Illinois Online Higher Education Symposium

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Last Updated: Mar 24, 2025, 03:17 PM

Present at the 2nd Annual Symposium

We invite proposals highlighting effective strategies from our vibrant statewide higher education online community. This year's theme, "Doing Less with Less, Effectively," emphasizes achieving quality outcomes despite limited resources. Sessions may focus on efficient online teaching practices, streamlined course design (including hybrid and HyFlex models), and effective leadership of online programs.

We particularly encourage submissions from community college colleagues and staff, whose experience and innovative approaches can greatly inform and benefit institutions across Illinois and beyond.

Proposals will undergo peer review, and presenters will receive thoughtful, constructive feedback.

Step 1: Download & Complete the Proposal Template

Step 2: Submit Your Proposal by June 30, 2025

  • Timeline

    • April 2, 2025: Accepting submissions
    • June 30, 2025: Deadline for submissions
    • August 4, 2025: Notification of acceptance
    • October 1, 2025: Conference schedule released
    • November 7, 2025: Symposium

Themes to Consider:

  • Visionary Leadership: Maximizing Impact with Limited Resources
  • Efficient Leadership Strategies in Online Education
  • Streamlined Course Design for Multi-modal Learning (Traditional, Workplace, Accelerated, Micro-credentials)
  • Online Pedagogy: Effective and Efficient Practices
  • Practical AI Applications in Online Education
  • Supporting Faculty, Students, and Technologies in Environment of Cost Reduction
  • Innovative Hybrid/HyFlex Strategies for Sustainable Teaching

 

Review Criteria:

Proposals will be reviewed using the following criteria:

  • Clarity: The proposal is written clearly and professionally.
  • Relevance: The session’s topic is relevant and of current interest to those who teach, administer, support, research or lead online education.
  • Significance: The session will make a notable contribution to the knowledge and/or practice of online education.
  • Completeness: The proposal adequately describes what will occur during the session (not just describing the background and importance of the topic).
  • Alignment: The proposal aligns with one or more of the conference topics.

 

Organizing Committee

  • Anthony Piña, Chief Online Learning Officer, Illinois State University
  • Craig Engstrom, Director - Center for Teaching Excellence, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
  • Layne Morsch, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs at UIS, University of Illinois-Springfield
  • Lisa J. Anderson, Director - Office of Online Learning, University of Illinois
  • Nikki LaGrone, Director - Center for Teaching & Learning, Governors State University
  • Susan Wegmann, Director - SIUC Global, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Featured Speaker

  • Keynote Speaker: TBD

    Title of speaker soon

    Ray Schroeder
  • Presentation: 2025 Details Soon

    2025 Speaker & Session Details Soon

    In the meantime, watch last year's keynote by Dr. Ray Schroeder:

    2024 Session Description

    Online learning continues to be the preferred mode of delivery of higher learning to adult and professional students. The advent of Artificial Intelligence tools and agents have become available to enhance the delivery of learning online. They promise to make our online programs more efficient, effective and flexible for lifelong learning. We will examine the opportunities that these advanced, smart technologies offer and the potential they provide to further extend and expand our online learning programs.

    Biography

    A nationally respected and connected leader in higher education online learning, Ray Schroeder is senior fellow of UPCEA, the online and professional education association, and professor emeritus at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS). With 50 years on the faculty and administration at the Urbana and Springfield campuses of the University of Illinois, Ray is the recipient of numerous national awards and citations for individual excellence and leadership from many associations and entities, including the Sloan Consortium (OLC), US Distance Learning Association, American Journal of Distance Education, Illinois Council for Continuing Higher Education, University of Wisconsin, and University of Illinois. In 2023, Ray received the honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree from UIS in 2023 and became the first recipient of the UPCEA Leadership Award for the Advancement of Digital Learning (now renamed the Ray Schroeder Leadership Award for the Advancement of Digital Learning). He is the author of book chapters, articles, widely read blogs, and social media feeds on news and research in online learning/educational technology. Ray is a noted speaker, consultant, researcher, and author on online learning, emerging educational technologies, and technology-enhanced learning topics.