Published on May 4, 2015

Location: Utah State University, Logan, UT
Dates: October 1-3, 2015
Theme:  Programmatic Perspectives: Research, Approaches, and Applications

Overview

As programs in our field evolve and new programs emerge, it is essential for us to take time to reflect on their sustainability and the forces affecting them – things like the availability of resources, changes in industry, shifts in technology, and faculty hiring and development. It is also paramount to investigate the forces that shape the perspectives we have of our programs and the administration of them within different contexts (e.g., institutional, governmental, social, and economic).

Programmatic research that examines issues such as curriculum design, course development, hiring and promotion practices, recruitment and retention strategies, and innovative pedagogical approaches is needed to help guide program updates and program development in ways connected to sustainability. Further, program reviews and assessment are becoming increasingly data driven, and we need to consider what this factor means for the larger field.  That is, can local data (e.g., assessment data on our specific programs) be combined into field data (e.g., overall credit hours generated by our institutions) to help us guide our programs as we move into the future?  All of these factors affect the perspectives we, as members of our field, have of our programs. They also affect how others outside of the field view our programs.

The 2015 Annual Conference of the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC) seeks to emphasize research—both local and across the field—in relation to programmatic issues and how it can enhance the perspectives we have on our programs.  By highlighting the everyday research many of us already do as a part of our program-related activities, we are able to determine the most pressing issues that need more in depth examination across the field.

We invite proposals for presentations that examine how we, as a field, should approach the topic of programmatic research and the questions, methods, application, and context that affect and are affected by it.  In sum, how research might guide our perspectives on programs in the field.  To this end, we welcome a variety of perspectives and approaches—historical, pragmatic, empirical, or theoretical – that examine program-related research and how such research can help us better understand our current programs and better guide the evolution and the development of programs in the future. (A future issue of the CPTSC journal Programmatic Perspectives will also examine this topic; keep an eye out for the related CFP!)

Possible Topic Areas 

Suggested topic areas for CPTSC conference proposals on the theme of programmatic research affects our perspectives of programs include, but are not limited to, items such as

  • Research questions used to examine our programs
  • Research design and research methods that should be used to conduct such research
  • Proposed approaches for using programmatic research to guide curriculum development
  • Suggested practices for using programmatic research to shape program identity
  • Prospective approaches to applying programmatic research to assessment practices
  • Possible applications of programmatic research to examine relationships with industry
  • Uses of research to inform the development and assessment of online programs
  • Connections between the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) and programmatic research
  • Theoretical foundations for our research on programs and programmatic issues
  • Approaches to applying programmatic research to examine tenure and promotion practices in our programs
  • Presenting programmatic research to members of the field, to university administrators, and to individuals and institutions outside of academia
  • Administrative practice related to our programs
  • Approaches for conducting programmatic research in global contexts
  • Innovative or updated pedagogical practices for many of our common courses
  • Faculty development issues associated with changing technologies
  • Role of contingent faculty in our programs
  • Program outcomes and course outcomes
  • Approaches to faculty training, development and staffing
  • Solutions and successful practices for common programmatic issues (such as technology concerns, updating courses, staffing the service course, negotiations around increased service commitments, compromises in curriculum design, etc.)

The CPTSC conference emphasizes discussion and a focus on programmatic issues. The audience includes administrators and faculty from new and established programs and anyone with programmatic interests in technical, professional, and scientific communication. We welcome participants—administrators, faculty, and graduate students—from secondary, community college, or university levels, as well as representatives of industry.

Submission Guidelines

Presentation Formats

Proposals may be submitted for the following kinds of presentations:

    • Individual Presentations: 5-7 minute presentation given by an individual speaker
    • Panel Presentation: A session in which 3-6 individuals spend 20-30 minutes examining a central topic or theme
    • Poster Session: Posters will be on display throughout the conference, and poster creators will present and discuss their posters at a dedicated session during the conference

Individual and Poster Presentations: 500-word proposal (not including citations)

Panel Presentations: Provide a frame of the panel as a whole of up to 500 words and then include up to 250 word proposals for each presenter (word counts do not include citations)

Your proposal should provide the following information

    • The kind of presentation (i.e., individual presentation, panel presentation, or poster presentation)
    • The title of the proposed presentation, poster, or panel
    • The connection between the proposed presentation to the conference theme
    • A summary of the approach or research method used to examine the proposed topic.
    • A summary of what attendees can “take away” from the presentation to apply to or use within the context of their own organizations or programs
    • The name, affiliation, and contact email for presenter(s)

All proposals should be submitted as .doc files attached to an email message sent to cptsc2015@gmail.com.

The subject line of the related email should read “CPTSC 2015 Conference Proposal.”  All proposals will be peer reviewed.

Note: While individuals may submit more than one proposal for consideration, each accepted presenter may give only one presentation at the conference.

Submission Deadlines

Early Submission Deadline – Proposals received on or before 29 May 2015 will be considered “early submissions” and will receive expedited review and consideration for the conference.  (Individuals who submit a proposal for the early submission deadline may also submit a revised proposal for the regular review deadline.)

Regular Submission Deadline – Proposals received on or before 7 July 2015 will be considered a“regular submission” and will undergo a slightly longer review process.

Questions

Individuals who have questions or who wish to discuss proposal ideas are encouraged to contact the 2015 Conference Program Committee at cptsc2015@gmail.com.