, growing our community to meet the ever evolving needs of higher education, and expanding our reach to ensure maximum impact. Participants will engage in dynamic discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities aimed at creating a resilient, equitable, and inclusive future.

Our Pre-Conference (Monday, January 26, 2026) includes half or full day Sessions and Workshops. The Conference Day (Tuesday, January 27, 2026) includes 50 Minute Breakout Sessions, Lunch, and 75 Minute Extended Sessions in the afternoon.

This year's conference encompasses four focus areas:

  • Strengthening Our Roots: Professional skill building (core skills, best practices)

  • Growing Our Community: Networking, collaboration, and building inclusive spaces

  • Anchored in Purpose: Leadership, mission-driven work, and ethical decision making

  • Expanding Our Reach: Innovative approaches, emerging student needs, and new programs

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: January 9, 2026.

There is a $25 charge for Student Life staff and graduate students to attend the conference and a $50 charge for non Student Life staff per day.



Expanding our Reach, Not our Resources: Applicable Strategies for Program Improvement

Available Seats 74
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Michigan League, Vandenberg Room
Cierra Sutherland - University Career Center, Anna Wagner - University Career Center

In this interactive session, we will discuss their process of collaboratively updating workshop content and processes as a case study for using materials that you have already available to you and making meaningful changes to better reach student needs. Specifically, we will share how we approached managing an office-wide project, highlighting our goal to create a more streamlined approach to our programs that effectively leveraged all of our staff resources and expertise. We will also highlight how we leveraged Adobe Express and UM-GPT as tools to aid in our process. The rest of the session will be a working session where presenters will guide participants through creating a plan for their own program improvement endeavor. You can expect to leave the session with an actionable game plan for how you can refine a program or initiative of your own to better reach student needs. Expect this session to be highly interactive.

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