2018 Academic Retreat
Paths to Graduation: Supporting Student Planning, Purpose, and Persistence

Keynote Address by Dr. Dhanfu Elston, Vice President of Strategy, Complete College America
“Guided Paths to Graduation”
Dr. Dhanfu E. Elston (pronounced: dah-nee-foo) serves as Complete College America’s Vice President of Strategy for Guided Pathways and Purpose First where he utilizes his campus expertise for practical application, implementation, and scaling of CCA strategies at institutions throughout the nation. In over two decades of his higher education career in academic and student affairs, Elston has created and implemented comprehensive success and retention programs that have garnered national attention. He has been recognized as an expert in college completion policy initiatives at institutions that educate highly diverse and underrepresented student populations. Prior to his current role with CCA, Dr. Elston held the position of Executive Director of Student Success and Transition at Purdue University Calumet. Under Elston’s leadership, Purdue Calumet (now Purdue Northwest) experienced exponential gains in first-year retention, graduation rates, and enrolled credit hours.
Following his keynote address, Dr. Dhanfu Elston will lead a workshop using VSCS-based student scenarios to explore potential applications of nationally recognized strategies to achieve significant improvements in student outcomes.

Thank you for registering for the 2018 VSCS Academic Retreat. This year's retreat was planned by a system-wide committee of faculty and academic staff and is open to all faculty and staff to attend.

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* Your information

Name

Email Address

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* I teach and/or work at (select all that apply):

Castleton

CCV

The soon to be Northern Vermont University

Vermont Tech

To help us with final preparations, please let us know which concurrent sessions you are interested in attending. You can review the full retreat schedule with session descriptions here.

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* Concurrent Sessions I

Start to Finish Advising & Teaching with Keynote Speaker Dr. Dhanfu Elston

Using Moodle for Retention & Connection

Using Alumni to increase Student Enrollment

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* Concurrent Sessions II

Distance Learning: What, How, and Why

Working Session: Cross-College Advising

Moodle Course Showcase

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* Concurrent Sessions III

Competency Based Solutions: Recognizing Prior Learning for Increased Persistence

Low & No Cost Textbook Solutions: Developing a System OER Infrastructure

Moodle Course Showcase

For more information or assistance, please contact yasmine.ziesler@vsc.edu or at 802-224-3025.