Council on Public Policy Higher Education (CPPHE) Pre-Conference

The purposes of the Council on Public Policy in Higher Education (CPPHE) shall be to promote research on, and to advance understanding of, the processes and impacts of public policy in U.S. higher education, as well as to help inform decision making in the public policy arena. The Council shall also serve as an incubator and facilitator of future policy-relevant research and as an ongoing network for the exchange of ideas and information. The Council shall pursue these purposes by providing opportunities for researchers, public policy analysts, and policy makers to share research findings and to discuss diverse ideas and perspectives regarding public policy issues in higher education.

As an organization addressing public policy issues, the Council shall focus primarily on state and federal governmental issues, programs, or processes that affect higher education in the United States.

Call For Proposals

The CPPHE Pre-Conference Forum provides participants the opportunity to explore and discuss significant public policy issues that affect higher education in the U.S. at the local, state, and federal levels. Proposals that emphasize active dialogue and audience participation are particularly welcome. Additionally, CPPHE encourages proposals that bring together researchers and policy actors as partners to help research inform policy. The CPPHE Pre-Conference Forum generally features more applied work than is found in the general conference program.

In light of this year’s conference theme, “The Bend in the Arc,” we invite researchers to submit proposals that explore the fusion of progress, justice, and creativity in addressing the major public policy challenges of our time.  Inspired by the metaphor of an arc, the theme challenges participants to reflect on the slow but persistent journey toward justice and to interrogate the policy levers in which justice and equity can be achieved.  Acknowledging the tensions between rhetorical ideals and lived realities, CPPHE is particularly interested in proposals that focus on the challenges individuals face in pursuing higher education as well as the institutional challenges  . Proposals could consider innovative, activist approaches to scholarly work, emphasizing the transformative potential of creativity, discovery, and collaboration in developing meaningful, student-centered policies that foster equity and lasting change. Proposals may also take a more traditional policy-analyst or institutional lens to research and policy analysis. 

The work of advancing equity and justice in public policy cannot be confined to those who occupy traditional scholarly roles; on the contrary, partnerships with policymakers, think tanks, advocacy organizations, and others outside academia are needed for researchers to impact policy. For that reason, we take a broad view of the definition of “scholar” and especially  invite proposals from those occupying expected and unexpected spaces, from faculty and students, to policy analysts and strategists, with the goal of breaking down silos and engendering a space where the tough questions are asked, where potential solutions are considered, and where new partnerships across the multitude of scholars in the room are formed. We particularly encourage scholars to submit proposals that address the translation of policy research to policy action (including activism and advocacy), strategies for combating injustice, ongoing challenges in accessing and succeeding from higher education, and other significant events that continue to beset higher education, and the interaction among different levels of policymaking (local and state; state and federal; local and federal) to address timely higher education topics.

Proposal Formats Accepted

Call for Volunteers

The quality and success of the conference is contingent upon the service and participation of our members. Thank you for considering a volunteer role as a Reviewer, Chair, and/or Discussant. Your service as a conference volunteer helps to ensure the integrity of the conference and, subsequently, the field of higher education scholarship. ASHE welcomes volunteer applications from scholars in all stages of their academic journey. 

To learn more about volunteer opportunities, please visit ashe.ws/volunteers.

The Volunteer Application Form on the Conference Portal includes a question where you can share any accessibility needs or ways ASHE can support you in your role as a chair, discussant, and/or reviewer. If there are additional questions or concerns, please contact Alicia Castillo Shrestha, Associate Director for Conference and Events at alicia@ashe.ws.

Submit a Proposal and/or Volunteer Application through the Conference Portal