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.
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)
Schedule (subject to change)
8:15 - 9:00AM: Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 - 10:10AM: Welcome and Plenary Session
10:10 - 10:25AM: Break
10:30 - 11:15AM: Concurrent Sessions
11:25 - 12:10PM: Concurrent Sessions
12:15 - 1:05PM: Lunch and Member Meeting
1:10 - 1:40PM: Poster Session and Networking
1:45 - 2:30PM: Concurrent Sessions
2:40 - 3:25PM: Concurrent Sessions
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.
