Beyond the Credit Cut: A Design Thinking Model for Developing Quality Three-Year Bachelor Degrees (29 Sep 2026)

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Beyond the Credit Cut: A Design Thinking Model for Developing Quality Three-Year Bachelor Degrees

September 29, 2026

12noon to 1:00PM Eastern Time

The three-year, reduced-credit bachelor’s degree is gaining national traction, but some in higher education view it as a shortcut, a dilution of quality and rigor. This session reframes that narrative by sharing how the American College of Healthcare Sciences (ACHS) designed a 90-credit Bachelor of Science in Integrative Healthcare and Wellness Coaching using a design thinking framework that embedded quality assurance, workforce relevance, and institutional readiness at every step.

Presenters will provide an overview of the current landscape of reduced-credit degrees, including emerging approaches to how reduced-credit bachelors are structured, followed by a detailed case study of ACHS’s intentional design process. Participants will receive practical tools, including a Readiness Assessment Matrix and Graduate Profile Framework, and leave with a replicable roadmap template for developing reduced-credit degrees that maintain academic integrity while improving access, affordability, and workforce alignment.

Presenters:

Tiffany Rodriguez, Ph.D.; Chief Academic Officer, American College of Healthcare Sciences and Co-Founder, Educational Strategy & Design Group

Sonny Calderon, MFA; Vice President for Academic Affairs, New York Film Academy and Co-Founder, Educational Strategy & Design Group

Cost: this event is free for NEean members, and costs $15 for non-members.

An email will be sent to registrants on September 28

with log in information for the webinar.

Notification of Session Recording

Please be advised that this session will be recorded and the recording shared with attendees and NEean members.

2026 NEean Fall Forum (06 Nov 2026)

Fri, 06 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT

2026 NEean Fall Forum

Beyond Data: The Power of Assessment as Relational Presence

Building Professional Community During Institutional Change

November 6, 2026 from 9AM - 3:30PM

at The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA

In assessment, the ways that we choose to show up matter. As our institutions face budget cuts, eliminated positions, institutional mergers, and constant restructuring, assessment professionals face challenges that are nuanced and multi-layered. We're navigating a BANI-VUCA landscape, one that's brittle, anxious, nonlinear, and incomprehensible, yet also volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Our work demands more than data. It requires human connection, collective wisdom, and support that depends on presence with one another.

This year’s Fall Forum invites you to step away from your screen and gather in person to strengthen the professional relationships that sustain us through change. Assessment works best in collaboration, and NEean offers a space to build mentoring networks, share strategies for doing more with less, and ground our practice in what matters most: students, relationships, and community. Whether you're navigating a merger, leading as a solo practitioner, or reimagining assessment amid policy uncertainty, you'll find colleagues who understand the challenges and are ready to dig into them together.

Join us to explore how relational presence transforms assessment from compliance into meaningful work that centers student voice, leverages technology thoughtfully, and creates the conditions for institutional resilience even when everything around us is shifting.

Learn More about the 2026 NEean Fall Forum

Registration Types:

Attendance at the NEean Fall Forum is limited to our membership

Registration: $295 (includes registration and membership in NEean (through August 31, 2027))

Registration for NEean Members already renewed through August 2027: $195

Graduate Student Registration (proof of current graduate student status required): $125 (includes registration and membership in NEean through August 31, 2027)

Photo Opt Out Release: A photographer will be taking pictures at the Fall Forum on November 6 for the NEEAN website and other marketing purposes. Individual names of attendees will not be used in any media posting. If you would like to "opt out" and not have your image appear in photographs or other media, please complete a Photo Opt Out Release at registration.

Notification of Session Recording: Please be advised that some sessions may be recorded and the recording shared with attendees and NEean members at a future date.

New England Educational Assessment Network upcoming events

Beyond the Credit Cut: A Design Thinking Model for Developing Quality Three-Year Bachelor Degrees (29 Sep 2026)

2026 NEean Fall Forum (06 Nov 2026)