Student Success Conference | It Takes a Community
About Our Annual Conference
The CU Boulder Student Success Conference is jointly sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Education and the Division of Student Life.
Save the date: The Student Success Conference will take place Feb. 17, 2027.
This annual event is open to all staff and faculty and serves as an opportunity to:
Engage in personal and professional development
Enhance and share student success practices across campus
Connect with and learn from colleagues who are committed to maximizing the success of our students
Call for Committee Members
- Gain hands-on experience leading a group of people through decision making processes
- Strengthen your skills around logistics, organization and working with a diverse group of people
- Earn a $2000 stipend for the dedicated time you will commit to this project
- Develop and practice your leadership skills
- Engage with colleagues from across campus
- Serve in a voluntary role to get more hands-on experience with conference logistics
The deadline to apply for a committee Aug. 28, 2026.
Conference Champion Team
Lory-Ann Varela
Assistant Vice Provost, Office of Undergraduate Education
Executive Sponsor
Joe Thomas
Senior Associate Vice Chancellor, Division of Student Life
Executive Sponsor
Dawn Folston
Project Manager, Academic Affairs
Executive Sponsor
Colin Spaulding
Associate Director for Events, Division of Student Life
Logistics Lead
Meagan Goulian
Director of Student Life Communication & Marketing, Division of Student Life
Communication Lead
Nash Albrecht
Assistant Director - Assessment & Program Review, Division of Student Life
Assessment Lead
Dylan Dybedahl-West
Director of Strategic Initiatives, Enrollment Management
Enrollment Management Lead
Scarlett Pontón de Dutton
Director of Campus Advising Initiatives & Strategy, Office of Undergraduate Education
Undergraduate Education & Advising Lead
Vacant
Co-Chair of Awards Committee
Vacant
Co-Chair of Awards Committee
Vacant
Co-Chair of Awards Committee
Vacant
Co-Chair of Awards Committee
Conference Champion Roles
Executive Sponsors: Provides strategic oversight, resources and support to ensure the event aligns with student success initiatives, CU Boulder priorities, and accreditation needs. They determine the overall budget, choose the leads, and provide the overarching vision for the ongoing conference.
Logistics Lead: Ensures the facilities and materials needed for the conference are in place. They work closely with other committees to ensure the appropriate space and setup for each element of the conference achieve the goal.
Communication Lead: Led by Student Life Communication, this person will work toward marketing all aspects of the conference, including the call out for committees, volunteers, ed sessions, awards, general marketing of the event via campus channels, along with any swag or branded materials. This person leads the registration process of the conference and maintains virtual and print materials for the conference and works closely with other committees to provide up-to-date information.
Assessment Lead: This person works to collect and analyze data each year to inform quality and educational improvement of the conference over the year, both from volunteer leader/committee perspectives and participants. They work to integrate learning outcomes with overarching campus goals and accreditation needs.
Enrollment Management Lead: In addition to fully participating in conference planning activities, this person serves as the primary liaison to the enrollment management community (admissions, financial aid, scholarships, bursar, precollege, registrar) to ensure participation and representation from those areas.
Undergraduate Education & Advising Lead: In addition to fully participating in conference planning activities, this person serves as the primary liaison to the advising community, the OUE community, and the faculty community to ensure participation and representation from those groups.
Committees
Co-Chair Expectations and Duties
- Applications must be submitted. They are reviewed and selected by the Executive Sponsors.
- Remuneration includes a $2,000 stipend for the additional time allotted between Sept. 1 – March 15 of each year.
- Estimated time is 4-5 hours/week on average. The busiest time will be October through February.
- Co-chairs must attend bi-weekly Conference Champion Team meetings. These meetings will be held Wednesdays at 10-11 a.m. through the conference.
- Co-chairs can recruit sub-committee members as needed. We estimate 25 total hours for sub-committee members. Sub-committee members will be recognized for their work, but there is no remuneration.
- Co-chairs must participate in a debrief after the conference providing feedback for upcoming conferences.
The Educational Sessions Committee is a key component of the conference planning process, tasked with creating the callout, reviewing, selecting educational proposals submitted for presentation at the event, and the communication and preparation of presenters through the conference.
This group plays a crucial role in shaping the content and success of the conference, curating a range of topics and perspectives that reflect current trends in the field and ensuring that the conference delivers valuable and relevant insights to its participants.
Committee responsibilities:
- Create/maintain the Submission Guide, including the process and content obtained for proposals and instructions and guide to submitting an excellent proposal.
- Create and use a rubric to review and select proposals.
- Create and maintain the overall callout, review, selection, and training timeline.
- Brainstorm ideal types of proposals and create targeted recruitment strategies as needed.
- Shape the conference schedule by slotting educational sessions strategically
- Develop tracks/labels and ensure balance of types of sessions
- Partner with the Executive Sponsors on overall vision
The Awards Committee will be responsible for recognizing and honoring exceptional contributions within the CU Boulder student success community. This could include outstanding service, innovations, research or achievements in the field, as demonstrated in work presented at the conference. This group plays a crucial role in celebrating high-impact student success practices across campus.
Committee responsibilities:
- Create a rubric and overall timeline
- Brainstorm ideal types of awards and create targeted nomination recruitment strategies as needed
- Work with the Student Affairs Communication team to create a nomination process and marketing strategy
- Review nominations
- Partner with conference sponsors on overall vision