Breakout Session Presentations
2023 Title IV Audit Guide: Balancing Audit Burden and Federal Stewardship Responsibilities
  • Amy Bales, ED OIG
  • Mark Priebe, ED OIG
Hear about the latest changes to annual financial and Title IV compliance audits of proprietary schools and third-party servicers directly from the Department of Education’s subject matter experts. The OIG NonFederal Audit Team will discuss how the recent changes to audit requirements and guidance are intended to reduce auditor burden while upholding the Department of Education’s responsibility to be good stewards of Federal funds. Attendees will also learn where to go with questions and what they can do to prepare for these audits. 

 90/10 Key Changes: Where We Are Today
  •  Jeff Arthur, ECPI University
  • Roger Swartzwelder, Maynard Nexsen PC
  • Mike Wherry, McClintock & Associates
The Department of Education (ED) published significant changes to the 90/10 regulations which became effective for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2023. Some of these changes were expected as a result of consensus at negotiated rulemaking, and others were unanticipated. In addition, some of the key changes have resulted in significant uncertainty and questions from institutions. This session will review these key changes and provide the latest ED announcements and interpretations.

Capitalize on Labor Market Data to Accelerate 90/10 Program Development
  • Larry Banks, Bryan University
  • Catrina Poe, Lightcast
Employers pay cash for skills that lead to productive employees. Consumers pay cash for skills that lead to jobs. Using an evidencedbased model, participants will learn how to identify skills that are in demand, and how to package them into a quality program that not only leads to a good job, but also meets new Department of Education 90/10 requirements.

Developing an Effective Compliance Program for Marketing and Recruitment
  • Stephen Chema, Gombos Leyton, PC
  • Stephen Gombos, Gombos Leyton, PC
  • Jacob Shorter, Gombos Leyton, PC
New enrollments are the lifeblood of every institution and the ways that schools interact with prospective students and the public are falling under increasing scrutiny by regulators. This session is designed to help you build a sustainable and repeatable compliance program for your marking and student recruitment activities so that you can rest assured that your admissions goals and practices do not expose you to regulatory risk.

Embedding Inclusion into College Operations:  Quick Wins and Long Range Strategies
  • I-Chant A. Chiang, Sprott Shaw College
Career colleges have some of the most diverse students and employees, provoking many questions about ways to bring a sense of belonging to the whole college community. How do we encourage everyone to share their voices? What practices will include and not exclude those who feel on the margins? What policies do we have to keep vulnerable groups from feeling harm? As colleges become even more diverse, the need increases for environments that welcome people with a variety of identities and backgrounds. Evidence from psychology, organizational behavior, and education provide key learnings that can be operationalized and tailored for every college. In this interactive session, we will examine how to customize and implement strategies for inclusion. Practical tips will be discussed as well as suggestions for creating campus culture to be an inclusive, welcoming space for all.

Enhancing the Student Journey: Using ChatGPT and AI for Attracting and Engaging Students
  • Stephen Arthur, ECPI University
  • Joy McClure, Tricoci University of Beauty Culture
  • Trisha Strohm, Tricoci University of Beauty Culture
Discover the transformative potential of ChatGPT in higher education, as we explore its applications across university marketing, admissions, academics, and career services. This session will provide an overview of ChatGPT's capabilities and its impact on the student journey, from prospective student outreach to graduation and job placement. We'll discuss the role of ChatGPT and AI’s incredible effectiveness in attracting students, interacting with prospects, and fostering loyalty, as well as revolutionizing curriculum development, automated grading, plagiarism detection, and student resume building. Learn how ChatGPT can accelerate the decision-making process, automate personalized conversations with prospects, and address risks and legal implications. Join us for an engaging session perfect for higher education professionals eager to leverage AI technology. Draft session description generated by ChatGPT.

From Floundering to Effective Teams, an Actionable “How-to” Model that Unites Departments, Breaks Down Silos, and Focuses on Results. 
  • Peter Dykstra, Career College Group, Ontario, Canada
  • Dr. Scott Fitzgibbon, The Pacific Institute
  • Rex Spaulding, North American Trade Schools Inc.
Building a constructive culture that drives strategic initiatives, always keeps the mission of the organization top of mind, and retaining employees and students takes a whole-school team, not departmental silos. We run too lean to work in verticals that don’t collaborate effectively in order to achieve strategic initiatives and the overall mission of the school. Creating a successful team is often elusive, not because team members are unwilling, but because they just don’t know how to create and participate as a team. Building a great team is far more attainable with a structured process, common language, and identifiable behaviors so it becomes actionable. Without a “how to” process, many teams flounder often leading to endless meetings that go nowhere, leading to increased frustration, finger-pointing and ultimately the deterioration of both short term strategic initiatives and long-term goals. The Five Behaviors® model is applicable at both the department and organizational level to drive strategic initiatives and the organizational mission. The result is a unique and impactful team development solution that empowers teams to rethink their approach to teamwork, shape new, more constructive behaviors to increase productivity, and create a common language that completely redefines how teams work together.

Gainful Employment Eligibility Tests: Projecting Performance
  • Dan Brozovic, Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC
Under the Department of Education's proposed Gainful Employment Rule, programs will once again face loss of Title IV eligibility unless they pass a revised debt-to-earnings rates measure and a new earnings threshold measure. Is your institution ready? Join for a deep dive on the proposed eligibility tests. This session will demonstrate how to project a program’s performance, including resources for estimating graduate earnings and other data points used in the tests.

