2026 Concentrations

Select the concentration headings below to see descriptions. The concentration descriptions include prompts to help you generate ideas. Proposals are not restricted to the prompts. Collaborative sessions with admins, faculty and/or IDs mixed together are encouraged. Collaborations between institutions are also encouraged.

• Driving Excellence: Innovation and Continuous Improvement

  Explore strategies and frameworks that ensure quality while embracing innovation. This concentration examines how institutions can build sustainable quality improvement cycles through data-driven decision-making, evidence-based practices, and adaptive leadership. Share your approaches to balancing innovation with accountability, scaling successful interventions, and creating feedback loops that drive meaningful change in online learning environments.

  Example areas of focus for Administrators

  1. Balancing innovation, risk-taking, and accountability   
  2. Upholding quality assurance during rapid change
  3. Scaling quality review with program growth
  4. Driving improvement cycles through assessment data

  Example areas of focus for Faculty

  1. Balancing innovation, rigor, and evidence
  2. Sustaining quality through faculty feedback
  3. Navigating innovation mandates and disciplinary autonomy
  4. Meeting standards while implementing pedagogical innovations

  Example areas of focus for Instructional Designers

  1. Adapting design while maintaining quality standards
  2. Tracking instructional improvement across courses
  3. Balancing flexibility and quality in templates
  4. Setting standards for rapid course development

• Empowering Educators: Faculty Development and Collaborative Practice

  Highlight strategies for faculty development, peer collaboration, and building resilient teaching practices that thrive in changing modalities. This concentration focuses on creating sustainable support systems that enhance teaching effectiveness through communities of practice, mentorship models, and collaborative professional learning. Explore how institutions can cultivate teaching excellence through shared expertise, cross-disciplinary partnerships, and recognition structures that value innovation in online pedagogy.

  Example areas of focus for Administrators

  1. Building sustainable faculty development ecosystems
  2. Supporting collaboration through strategic resource models
  3. Rewarding excellence in online teaching
  4. Sustaining development beyond one-off workshops

  Example areas of focus for Faculty

  1. Building communities respecting disciplinary teaching differences
  2. Enhancing quality through supportive peer review
  3. Mentoring colleagues transitioning to digital teaching
  4. Sustaining mentorship impacting teaching and learning

  Example areas of focus for Instructional Designers

  1. Co-creating courses through collaborative faculty partnerships
  2. Preparing faculty for emerging teaching technologies
  3. Positioning designers as mentors and collaborators
  4. Sustaining communities positioning designers as partners

• Transforming Learner Experiences: Success, Engagement, and Belonging

  Focus on strategies that enhance learner success and create inclusive, engaging environments. This concentration addresses the holistic student experience, from accessibility and universal design to social presence and persistence strategies. Explore evidence-based approaches to fostering belonging in virtual spaces, supporting diverse learner populations, and creating equitable pathways to success. Share interventions that address the affective, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions of online learning.

  Example areas of focus for Administrators

  1. Improving engagement through data-driven interventions
  2. Creating environments where all students flourish
  3. Integrating support services into course design
  4. Positioning QM to foster student belonging and success

  Example areas of focus for Faculty

  1. Building belonging through meaningful asynchronous interactions
  2. Improving persistence for historically underserved populations
  3. Integrating social-emotional and culturally responsive pedagogy
  4. Applying accessibility and UDL principles online

  Example areas of focus for Instructional Designers

  1. Promoting accessibility through UDL and responsiveness
  2. Identifying at-risk learners through analytics
  3. Fostering connection through asynchronous course architecture
  4. Integrating accessibility and UDL from start

• Innovating with Technology: AI, Emerging Tools, and Future Trends

  Examine how emerging technologies can be harnessed to maintain quality while driving transformation. This concentration explores the intersection of innovation and responsibility, addressing AI applications, learning analytics, immersive technologies, and other emerging tools. Share frameworks for evaluating new technologies, strategies for ethical implementation, and approaches to preparing learners and educators for an AI-augmented future while preserving academic integrity and human-centered pedagogy.

  Example areas of focus for Administrators

  1. Balancing AI innovation, integrity, and privacy
  2. Investing in adaptable, pedagogically sound infrastructure
  3. Establishing governance enabling experimentation while managing risk
  4. Piloting tools maintaining privacy and integrity

  Example areas of focus for Faculty

  1. Enhancing teaching while preserving human elements
  2. Distinguishing novelty from genuine pedagogical advancement
  3. Preparing students for ethical AI use
  4. Integrating AI while maintaining academic integrity

  Example areas of focus for Instructional Designers

  1. Leveraging AI while avoiding algorithmic bias
  2. Aligning technology with quality and design standards
  3. Enhancing not replacing evidence-based pedagogy
  4. Assessing tools: learning improvement or busywork?

Presentation Formats

Select the format name to see the definition.

Evaluation Criteria