2026 Student Success Summit - Call for Session Proposals Survey

Session Proposal & Event Details

Thank you for your interest in submitting a session proposal for the Student Success Summit!

All presenters will receive a free registration to the event and a registration discount to share with their network.

We are in a time of transformation in Canadian Higher Ed and are excited to hear about your "High-Impact, Low-Cost" recipes so attendees walk away with a toolkit they can use immediately. Ensure that when you are submitting your proposal, you showcase how a great student experience directly impacts both recruitment and retention. If your initiative solved a problem for you, it will solve a problem for someone else. We value real-world fixes over polished perfection! Whether you’ve found a way to automate a manual workflow, redesigned a recruitment territory under new constraints, or kept engagement high during a period of change, your peers need to hear from you.

Need to Know

Event Date/Time: The event will take place on November 25 & 26, 2026, from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (ET).
Session Length: 45 minutes (e.g. 30 min presentation + 15 min Q&A).
Platform: Sessions will take place via Zoom.
Selection Criteria: We prioritize sessions that include interactive elements (polls, breakout rooms) and/or downloadable resources (checklists, templates, or process maps).
Submission Deadline: Friday, July 31, 2026.

Note: If a submission is not accepted, all session proposal applicants will be able to register at the rate posted when the session submission was received (even if the posted rates have since increased).

Vendors/Service Providers
To ensure our sessions reflect a broad and balanced perspective, we ask that all post-secondary service/vendor-led presentations include a co-presenter from a post-secondary institution—unless the topic is based on independent research or instructional content that does not rely on your service or product. This helps us maintain the educational integrity of the program and ensures attendees receive content that is both informative and unbiased.

If you have any questions or a "rough draft" of an idea that you'd like feedback on, please email Jennifer Powell at jennifer@brainstorm.ca to discuss.

Proposal Submission

1.Session Title
Tip: Aim for a brief and catchy title that will entice the reader to want to learn more. Make it action-oriented (e.g., "5 Templates for Better XYZ" or "How We Automated Our XYZ Workflow").(Required.)

2.Conference Theme: Reimagining the Modern Student Experience: Bold, Bright, and Connected
Which conference stream best suits your proposal topic? (select all that apply.)
(Required.)

The "Welcome Home" Strategy (Recruitment & Onboarding)
Focus: Innovative Recruitment, Reducing Offer to Onboarding Attrition, and Creating First-Day Belonging.

The "Student-First" Toolkit (Retention & Well-being)
Focus: Creative Retention, Holistic Support, and Sustainable Staff Energy.

The "Launchpad" Effect (Career & Future-Proofing)
Focus: Institutional ROI, Life-After-Graduation, and Cross-Functional Support.

4.Session Format
Before selecting, consider which format(s) would best convey the topic you are proposing if you were an attendee.(Required.)

Case Study (the story of a project, the data behind it, lessons learned and results)

"How-To" Workshop (deep dive into a specific skill, process or tool)

Interactive Panel (a facilitated discussion, typically includes 2-3 peers)

Fails & Fixes (a candid look at a project that didn't go as planned and the specific adjustments made to turn it around)

Live Tech Demo (a practical screen-share style walkthrough of a specific software or workflow)

Facilitated Discussion (a moderated peer-to-peer "problem-solving" circle for a specific niche)

Combination (please provide details in the "Other" field below)

Other (please specify):

5.Session Interaction & Resources
Our attendees appreciate the opportunity to meet one another, share ideas, and obtain post-session tools. Will your session include any of the following?(Required.)

Downloadable Resources (i.e. - checklist, workflow, template, process map)

Interactive Elements (i.e. - polls, breakout rooms, quizzes, group discussions)

Both

Unsure

6.Session Description
Provide a compelling description of your session for the conference program. This text should provide readers with a clear understanding of what they can expect to learn from attending your session. If your session is selected, it will be included on the conference website. (Required.)

7.Learning Outcomes
Indicate the 3 primary learning outcomes you anticipate attendees will gain from attending the session. Please complete in bullet point format; if selected, these will be included on the conference website.
(Required.)

Learning Outcome 1

Learning Outcome 2

Learning Outcome 3

8.Is there anything else the event organizers should know about your session idea?

Session Audience

9.Target Audience
Who do you expect will benefit most from this session? (select all that apply).(Required.)

Novice / new to the topic (under 2 years experience)

Intermediate (2-4 years experience)

Experienced (5 or more years experience)

All levels of experience.

Other (please specify)

11.Past Presentations
Have you presented this session before, or do you expect to present it before the event? If so, please provide further details below.