#RealCollege Conference 2022: #RealChange for Students
Friday, September 16 – Sunday, September 18, 2022
Rutgers University–Camden
Campus Center Building | 326 Penn St. | Camden, NJ
Early Bird pricing for in-person + virtual attendee tickets close Monday, July 25.
Have a #RealChange idea for students? Submit a session proposal by Friday, June 17 for priority consideration!
About the #RealCollege Movement
Educating students beyond high school is essential to America’s economic recovery, strength as a democracy, and ability to compete as a global leader. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, our nation grapples with longstanding equity disparities that keep students from enrolling in college, earning a credential, and achieving their full potential. Nearly 3 in 5 college students struggle to access basic needs such as food and housing, and millions lack access to essential resources such as healthcare, childcare, transportation, and technology when pursuing a degree or credential.
Student basic needs insecurity is curtailing enrollment and hampering college completion at a time when we need it most. The social, political, and economic systems that converge for college attainment continue to fail students from non-privileged backgrounds. As #RealCollege research shows, students who identify across intersecting racial, ethnic, gender, ability, and other marginalized identities contend with basic needs insecurity the most.
Over the past several years, the #RealCollege movement has made important progress in helping institutions of higher education create ecosystems to support students’ basic needs. During our continued recovery, it is imperative that higher education stakeholders focus on systemic and sustainable change that builds a postsecondary landscape in which students have equitable access to the resources they need to meet their basic needs and succeed in college.
About the Conference
The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice is holding the 5th annual #RealCollege Conference—organized in partnership with Believe in Students—in-person and virtually September 16–18, 2022 at Rutgers University–Camden Campus in Camden, New Jersey.
The 2022 #RealCollege Conference will convene leaders across the policy, research, and practice arenas to focus on federal, state, and local systemic change to meet students’ basic needs and advance equity in higher education outcomes. We are engaging cross-sector leaders to provide actionable guidance, strategic insight, and practical expertise to drive structural policy reforms that provide for #RealCollege students’ basic needs.
#RealCollege Conference 2022 will feature a program representing diverse perspectives, experiences, skills, and backgrounds. The agenda will focus on systemic change in the following topic areas:
- Financial aid to cover students’ full cost of college: Federal and state efforts to make college more affordable by addressing both tuition and non-tuition costs for food, housing, course materials, transportation, child care, health care, and more;
- Public benefits access for students: Improving student access to public benefit programs, including conducting outreach, and addressing eligibility restrictions that impede students’ basic needs security and create administrative burdens;
- Pandemic-era reforms: Federal, state, and institutional pandemic-era supports and flexibilities that have helped students, including emergency aid, cash assistance, tax benefits, and flexibilities in public benefit programs;
- Physical and mental health: Access to and delivery of physical and mental health care for students, including addressing disparities in student supports and resources; and
- Data and evidence on basic needs: Sharing information on the extent and variation of basic needs insecurity across student populations, and building evidence on the impact of interventions on academic outcomes
Session Proposals
The #RealCollege Conference team seeks innovative sessions proposals to drive the structural change #RealCollege students need!
Ideal sessions leverage research, best-practice evidence, and the expertise of students and practitioners to advance systemic change for basic needs at the institutional, state, or federal level. Sessions that engage attendees’ expertise, provide diverse insights, and offer practical guidance for changemakers to drive structural reforms in their communities will be prioritized.
Submit a session proposal by Friday, June 17 for priority consideration.
Scholarship Information
In an effort to make the #RealCollege Conference 2022 accessible, our corporate partners are sponsoring full and partial registration, hotel, and travel scholarships. (Thank you!)
To be considered for a full or partial scholarship, please apply by Thursday, June 16. If you apply, you will be notified by Friday, July 15.
See what the #RealCollege Conference looks like and why it matters
Learn more about the #RealCollege Movement.
Partnership & Vendor Booth Opportunities
Please explore our partnership options for the #RealCollege Conference and let us know how we can collaborate and advance the work to support students’ basic needs security.
For example, we have the following vendor booth opportunities:
$7,500 Corporate Vendor Booth
Your vendor booth gives you the opportunity to be in front of 500 advocates in the higher education space that are working to address student needs on campuses across the country. This is an opportunity to showcase your support of the movement and to market your product, solutions, and resources to attendees.
$2,500 Nonprofit Partner Vendor Booth
Your vendor booth gives you the opportunity to be in front of 500 advocates in the higher education space that are working to address student needs on campuses across the country. This is an opportunity to showcase your support of the movement and to market your product, solutions, and resources to attendees.
If you are interested in a vendor booth opportunity listed here, please contact Traci Kirtley at [email protected].
*In-Person COVID-19 Safety Measures
The health and safety of our guests is our top priority. COVID-19 safety measures will be updated according to the Rutgers University-Camden health and safety guidelines at the time of the conference, as well as any federal, state, and local government rules, regulations, and recommendations. Attendees will be notified of these specific safety measures as we get closer to the conference.
We kindly ask that anyone joining us in-person who is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 stay home to avoid contagion and notify Nia Fillo at [email protected] right away so that we can accommodate for the change in plans.
Contact Information
Speaker/sponsor/exhibitor questions:
Tanya Mikkelson, Swaim Strategies, Conference Coordinator
[email protected]
Registration questions:
Nia Fillo, Swaim Strategies
[email protected]
Past #RealCollege Conferences
Check out our #RealCollege Conferences from prior years here.