2025 CSP
Symposium

Multiple students were placed at more than one service site, with some rotating through up to three placements. This undermines consistency, continuity, and fair access — and contributes directly to the compliance gap in which one third of students had not completed their required hours by the time of the Symposium.

• Each student is assigned to one site only. Exceptions require documented extenuating circumstances such as discrimination or prejudice.
• Communicate this policy clearly during orientation and onboarding.
• Update advisor scripts and all onboarding materials to reflect the one-site rule.
• Include FAQs in orientation materials to preempt common misconceptions.

Approximately one third of students had not completed their designated 200 service hours by the time of the Symposium. This is not a student failure — it is a monitoring failure. Without structured check-ins and real-time visibility into hour completion, non-compliance accumulates invisibly until it is too late to correct.

• Utilize Time2Track exclusively for all service hour tracking.
• Reinforce submission deadlines and platform expectations at orientation.
• Conduct milestone check-ins in October, January, and March — with formal written outreach to any student below threshold.
• Provide clear guidance for supervisor validation within the platform.
• Students who have not met hour requirements by April 1 are ineligible to present at the Symposium. This policy must be stated in writing at orientation.

The practicum requires students to attend three designated workshops virtually throughout the academic year. These are a separate program requirement from the Symposium itself — the Symposium is the culmination of the practicum, not a replacement for the workshop obligation. One third of students had not fulfilled this requirement by the time of the Symposium, indicating that the tracking and enforcement of year-long obligations is not functioning. What cannot be measured cannot be managed.

• Communicate the three-workshop virtual requirement explicitly at orientation, separate from Symposium logistics.
• Track workshop attendance systematically throughout the year — not through self-report, and not only at the point of Symposium registration.
• Include workshop completion status in each milestone check-in alongside service hours.
• Students who have not completed all three workshops by April 1 are ineligible to present at the Symposium. This must be stated in writing at orientation and reiterated at each milestone check-in.

• Hold one orientation (live and virtual) in August.
• Provide a summary Adobe Express reference page for participants.
• Clarify and enforce: one Symposium and one make-up only per student.
• Orientation must include explicit written statements of hour requirements, workshop requirements, and eligibility thresholds for Symposium participation.

• Replace dense email chains with Adobe Express one-pagers for key updates.
• Launch monthly communications from August through April covering orientation, deadlines, eligibility thresholds, and participant roles.
• All communications must reference the eligibility requirements for Symposium participation — not just logistical details.

Faculty continued to hold classes during the Symposium window, directly undermining what was described as the program's marquee event. The downstream consequence was significant: between 50 and 60 percent of students could only present during the designated lunch block. That block was intended as a catered meal and community gathering — not a presentation window. Students moved directly from class to presenting (frequently to no evaluator), then back to class. Simultaneously, the lunch block did not have sufficient rooms or available time slots to absorb that volume of presentations. The catered meal went largely to waste because attendees were unaware it was available. None of this is a scheduling problem. It is a buy-in problem — and the Program Chair is the appropriate authority to resolve it.

• Begin faculty engagement no later than October — not the week of the event.
• The Program Chair must formally request that faculty designate the Symposium as required curriculum and cancel conflicting classes for the full event day.
• Institutional leadership must communicate the priority of this event to all relevant departments in writing before the start of the academic year.
• The lunch block must be protected as a meal and community moment — not absorbed as overflow presentation capacity.

• Create a first-come, first-served sign-up system using a scheduling platform. Recommended: Calendly, YouCanBookMe, Google Calendar Appointment Slots, or Microsoft Bookings.
• Automate time slot confirmations to reduce manual coordination burden and create a clear record of scheduled presenters.
• Only students who have met eligibility requirements by April 1 may schedule a presentation slot.

No clear event itinerary was distributed to attendees. The Symposium included a keynote speaker, a catered breakfast, and a catered lunch — none of which were adequately communicated in advance. As a result, significant portions of both meals went to waste because attendees were unaware food was available or when and where to access it. The speaker's session was similarly undersupported due to a lack of advance communication about the program.

• Publish a complete event itinerary — including speaker session, meal times, presentation blocks, and room assignments — no later than one week before the event.
• Send a day-before reminder to all registered attendees with the full schedule and a floor map.
• Post physical signage at the entrance and at each meal station indicating times and locations.
• Designate a volunteer to make verbal announcements at meal transitions to direct attendees.

• Submit room reservations through the Registrar by December.
• Confirm that all rooms meet AV and seating requirements before finalizing.

• Pre-assign poster and exhibition easels in advance using a floor diagram with signage.
• Maintain a master scheduling sheet accessible to all event staff on the day.

• Limit workshops and panels to 30 minutes to maintain event pacing.
• Assign a timekeeper to each workshop room.

• Staff a designated check-in station with name tags, a floor map, and printed schedules.
• Staff with volunteers or work-study students trained to answer FAQs and provide direction.

• Require poster file submissions two weeks before the event to allow for printing.
• Establish a clear payment workflow for university-funded printing.
• Use a Google Form for file submissions and tracking.

• Confirm dietary needs and headcount 30 days before the event.
• Lock in menu and vendor three weeks prior.
• Coordinate delivery logistics and post-event cleanup in advance.