Conference agenda

Thursday, July 11 | 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.

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Agenda Outline

8:30 – 9 a.m.                      Registration (Cartoon Room, 3rd floor of Ohio Union)
9 a.m.                                    Welcome & Opening Remarks (Cartoon Room, 3rd floor of Ohio Union)
9:10 a.m.                              Speed Networking: Breakfast of the Champions (Cartoon Room, 3rd floor of Ohio Union)
9:50 – 11:20 a.m.                REACH Suicide Prevention Training (Barbie Tootle Room)
9:50 – 10:50 a.m.                Breakout Session 1 (Various rooms; see below)
11 – 11:30 a.m.                 Professional headshots (Art of Practice Room)
11 a.m. – noon                      Breakout Session 2 (Shorter sessions available for those attending the REACH training) (Various rooms; see below)
Noon. – 1:20 p.m.                Lunch & Plenary Speaker (Cartoon Room, 3rd floor of Ohio Union)
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.                  Breakout Session 3 (Various rooms; see below)
2:30 – 3 p.m.                      Closing Session/Presentation (Cartoon Room, 3rd floor of Ohio Union)

Speakers

Plenary Speaker

  • Solving Complex Problems: Engaging in Graduate Education (an update on the Campus Conversation on Graduate Education Report)
    • Alicia Bertone, DVM, PhD, Vice Provost for Graduate Studies, Dean of the Graduate School, and ENGIE-Axium Endowed Dean’s Chair

Breakout Sessions

REACH Suicide Prevention Training, 9:50 – 11:20 a.m.

Barbie Tootle Room

Learn effective strategies for identifying and supporting at-risk students in this 90-minute training. Read more about REACH and other resources for students at suicideprevention.osu.edu.

Please note that this training exceeds the duration of the first breakout sessions. Shorter sessions from 11:30 a.m. to noon are available during breakout session 2 to accommodate those attending this training.

Breakout Session 1, 9:50 – 10:50 a.m.

  • Creative Recruitment Strategies Brainstorm
    • Tanya Rutner Room
    • This session will be a creative space for graduate professionals to flex their brains in a safe and structured setting. The use of a brain writing activity will stimulate conversation and put the onus on the audience members to work together to create new ideas and begin to flesh out whether these are viable tactics to consider at their own schools. The converging of ideas from the activity will allow people to discuss how similar recruitment techniques have worked at other institutions and will provide them the opportunity to share tips and techniques for success. Let’s open the door for innovation in recruitment techniques, and allow us to learn from each other. What ideas will come from a no-holds-barred brainstorming session where professionals from a variety of schools and backgrounds come together to share ideas?
    • Kate Marrero, Graduate Admission Counselor, Mount St. Joseph University
  • Make Your Work Flow: Modernizing Paper Processes with DocuSign and Qualtrics
    • Hayes Cape Room
    • In this hands-on workshop, we’ll introduce attendees to Qualtrics and DocuSign. We’ll introduce both platforms and identify how each are best utilized, how to get access, and how to get your department on board. Bring your laptop and a process you want to improve and we’ll work through a couple demonstrations and then help individuals on their project.
      1. Attendees should know how to activate a Qualtrics account, send a survey, and understand simple logic displays.
        2. Attendees should know how to get access to DocuSign, how to send an envelope, make a template, and get access to PowerForms.
        3. Attendees will understand when it is appropriate to use one platform over the other.
    • Caitlin Naber Graduate Program Coordinator, Sociology,The Ohio State University
    • Jackie Stotlar, Academic Program Coordinator, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies,The Ohio State University
  • Assessing Graduate and Professional Student Wellness to Improve Programming and Support
    • Rosa M. Ailabouni Room
    • The Ohio State University Office of Student Life’s Student Wellness Center takes a holistic approach to wellness, using the 9 Dimensions of Wellness as a foundational framework. The Wellness Assessment was designed to measure the 9 Dimensions of Wellness in order to give students a better understanding of their own wellness and provide them with relevant wellness resources. This session will provide an overview of how the Wellness Assessment was developed and administered on Ohio State’s campus. In addition, presenters will highlight key findings pertaining to Ohio State Graduate and Professional student populations.
    • Jordan Helcbergier, Program Coordinator, Student Wellness Center, The Ohio State University

