2026 SC Transfer Excellence Convening: Proposals for Session Topics

CHE is requesting session topic proposals for the 2026 Transfer Excellence Convening, a statewide gathering of “transfer champions” dedicated to strengthening credit mobility, transfer pathways, and student success across all sectors of higher education. Building on the momentum of past convenings and the statewide Transfer Action Plan, this year’s convening will spotlight concrete practices, tools, and policies that make credit more portable, transparent, and applicable to timely credential and degree completion. 

CHE welcomes proposals from a variety of perspectives and roles, to include faculty, advisors, registrars, student affairs professionals, transfer admissions professionals, institutional researchers, system and campus leaders, and community partners from South Carolina’s research universities, comprehensive teaching institutions, technical colleges, independent colleges and universities, as well as industry partners in the credit mobility space. Proposals are due no later than Aug. 17.

Focus Areas and Session Topics

Proposals should directly address credit mobility and transfer excellence with a clear connection to South Carolina students, institutions, or policy. We especially encourage sessions that: 

• Showcase cross-sector partnerships that simplify transfer pathways between two- and four-year institutions, building on regional collaboration models featured at previous convenings. 
• Demonstrate strategies for implementing the statewide Transfer Action Plan, including use of common learning outcomes, streamlined articulation, and maximized applicability of credit to degrees. 
• Share innovations in credit evaluation and recognition (e.g., military credit mobility and credit for prior learning, work-based learning, industry certifications, exam-based credit, dual enrollment, and noncredit-to-credit bridges). 
• Highlight data-informed approaches to monitor credit loss, excess credits, time to degree, and gaps for transfer students, and how that data informs practice or policy. 
• Illustrate use of emerging tools and technology to support transparent, student-friendly credit mobility (for example, transfer equivalency tools, degree audit innovations, or Transfer Explorer–style platforms). 
• Uplift student voices and co-created solutions that center on the lived experiences of learners in South Carolina (transfer, returning adult, military-affiliated, prison education, etc.). 
• Address credit mobility in the context of workforce alignment, showing how transfer pathways connect to high-demand credentials and careers in the state. 

Session Formats

To promote engagement and practical takeaways, we invite proposals in these formats (note that timeframes are inclusive of question and answer sessions):

• Interactive Workshops (45 minutes): Hands-on sessions that engage participants in tools, frameworks, or planning activities related to credit mobility and transfer.
• Promising Practice Showcases (45 minutes): Focused presentations highlighting a specific initiative, intervention, or partnership.
• Panel Discussions (45 minutes): Moderated conversations featuring multiple institutions, sectors, or stakeholder perspectives on a shared topic (e.g., regional collaborations, advising models, or data use).
• Transfer Excellence Briefs (15 minutes each): Short, high-impact talks grouped by theme featuring emerging or early-stage efforts. [This is a poster session type event.]

Collaborative, cross-institutional proposals are strongly encouraged, particularly those that represent multiple sectors (technical college, four-year public, independent) or campus units (academic affairs, student affairs, enrollment, institutional research, workforce partners). 

Proposal Guidelines

Each proposal must include: 

• Session title (15 words or fewer).
• Primary contact and co-presenters, including institution/organization, role, and contact information (phone and email).
• Format (workshop, showcase, panel, brief).
• Focus area(s) (choose at least one): policy and governance, advising and student support, data and analytics, technology and tools, credit for prior learning/military credit, regional partnerships, or other (describe).
• Abstract (200–300 words) describing:
  • The problem or opportunity you are addressing.
  • The specific strategy, program, or tool you will showcase.
  • Evidence of impact, student outcomes, or lessons learned (qualitative or quantitative).
  • How the session connects to credit mobility and transfer excellence in South Carolina.
• Intended audience (e.g., advisors, faculty, registrars, institutional research, campus leadership, system-level leaders).
• Learning outcomes that describe what participants will be able to know, do, or apply as a result of attending your session.

Proposals should clearly identify how the work can be replicated, adapted, or scaled by peers at other South Carolina institutions, and how it aligns with statewide goals to reduce credit loss, shorten time to degree, and improve completion for transfer students. 

Review Criteria and Submission Timeline

Proposals will be reviewed with attention to broad institutional, regional, and role-based representation. Reviewers will prioritize sessions that: 

• Provide clear, actionable strategies or tools.
• Demonstrate collaboration across units, institutions, or sectors.
• Use data and evidence to inform and assess impact.
• Speak to the student experience and credit applicability to credentials and degrees.
• Reflect innovative thinking and alignment with statewide credit mobility efforts (including participation in national initiatives like the Holistic Credit Mobility Acceleration Cohort). 

Key dates (proposed): 

• Call for Proposals Opens: Monday, June 22
• Proposal Deadline: Monday, Aug. 17
• Notification of Acceptance: Monday, Aug. 31
• Convening Date: Tuesday, Oct. 13