Save the Date: July 17, 2025
&
Call for Proposals

2025 CCE – How do we build community?

In uncertain and changing times, hope becomes a vital anchor that enables people to navigate challenges with resilience and purpose and with a sense of belonging and community. Please join us at the 2025 College Changes Everything^® (CCE) conference and be part of the conversations as we engage with the question: How do we build community?

This year we invite you to gather not only to explore new ideas and strategies but also to actively build community that sparks inspiration and action. By engaging in meaningful dialogue and sharing best practices informed by  experience, participants actively contribute to building a network of mutual support and understanding. Together, we can embody the powerful notion that hope is not just a feeling, but a shared commitment to shaping a brighter future for our students because we know education matters.

As we’ve come together at CCE conferences over the years (this year will be the 15^th conference), we’ve learned how students are not isolated individuals; they are interconnected, actively participating in a rich tapestry of communities that include their peers, families, academic institutions, and the broader society. As we examine this year’s conference question in greater depth, we can also look at these questions:

• How can our community better understand and meet the needs of our students? Answers to this question can help us build a shared understanding as to why they don’t have what they need.
• How can we strengthen and expand our community? As we explored last year, community can have different meanings. One way to answer this question might be leveraging and making connections between different communities in order to strengthen each of them through those connections and explore ways to provide mutual aid.
• How can our community work together to marshal resources for our most vulnerable students? We can explore new ways for participatory problem solving through collective action, rather than waiting for others to do it for us and our students.

Call for Proposals: Due May 6, 2025

Please consider helping to make this conference a valuable professional development and collaborative experience by submitting a conference interest session proposal. Please click here to access the session proposal form. Presenting at the CCE conference is a terrific way to support and engage in active learning with colleagues, share your knowledge and stories with a diverse audience, enrich your own professional growth, and help build community.

As the conference draws a broad group of professionals and stakeholders, we welcome proposals that cover a wide range of topics related to college access and completion and career readiness. Such topics might include and are not limited to: college and career readiness; student retention, persistence, and completion; programs and services for underrepresented students; educational equity; student wellness and emotional support; career and technical education; partnerships; career development experiences; education, business, and the economy; college costs, financial aid, and affordability; and community stakeholder engagement.

In support of the conference theme, session proposals also should explain how the information shared contributes to helping meet the needs of our students during this time of change, building community, and demonstrating best practices and lessons learned.

• Deadline– Priority consideration will be given to session proposal forms completed and submitted by May 6, 2025.
• Non-Commercial Policy – Please note that sessions are to be non-commercial forums. Individuals should refrain from using brand names or endorsing specific products. Sessions are not to be used as a place for direct promotion of products and services.
• Conference Registration – Presenters must register for the conference. Conference registration will open later this spring.
• Presenter Compensation Policy – The CCE conference does not provide any compensation for individuals accepted to serve as conference interest session presenters. This includes compensation for travel-related expenses and hotel accommodations.

Tinley Park Convention Center

The Tinley Park Convention Center is located just 30 miles from downtown Chicago at 18451 Convention Center Drive, Tinley Park, IL 60477.

Please share information about the conference with colleagues in your organization and other partners.

2025 College Changes Everything Conference Planning Committee

• Illinois Student Assistance Commission
• Illinois Board of Higher Education
• Illinois Community College Board
• Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
• Illinois Department of Employment Security
• Illinois State Board of Education
• Illinois College Access Network
• Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities
• Advance Illinois
• Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University
• ACT Now
• Women Employed
• iCan Dream Center

The College Changes Everything^® Conference is sponsored
by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.

Helping Illinois reach its Goal 2025: to increase the proportion of adults in Illinois with high-quality college degrees and postsecondary credentials to 60% by the year 2025