Song breaks out at the Fourth Annual Moving the Needle Conference

SPC hosts fourth annual Moving the Needle Conference

Cathi CarrSPC Inspires

For the fourth year in a row, hundreds of attendees gathered at SPC’s Moving the Needle Conference in early November. Each year, the event brings together educational and thought leaders looking to engage in collaborative discussions. They talk about how they are using innovative methods and data to improve student success – or ways they are moving the needle.

Students are always the main focus of the conference. They even serve on panels and provide music, which this year fostered a new level of camaraderie.

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SPC President Dr. Tonjua Williams explained SPC’s vision for connecting with students. She sees colleges prepared to meet students where they are. Instead, institutions should be looking at where they are going.

“We don’t want to assume all students arrive in a condition to learn and earn their degree. Our students are coming with many challenges,” Williams said. “It’s important for us to be a student-ready college.”

The event’s keynote speaker was Rockland (N.Y.) Community College President Dr. Michael Baston, discussed how colleges can prepare for sustainable change that positively impacts student success.

Speakers also included Florida College System Chancellor Madeline Pumariega, the first female and first Hispanic Chancellor, who delivered an inspirational presentation on leadership, student success and the importance of data-informed decisions.

“We owe it to that student standing in front of us to get them (to the finish line)…to a livable paying job,” she said. “It’s clear to me that now is the time to lead, to redesign (the student experience).”

Pumariega also spoke about the importance of loving what you do and taking the time to recharge “to fuel the soul and mind.” Pumariega reiterated that guided pathways are changing the way students move through their educational journey.

Taking into account today’s data-driven culture, attendees this year focused on the art of student engagement and meeting the unprecedented demand for accountability and student success.

Valencia College President Sanford “Sandy” Shugart closed the conference by sharing five major building blocks to fuel large-scale change: strategy, culture, ecosystem, anthropology and story. He also outlined the five conditions needed for learning, TEACH: time, engagement, assessment, challenge and heart.