Student Success Tips and Tricks for Today's Higher Education Landscape
Join experienced leaders from across academic and student affairs for a dynamic conversation on what it takes to support the whole student. In this panel discussion, Modern Campus brings together seasoned higher education professionals to share real-world insights, reflect on today’s evolving landscape, and offer practical guidance for driving holistic student success.
Attendees will gain perspective on lessons learned, emerging challenges and opportunities, and actionable strategies to better align institutional efforts around the learner experience—inside and outside the classroom.
Joe Levy, Ed.D.
Joe Levy serves as the Associate Vice Provost of Accreditation and Quality Improvement at Excelsior University. Joe earned a BA in English from Baldwin-Wallace College, an MS in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Colorado State University, and his Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership from National Louis University. Joe is a member of the Student Affairs Assessment Leaders (SAAL) Board of Directors, co-creator and instructor for the Applying and Leading Assessment in Student Affairs open course, and endorsed speaker for the National Institute of Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA). Author, presenter, trainer, and consultant, Joe enjoys leveraging his academic and student affairs experience from multiple institutional types to talk assessment, quality assurance, and institutional betterment.
Ciji A. Heiser, Ph.D.
Ciji Heiser is the Founder of Co-Creating Action, an award winning researcher and seasoned professional in education, evaluation, and strategic planning. She teaches antiracist methodologies at American University, contemporary issues in higher education at New England College, and Applying and Leading Assessment in Higher Education for the Student Affairs Assessment Leaders. She holds degrees from Bucknell University, Kent State University, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has led assessment, evaluation, and strategic planning initiatives across sectors. Recently, she contributed to NSF grants supporting underrepresented students in STEM and conducted qualitative research on factors influencing students’ choices in pursuing postsecondary education. Currently, she collaborates on reducing racial disparities in prison diversion programs across Illinois and is researching how policies shape equity work across a state system of community colleges. As a volunteer, Ciji co-leads the Grand Challenges in Higher Education plan, leveraging data to promote equity. She also shared her expertise as a faculty member at the ACPA Assessment Institute and as past-chair of the Student Affairs Assessment Leaders.
Kevin Wright, Ed.D.
Kevin Wright, Ed.D., was raised in the Historic Westside of Las Vegas, NV, grounded in the love and labor of multiple Black womxn and shaped by Louisiana southern values. Born from African, Creole, and Indigenous ancestry, Dr. Wright has dedicated his career to raising consciousness, building skills, and developing strategies that help organizations socialize and operationalize equity. His commitment to racial justice, equity, and inclusion guides his work in shifting cultures and systems to better serve individuals with historically marginalized identities. A TRIO alum, he is an award-winning educator, best-selling author, and public speaker specializing in culturally responsive leadership, equity in assessment, personal and professional transformation, and social justice education. Dr. Wright has reached more than 100,000 learners across five continents and produces scholarship while serving as a Faculty of Social Justice and Global Diversity at Southern New Hampshire University.