Call for Session Proposals

Achieving the Dream (ATD) is pleased to issue this Call for Session Proposals for DREAM 2024, February 19–22. 

We are seeking proposals for 30-minute and 60-minute concurrent sessions. Proposals are due October 13, 2023.

Please note that by submitting a proposal, you are committing to attend DREAM 2024 in Orlando, Florida. Preference for proposals is reserved for ATD Network institutions.

ATD DREAM Conference Overview

DREAM is the annual convening of the Achieving the Dream (ATD) Network. This flagship event brings together more than 2,300 influential educators, policymakers, investors, thought leaders, and practitioners from more than 300 colleges throughout the country to facilitate an exchange of ideas about evidence-based transformation strategies. 

ATD is organizing DREAM around four key themes that represent challenges and opportunities to drive more equitable outcomes, increase economic equality, and create pathways to mobility for all students.  

These themes are:  

1. Access: to eliminate barriers and connect more community members to high-value educational opportunities at community colleges

2. Momentum: to address inequities that prevent timely progress through college and connection to workforce and transfer opportunities  

3. Mobility: to provide economic security for students and their families, particularly BIPOC, poverty-impacted, and other marginalized communities 

4. Community Vibrancy: to catalyze more equitable and economically vibrant communities and drive shared prosperity 

We are particularly interested in how colleges have achieved improved access, momentum, mobility, and community vibrancy through: 

• Committed Leadership
• Data Empowerment
• Educational Excellence
• Organizational Agility
• Disciplined Implementation
• Digital Transformation
• Community Connectedness

We seek proposals addressing these themes in two different concurrent session formats:

• 60-minute sessions that demonstrate successful strategy execution in one of the four organizing theme areas and provide strong evidence of substantive improvement in student and institutional outcomes.
• 30-minute sessions that highlight new or evolving innovation in one of the four organizing theme areas but do not yet have evidence to support widespread adoption and scaling.

Successfully delivered 60-minute session presentations will:

• Share data that describes the student success/equity challenge the institution was attempting to resolve
• Explain how the strategy was implemented at scale, including communications, engagement, and assessment strategies
• Identify challenges faced in implementation or scaling and how they were mitigated
• Provide results that demonstrate a clear link between the strategies implemented and outcomes improvement, using relevant metrics with specific attention to equity gaps
• Incorporate techniques that engage attendees with the content (e.g., live polling, think-pair-share)

Proposals with the following characteristics will have the best chance of being accepted:

• Display four or more semesters of evidence of success to support the claims in the proposal.
• Address closing gaps between racial/ethnic, gender, age, or income groups.
• Feature interventions that have been scaled, evaluated, and are replicable.
• Are co-developed and led by more than one institution.

Successfully delivered 30-minute session presentations will:

• Share data that describes the student success/equity gap problem the institution is attempting to resolve
• Describe the innovative strategy or strategies being implemented
• Identify challenges faced and how they are being mitigated
• Share early results and lessons learned

For specific information regarding submission of a 30-minute or 60-minute proposal, please click the corresponding button below:

Questions or Concerns

If you have questions or concerns regarding the proposal process contact events@achievingthedream.org.