Staff Development and Training: Workshop Offerings

Highest Ed workshops are designed to help higher education professionals navigate complexity with clarity, purpose, and humanity. Our approach blends research, institutional experience, and practical strategy to create learning environments that are interactive, reflective, and grounded in real campus contexts. We believe that professional development should not only build skills, but also strengthen the capacity of individuals and institutions to foster belonging, equity, and well‑being.

Each workshop invites participants to examine the systems, structures, and cultural norms that shape higher education, while also equipping them with actionable tools they can apply immediately within their roles. Through case studies, data, dialogue, and collaborative problem‑solving, we help campus professionals translate values into practice and create conditions where both students and employees can thrive.

Student success is shaped by far more than individual effort. It emerges from the systems, structures, and relationships that define the campus experience. This interactive workshop bridges research and practice, equipping higher education professionals with an evidence‑based framework that illuminates how to support student success. Through case studies, data, and collaborative problem‑solving, participants will examine the institutional factors that influence retention and develop actionable strategies to strengthen student success across diverse campus contexts.

 Though many “DEI” offices and programs have been paused, reframed, or eliminated, the needs that those programs addressed still remain: creating and maintaining a positive campus climate for underrepresented populations on campus, promoting dialogue across difference, and striving for institutional equity, amongst others. This interactive session aims to develop strategies to continue the essence of equity work in the wider context of student success and retention. Participants will use examples from their own campuses to explore the shifting dynamic of equity work in higher education and explore ways to reframe that work with authenticity. 

Higher education professionals are navigating unprecedented levels of complexity, emotional labor, and institutional change. Flourishing in this environment requires more than individual effort; it requires workplaces that support human flourishing. This interactive workshop explores the personal, organizational, and societal factors that shape employee wellness in higher education. Through reflection, data analysis, case studies, and collaborative problem‑solving, participants will develop strategies to cultivate healthier, more sustainable professional lives for themselves and their teams. 

Faculty and staff of color face inequities, climate issues, and exclusion across many contexts of higher education (Hurtado, et al, 2012; Harper & Hurtado, 2007; Perna, 2001). This workshop will use data, case studies, policy audits, and mapping to illustrate systemic inequities for faculty and staff of color on campus. Participants will also strategize practical and applicable ways to address and remedy inequities within their spheres of control.  

First‑generation college students bring tremendous strengths, resilience, and cultural wealth to their institutions, yet they continue to navigate systemic barriers related to access, belonging, and the hidden curriculum. This interactive workshop examines the experiences of first‑generation students through research and lived experiences, highlighting the strengths these students contribute to campus communities as well as the challenges they encounter. Participants will analyze institutional structures that shape first‑gen success and develop asset‑based strategies to create more supportive environments. 

This interactive workshop equips higher education professionals with the knowledge and tools to better support LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and staff with intersectional identities. Participants will explore how overlapping identities and overlapping experience of oppression shape experiences on college campuses. Through case studies, reflection, and practical strategies, attendees will learn how to identify systemic barriers and implement inclusive, equity-minded practices within their roles and institutions. 

Out‑of‑state students navigate unique transitions as they build a sense of home in unfamiliar environments. This interactive workshop examines the context of student migration, explores the factors that shape out‑of‑state student experiences, and highlights the role higher professionals have in fostering student success. Through case studies, data, and reflective practice, participants will analyze institutional structures that influence out‑of‑state student engagement and belonging. Participants will leave with strategies to create welcoming and supportive pathways that help students experience campus as a true second home.