Conference Agenda

Collaboration & Confidence: Designing a Co-Curricular Degree Requirement

Ann Crain - Director of Undergraduate Student Engagement, Michigan State University

Yen Hannah -Program Coordinator, Michigan State University

Juliana Brownrigg - Administrative Assistant, Michigan State University

Montclair State University is implementing Suitable to support a comprehensive co-curricular framework across creativity, leadership, community engagement, and global learning in the Honors EDGE Program. Jeff Strickland and Jennifer Brooks will walk through design decisions, early successes, and challenges, and invite peer institutions that launched Suitable this year to share strategies and compare models.

Jeff Strickland - Executive Director, The John Martinson Honors EDGE, Montclair State University

Jennifer Brooks - Special Assistant to the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Studies, Montclair State University

CBA Advantage is a required engagement program for business students at Loyola Marymount University that processes more than 22,000 student submissions annually and is managed by a lean team of two staff members and five student workers. This session will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the team’s workflow design: starting from activity intake and resource support, all the way to submission review, escalation protocols, resubmission procedures, and data integration. Together, these workflows keep the program organized, scalable, and sustainable. Attendees will gain practical insights into building systems that promote quality reflections while operating in a high-volume setting.

Jacqueline Leung - Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Student Success, Loyola Marymount University

Vanessa Jimenez - Administrative Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies, Loyola Marymount University

Provide a Roadmap to new and potential partners on how RBS grew our Guided Pathway, leveraging institutional support and increased partnerships with other existing student-facing offices over time. Share results in significant advancements despite challenges presented during COVID.

Matthew Peyrek - Coordinator of Student Experience and Engagement, Rutgers University

For the past several years, the MSSU Honors Program has used Suitable to log extracurricular activities, understand and track progress towards institutional goals, and connect academic learning with experiential opportunities. This presentation will explore how the MSSU Honors Program uses Suitable to track and visualize student involvement across different campus activities.

Michael Howarth - Honors Program Director, Missouri Southern State University

The UT San Antonio Carlos Alvarez College of Business team developed a comprehensive competency-based rubric that guided the launch of Career Compass and ensured consistent, equitable assignment of levels and activities across the program. This rubric has become a cornerstone of our implementation strategy, driving clarity, alignment, and measurable improvements in student engagement and program success. In year two, we are expanding this framework by creating activity-level grading rubrics within Suitable, strengthening assessment, standardization, and the overall student experience. This session will equip attendees with practical strategies and adaptable tools they can use to enhance consistency, quality, and scalability within their own student success programs.

Leticia Garcia - Associate Director of Student Success, UT San Antonio

Julio J. Ramos - Director of Student Success, UT San Antonio

Victoria Rodriguez - Student Success Coach II, UT San Antonio

Moving faculty involvement with student-engagement activities from “buy-in to built-in” requires flexible, realistic partnership models. This session shares concrete examples of how faculty and staff collaborate to connect co-curricular engagement to the classroom - ranging from low-lift course touchpoints to fully integrated, graded assignments. Participants will leave with practical strategies for making faculty participation sustainable, meaningful, and aligned with academic priorities.

Anne Yumang - Assistant Director of Student Engagement & Experience, University of San Francisco

Michelle Millar - Professor in Hospitality Management, University of San Francisco

How does a small campus achieve 98% engagement in an honors co-curricular program and 66% participation in a voluntary campus-wide pathway—all within three years of implementation? The answer lies in authentic collaboration. The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg successfully launched two distinct co-curricular pathways using the Suitable Platform: the GEM OCC (Greensburg Experience More Outside the Classroom Curriculum), open to all students, and a required Honors OCC. Rather than implementing a top-down mandate, we built these programs through intentional partnership with faculty, administration, staff, and most importantly, students.

Sheila Confer - Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and Director of Honors College Co-Curricular Programming, University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg

Al Thiel - Director, Student Involvement & Student Center Operations at University of Pittsburgh - Greensburg

The Tennessee Tech University College of Business developed Level Up, a student engagement and career-readiness platform powered by Suitable, to connect learning beyond the classroom with professional skill development aligned with the NACE competencies. What sets Level Up apart is its student co-administrator model, where selected students serve as operational partners alongside lead student success administration. This session will be co-presented by student administrators who actively manage the platform, offering a rare, authentic look at shared governance in action. Students contribute to platform operations, communications, analytics, event alignment, and peer outreach, gaining leadership, project management, and professional competencies while enhancing program effectiveness. Attendees will hear directly from students about their responsibilities, decision-making authority, training experience, and how serving as co-administrators enhanced their career readiness.

Sherrie Cannon - Associate Director of Level Up, Tennessee Tech University

Colleges and universities increasingly seek scalable frameworks that meaningfully connect student engagement with measurable outcomes. This session explores how the University of Louisiana Monroe’s FLIGHT Program uses a competency-based badging structure powered by Suitable to foster deep engagement, quantify co-curricular learning, and enhance student success outcomes — leading to 100% engagement and multiple national awards.

Joshua Stockley - Honors Program Director, University of Louisiana Monroe

In the rush to implement new features, manage data, and stay on top of technical updates, program administrators often find themselves "managing the tool" rather than "leading the mission." As a Suitable user in undergrad to now serving as an administrator for Poole Packways, this session will explore a unique "full-circle" perspective on program management. We'll evaluate the importance of having clear value propositions for students, staff/faculty, and your institution to build a successful program.

Laryssa Banks - Assistant Director of Student Affairs and Advocacy, NC State University

This session would include Payton Herring (Student Experience Specialist) and Dr. Anne Hocking (25-26 Chair of Staff Senate) sharing about the novel ways faculty and staff have engaged and been developed through the ACU portal built specifically for them - CompassPro. Marrying Adam’s Center for Teaching and Learning efforts towards the faculty and Staff Senate's efforts with staff, this session will provide insights into how ACU has benefited from engaging staff and faculty through Suitable: familiarizing them with the same platform that students use regularly, and encouraging their own holistic development.

Payton Herring - Student Experience Specialist, Abilene Christian University

Dr. Anne Hocking - Director of Internships and Vocational Formation, Abilene Christian University

Join Jon Ristaino, Senior Project Manager at Suitable, for an interactive product-focused workshop for our flagship product, Guided Pathways. Attendees can expect to share honest product feedback and participate in creative brainstorming that will directly impact the future of our product!

Jon Ristaino - Senior Product Manager, Suitable