Student Success Summit
Thank you for interest. In-Person and Virtual registration is now closed.
2023 Student Success Summit: Ideas to Action
Feb. 27 - 28, 2023 at the University of Kentucky Gatton Student Center
The annual Student Success Summit is CPE's signature event that promotes innovative approaches to student success combined with action planning for continuous improvement. This year's theme is Ideas to Action. Throughout the two days we will accomplish several important goals:
- Deepen our understanding of promising practices on these priority issues
- Apply strategies for success based on our institutional data and context
- Develop an action plan for continuous improvement beyond the Summit
Conference Information
- IN-PERSON ATTENDEES - Upon arrival, check-in at the registration window to receive your name badge and packet. The badge will be required to enter the sessions and for meals.
- VIRTUAL ATTENDEES - There is no formal check-in for virtual attendees. The links to watch the sessions have been sent via email from CPE staff. Please remember that all sessions are non-interactive, but they will be recorded for replay.
- FOR ALL ATTENDEES - You can access all conference information (i.e. speaker bios, session slides, related documents, data dashboards, etc.) on the 2023 Summit Channel on the KYSCC Impact exChange at https://tinyurl.com/2023KYSummit. While you are there, click "join" at the top right of the screen and create an account using your Google or LinkedIn credentials. This will allow you interact with conference organizers and attendees regarding the sessions. (Note: not all information will be posted until Sunday evening, February 26, so check back often.)
Parking and/or arriving on UK's campus
GIVE YOURSELF AT LEAST 30 ADDITIONAL MINUTES TO ARRIVE AND PARK ON CAMPUS. UK is located in downtown Lexington and traffic is unpredictable. Because this is an active campus, we also strongly encourage you to carpool when able. Parking is first-come first-serve for all students, faculty, and campus guests.
- If you pre-purchased a parking pass for the Gatton Student Center Lot you are guaranteed a parking spot in the lot at the corner of Avenue of Champions and Lexington Avenue. You must print and bring the pass that was emailed to you the afternoon of Wed, Feb 15th. The lot attendant will ask to see it upon your arrival, and then you may place it on your dashboard while parked. (These passes are sold out; no more are available.)
- If you did NOT pre-purchase parking, we encourage you to park in the Cornerstone Garage at https://goo.gl/maps/U2wcLeHpvVP43q7b8. You will be charged $2 per hour with a $16 per exit maximum, and this is not being validated or reimbursed by CPE. You will need to submit for reimbursement from your institution/agency, if eligible.
- If you are using a ride-share service such as uber or lyft, have them drop you off in the loop at the corner of Avenue of Champions and Lexington Avenue.
- If you choose to park elsewhere (street parking, etc.), please look for the Summit directional signage at the entrances near the 2 other parking areas. Signage may not be set up at all doors.
Hotel Accommodation
The lodging block with the reduced rate is now sold out. If you would like to see if rooms are still available at the Hilton Lexington/Downtown, located at 369 West Vine Street, you can call 859-231-9000.
Need Assistance?
- Onsite Attendees - If you need assistance with the Impact exChange while onsite at the Summit, please visit the registration window.
- Virtual Attendees - If you need assistance accessing the virtual sessions, please check your email with the instructions sent the aftternoon of February 24th. If you are still unable to connect, email heather.faesy@ky.gov.
Featured Speakers

Dr. Zainab Okolo
Okolo is a strategy officer at Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation that works with governmental, nonprofit, and private-sector organizations to bring about change. Okolo has spent time studying free speech on college campuses, the impact of cultural competency and social capital on student outcomes and reducing prison recidivism through prison education. She has also developed assessment tools for institutional practitioners and has served as a licensed clinical marriage and family therapist.

Dr. Alison Kadlec
Kadlec is a senior partner and co-founder of Sova, a higher education consulting service. She has worked deeply with systems and institutions in more than half the states in the U.S. to help leaders improve student-focused reform of policy and practice at scale. Alison also leads work with state policymakers and regional coalitions to improve the quality of policy design and implementation planning. Before co-founding Sova, Kadlec was a senior vice president at Public Agenda, where she led higher education and workforce projects focused on elevating student voice, improving faculty engagement in guided pathways, and helping institutions collaborate across boundaries on student-focused innovation.

Dr. Drew K. Koch
Koch is the chief executive officer of the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education, a non-profit organization which partners with schools and systems to improve outcomes associated with teaching, learning, retention and completion. Koch is a staunch advocate and leader of efforts that increase student access to and, ultimately, completion of postsecondary education. He has substantive experience with undergraduate education administration, redesign of unjust education systems, strategic planning, fundraising, reaffirmation of accreditation, postsecondary access and success, and enrollment management efforts.

Carrie R. Welton
Welton is senior director at the Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS), where her work focuses on improving federal and state policies to better support the ability of people with low incomes to access and complete a postsecondary credential. She has experiences as a trusted public benefits policy expert for the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice and the Center for Law and Social Policy in Washington, DC.

Dr. Mary-Ann Winkelmes
Winkelmes is the founder, director, and principal investigator of the Transparency in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education project (TILT Higher Ed), which helps faculty to use education practices grounded in evidence about students' learning shared across institutions and countries. She is a prolific author, with publications appearing in the National Teaching and Learning Forum, the National Education Association's Higher Education Advocate, AAC&U's Liberal Education and Peer Review. Her work to improve higher education learning and teaching, especially for historically underserved students, has been recognized nationally by the Chronicle of Higher Education and with the POD Network's Robert J. Menges Award for Outstanding Research in Education Development.
Last Updated: 2/24/2023