Session 2

11 a.m. – noon

  • International Outreach and Unconditional Support, Part 1: International Student Recruitment and Admissions
    • Tanya Rutner Room
    • All too often, the international branch of higher education institutions (HEI) grew as an ad-hoc extension of a historically domestic student-centered trunk. However, many international students’ needs are wholly different from those of regional and even out-of-state students. This is particularly evident during the period when international students are not yet students; that is to say, during the recruitment and application stages of engagement.
      Therefore, this presentation offers best practices to foster international student support specifically during the recruitment and application phases. It emphasizes strategies to help grow, diversify, and support the international student population through purposeful intercultural communications and contact. From this approach, it becomes critical for graduate professionals to take a step away from the day-to-day thought processes and unlearn what we think of as “normal.”
    • Emileigh Beatty, Admissions Counselor for International Recruitment, Graduate and Professional Admissions, The Ohio State University
      Andrew Ray, Director, International Student Services, Graduate College, Ohio University
  • Communication Trends in an Online Society
    • Hayes Cape Room
    • Today’s society approaches reading with new trends created by the World Wide Web services and an urgency to have information and knowledge now. Researchers have discovered how people read on the internet and what is needed to reach the reader most effectively. In order to keep up with these trends and to keep communication through emails, websites and publications, organizations have established brands and styles for conformity.
      To discuss the research that has been conducted so that people can design emails and other forms of communication with the best ways to draw in the reader to the content they are presenting.
    • Ronna Colilla, Comunications Coordinator, Graduate and Professional Admissions Outreach, The Ohio State University

11 – 11:30 a.m.

  • Go Fetch for your Future: Engaging in Outreach as Professional and Unit Development
    • Rosa M. Ailabouni Room
    • Inner peace can be yours for the low, low price of outreach!
    • Come and learn about a variety of outreach opportunities on campus and why getting involved can improve not just your professional development and growth but your program’s as well. Oftentimes we feel reticent to take on an additional burden, but whatever hesitation you feel like you have (time, capability, skill, support, etc.), we can help break down some of those barriers. Come learn how to answer the bell when it rings, what you’ll get from it, and what you’ll be able to bring back to your unit.
      • 1. How can I get involved for my own development?
      • 2. How will prioritizing these opportunities benefit my unit?
      • 3. Takeaway of variety of outreach opportunities to get involved in at the University.
      • 4. How to have a conversation with your supervisor to get their support for professional development and outreach activities.
    • Caitlin Naber, Graduate Program Coordinator, Sociology, The Ohio State University
    • Jackie Stotlar, Academic Program Coordinator, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, The Ohio State University
    • Courtney Sanders, Graduate Program Coordinator, Political Science, The Ohio State University

11:30 a.m. – noon

  • Go Fetch for your Future: Engaging in Outreach as Professional and Unit Development
    • Rosa M. Ailabouni Room
    • Inner peace can be yours for the low, low price of outreach!
    • Come and learn about a variety of outreach opportunities on campus and why getting involved can improve not just your professional development and growth but your program’s as well. Oftentimes we feel reticent to take on an additional burden, but whatever hesitation you feel like you have (time, capability, skill, support, etc.), we can help break down some of those barriers. Come learn how to answer the bell when it rings, what you’ll get from it, and what you’ll be able to bring back to your unit.
      • 1. How can I get involved for my own development?
      • 2. How will prioritizing these opportunities benefit my unit?
      • 3. Takeaway of variety of outreach opportunities to get involved in at the University.
      • 4. How to have a conversation with your supervisor to get their support for professional development and outreach activities.
    • Caitlin Naber, Graduate Program Coordinator, Sociology, The Ohio State University
    • Jackie Stotlar, Academic Program Coordinator, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, The Ohio State University
    • Courtney Sanders, Graduate Program Coordinator, Political Science, The Ohio State University
  • Support for GTAs from University Institute for Teaching and Learning
    • Barbie Tootle Room
    • On January 1, 2019, the University Institute for Teaching and Learning became the source for support for individual teachers on campus, including Graduate Teaching Associates. Come to this session to learn about what resources from UITL are available to departments and GTAs, including the Teaching Support Program and Teaching Endorsements. This session will describe what features of support from UCAT will continue under the UITL brand, and what support will be repackaged in new modalities to support GTAs and teachers at scale and on-demand. We will describe what teaching endorsements are and how GTAs can include them on their transcripts when applying for academic jobs. We’ll also talk about how we can support department or college-based professionals who are managing GTAs.
    • Jessica Riviere, Instructional Consultant, University Institute for Teaching and Learning, The Ohio State University