Next Gen Lead Gen for Schools: Digital Ad Strategies for 2023
  • Scott Cross, Higher Education Marketing
Digital advertising has become more and more complex. There are more platforms with more advanced features which students are using along the enrollment journey in new ways. In this increasingly complex and crowded ecosystem, how can you ensure your school’s lead generation strategies hit the mark? During this presentation, HEM North America Regional Manager, Scott Cross, will explore the art of lead generation for schools, revealing best practices and little-known opportunities to generate (and convert) leads in 2023 on Google, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.

People, Data, and Strategy
  • Casey Liddle, EducationDynamics
  • Sarah Russell, EducationDynamics
Understanding what it takes to build a successful team is important for success in higher education. This presentation will provide insights into how to stand out from the competition by leveraging key people, data, and strategies to help boost enrollment. Discover fresh ideas about utilizing the latest data resources plus gain unique insight into student needs when choosing their university. We'll dive into the four key types of people that create a winning team, plus define influential touchpoints throughout the student journey. Attendees will also learn exactly what type of data points are important for making informed decisions in today's market. Measure ongoing success with strategies that you can apply to any future decision-making process. With our presentation, you'll equip yourself with the knowledge needed to help your institution thrive!

Personal and Owner Liability - What You Need to Know
  • Tres Cleveland, Maynard Nexsen PC
  • Andy Davenport, Cobbs Allen
  • Cary Metz, Education Affiliates
  • Roger Swartzwelder, Maynard Nexsen PC
The Department of Education recently announced new guidance outlining the terms and conditions under which it will require individuals to assume personal liability for financial losses incurred by the federal government and students and for monetary penalties authorized under the Title IV regulations. This new guidance follows the Department’s March 2022 announcement that it would require ownership entities in some circumstances to agree to assume liabilities for losses, along with the institution, by signing the institution’s Program Participation Agreement. The presenters will discuss these announcements and requirements, the risks they impose on institutional owners, directors and officers, and ways to manage or mitigate those risks, including operational changes and insurance solutions.

Student Engagement – Blending Technology with Personal Touch to Drive Student Success
  • Valerie Cimarossa, UAT
  • Chesa Donovan, Global Financial Aid Services, Inc.
  • Elizabeth Keifer Herron, CARS
  • Serjik Kesachekian, Success Education Colleges
Student engagement is directly tied to retention, graduation, and employment. The extent to which institutions can foster and establish the sense of belonging for their students drives success. Helping students make these connections within their class, program of study and occupation, both on campus and within the surround community, is proven to increase retention and student well-being. Join this panel of experts to hear how they blend personal interactions with technology to foster and build student engagement at every phase of the student life cycle from marketing and admissions, through academics and student services, and ultimately in career services/employment. The panelists will share strategies that have worked well and pitfalls to avoid. This session promises to afford participants with opportunities to share ideas, ask questions, and learn from one another.

Top 10 HR Mistakes that Lead to Costly Lawsuits
  • Erica Brune, Lever1
Join us for a crucial session focused on mitigating HR mistakes in business or educational institutions to prevent costly lawsuits. Whether you hold a position as an administrator or an educational leader, understanding how to minimize legal risks is paramount. Our session provides workable strategies and a step-by-step guide to effectively manage HR within your business or institution. We will address key challenges specific to your sectors, including discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment, and proper employee documentation, ensuring you are equipped with actionable insights to safeguard your community.

Transformation: A Model for Institutional Change
  • Dr. Joel English, Centura College and Aviation Institute of Maintenance
  • Wallace Pond, Transformation Collaborative
Over the past five years, American culture has re-established its appreciation for skilled trades professions and the educational pathways that lead to careers in the trades. That said, half of our politicians still cling to the decades-old narrative that career schools are inherently dubious and that public education is somehow the only reliable source for higher education. This presentation addresses the institutional reputation question and suggests that, in order to make the most of this critical moment in American history, private career schools must have the courage to transform, becoming the primary resource for skilled trades education not just in reality (which we have already attained), but also in the perception of the communities, employers, families, and yes, even the politicians we serve. True transformation is exceedingly rare because, so often, we are unwilling to consider how our institutions can and should dramatically change course: Where did our colleagues in the industry go wrong a decade ago? Who must we become in order to be seen as a resource within the community rather than as a drain on it? How can we effectively communicate to longtime political opponents of the industry and convert them into newfound friends? This presentation asserts that authentic and fulsome transformation is required of our industry, and it presents a case study that tells the story of how a career college system reinvented itself, achieving growth in a declining market while solving a host of operational problems such as diversifying revenue, reputational issues, student access, regulatory challenges, and poor student outcomes. The speakers will present institutional transformation as essential for the next phase of our industry’s story.

Who Has to Sign that Program Participation Agreement?   
  • Farnaz Thompson, McGuireWoods
  • Jack White, McGuireWoods
In March 2022, Federal Student Aid (FSA) issued an electronic announcement about holding ownership entities jointly and severally liable for the performance of a private institution of higher education. Then in March 2023, FSA unveiled its electronic announcement about holding individual owners of corporations, CEOs, or board members personally liable for the performance of the institution in certain circumstances. This session will cover when FSA has statutory authority to require personal guarantees from individuals and whether FSA has authority to enforce its electronic announcement regarding individual liability. Finally, this session will cover arguments for individual owners and ownership entities to make to preclude a signature on a program participation agreement to assume joint and several liability for the institution.

Keynote sessions
View the full presentation from Dan Gingiss, The Decision Maker from the North American Career Education Convention on June 21, 2023.