2024 Annual Conference
July 24–26, Rancho Mirage, California

Reflect, Connect, Transform:
Celebrating 25 Years of NCCI

The annual conference provides opportunities for the NCCI community to share insights and solutions regarding change management, process improvement, strategic planning, project management, and innovation in higher education.

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schedule
PreconferENce Sessions
registration
travel

Keynote Speakers Announced

Rachael Nava is University of California’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. Nava oversees the operations division at the Office of the President.
Jenny Kao is chief of staff to the president of the University of California system. She is an executive advisor on a wide range of issues and advances the president’s vision for the system’s role as an engine of social mobility and opportunity in California.
Dr. Sue Ellsperman has more than 30 years of experience in higher education and economic workforce development and currently serves as the President of Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana.

Tentative Schedule

The conference will feature over 36 educational sessions with 57 unique speakers!

Expore Accepted Educational Sessions
Wednesday, July 24
  • 8 am–4 p.m. – Preconference Sessions
  • 5 p.m. – Welcome Reception
  • 6 p.m. – Opening Keynote
Thursday, July 25
  • 8:30 a.m. – Breakfast
  • 9:30–10:45 a.m. – Education Block 1
  • 11–11:45 a.m. – Education Block 2
  • Noon – Lunch
  • 1:45–3 p.m. – Education Block 3
  • 3:15–4 p.m. – Education Block 4
  • 5 p.m. – Group Dinners
Friday, July 26
  • 8:30 a.m. – Breakfast
  • 9:15–10 am – Education Block 5
  • 10:15–11 a.m. – Education Block 6
  • 11:15 a.m. – Lunch
  • Noon–1 p.m. – Closing Session & Keynote

Preconference Sessions

Wednesday, July 24, 8 a.m.–3 p.m.
Fee: $250 members, $300 nonmembers; lunch is included

Are your processes messy, confusing, or full of rework? We invite you to participate in the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Yellow Belt Training! This course provides skills and tools which are proven to streamline processes and drive successful outcomes. This is a high-energy immersive learning experience with hands-on application of Lean tools through a simulated process improvement effort. Participants will be provided a foundational understanding of the methodology while examining real-life applications in higher education.

Speaker: Antonio Nava, Senior Strategic Programs Manager with OSI at the University of California–San Diego

Wednesday, July 24, 8 a.m.–3 p.m.
Fee: $250 members, $300 nonmembers; lunch is included

The Change Leadership Toolkit (CLT) is a step-by-step, research-based guidebook for leaders engaged in systemic change projects. Participants will engage with the resources of the CLT and leave with the fundamentals of a change leadership plan for leading systemic change on their campus. They will also learn about how a Shared Leadership approach can build a collaborative structure to support change leadership efforts.

Speaker: Susan Elrod, Chancellor at Indiana University–South Bend, the largest regional campus of IU. She is an experienced biology professor, university administrator, and national leader in STEM and systemic change leadership in higher education.

Wednesday, July 24, 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Fee: $145 members, $200 nonmembers

In 2021, the Office of Strategic Initiatives (OSI) at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus partnered with Inworks, another campus entity, on a novel approach to strategic planning. A sandbox for researchers looking to innovate healthcare, Inworks guides teams through design innovation (DI) processes that help bring ideas to execution. DI processes typically involve the design of physical products, but in this case, OSI and Inworks leveraged these human-centered principles for the campus’s strategic process.

In this session, you will learn fundamentals of DI and discover strategies for ideating, prototyping, and conducting user testing for strategic planning purposes.

Speakers: Monika Wittig, Associate Professor, Associate Director, Inworks Innovation Initiative; Aimee Woznick, Director, Strategic Implementation; Laura Borgelt, Campus Strategy, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Wednesday, July 24, 1–5 p.m.
Fee: $145 members, $200 nonmembers

Preparing for digital transformation in higher education is essential, as technology plays a significant role in nearly all higher education experiences. TSI, one of NCCI’s longest sponsors, is partnering with the University of Virginia’s Organizational Excellence leadership share a proven framework and useful experiences.

Participants will learn how to assess an organization’s technology, analyze its effectiveness, build a compelling case for change, evaluate readiness and capacity for change, and facilitate the successful transformation of people, processes, and technology. Project managers, BPI professionals, and OCM practitioners will benefit from gaining new perspectives, ideas and practical templates to apply a variety of new techniques.

Speakers: Dan Feely, Managing Partner, TSI; Becky Sowers, Senior Associate – Organizational Excellence, University of Virginia

Registration

Register Now
Early Registration (through April 25)
  • Professional Member: $795
  • Professional Nonmember: $995
Regular Registration (April 26–July 15)
  • Professional Member: $895
  • Professional Nonmember: $1,095

Travel

The NCCI Annual Conference will be at the Westin Rancho Mirage. The room rate is $184/night plus tax. You can now book your accommodations!

Book Now

Thank you to those who attended the 2023 Annual Conference in Baltimore!

Schedule & Resources

You can continue to access the conference schedule through the event app desktop site or by downloading the Eventsential app. Those who registered for the event can now access presentation resources online. Please note that you must be logged in to the site to view.

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