Session 3, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

  • The State of Graduate and Professional Student Mental Health
    • Barbie Tootle Room
    • In April 2018, President Michael V. Drake commissioned a Suicide and Mental Health Task Force charged with reviewing the university’s suicide prevention efforts and mental health support, identifying opportunities for improvement and assessing if any best practices may enhance Ohio State’s portfolio of support. An implementation team has worked since fall 2018 to make progress on the Task Force’s recommendations. Join implementation team members for an update on the progress of this effort and engage with a panel of mental health professionals and graduate and professional students to discuss the state of mental health in our graduate/professional community.
    • Participants will learn the status of Ohio State’s efforts to review and enhance suicide prevention and mental health resources. As a result of attending the presentation, participants will be more aware of mental health issues confronting current graduate and professional students. Participants will also gain a greater understanding of existing suicide prevention and mental health resources to which they can make referrals in support of their students.
    • Matt Couch, Associate Dean of Students, Student Life, The Ohio State University
    • Kellie Uhrig, Sr. Director of Strategic Communications and Partnerships, Student Life The Ohio State University
    • Stephen Lo, CGS Representative and and PhD candidate, Clinical Psychology, The Ohio State University
    • Jordan Vajda, Interprofessional Council President and Medical Student, The Ohio State University
  • Building a Strategic Recruitment Plan
    • Tanya Rutner Room
    • A strategic recruitment plan is crucial for any academic unit. In this interactive workshop, participants will learn the fundamentals of a strategic recruitment plan, and how to develop one that meets their unit’s needs. Using four pillars (recruitment goal setting, marketing and communication, developing partnerships, and event planning), the presenters will guide participants as they practice developing their own recruitment plans.
      • Participants will walk away with a recruitment plan draft
      • Participants will practice skills needed to write a recruitment plan, including writing recruitment goals, writing marketing and communications, developing partnerships, and planning events
      • Participants will interact with one another, learning best practices in recruitment and sharing ideas
    • Ana Casado, Graduate Program Coordinator, Engineering Education, Ohio State
    • Nina Parshall, Director, Graduate Recruitment and Support, College of Engineering Ohio State
  • Dr. of Debt? Understanding National Trends in Grad/Prof Student Debt
    • Rosa M. Ailabouni Room
    • This presentation will give an overview of debt at the grad/prof level across the United States by degree type, discipline, etc. A brief review of federal student loan policy for graduate and professional students will be provided, and new research in the area of student debt prevention will be reviewed. Challenges for assessing need at the grad/prof level will be discussed. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how to advocate for need-based graduate aid within their roles.
      • Understand national trends related to student debt at the graduate level
      • Understand federal regulations impacting graduate and professional student aid
      • Know how to refer students to resources
      • Learn about innovative research aimed at reducing student debt
      • Become an advocate for need based aid programs for graduate and professional students
    • Rachel Foltz Nash, Interim Executive Director, Graduate and Professional Admissions, The Ohio State University
  • Orientations Done Right
    • Hayes Cape Room
    • This presentation will describe research on what graduate students need from orientations, articulate what UITL’s GTA Orientation and university wide orientations at Ohio State include, and give participants time to plan how and what to include in their department and unit orientations
    • Participants will
      • identify best practices in graduate student orientation
      • see what is currently offered by university level units
      • develop a list of topics for department orientations
    • Jessica Riviere, Instructional Consultant, The University Institute for Teaching and Learning, The Ohio State University