2026 Student Success & Retention Conference
SSRC 2026 Details
Sponsored by the Oregon Council for Student Services Administrators (CSSA), the Student Success and Retention Conference (SSRC) is designed for community college and university student affairs professionals. Focused on best practices to support student success, the conference provides great opportunities to connect with colleagues, identify upcoming trends, and gain the skills needed to meet the future needs of our students.
Conference Date: February 12th & 13th, 2026
Pre-Conference: February 11th
Connected & Courageous: Learning, Leading, Belonging
Subtitle: Because the journey to student success demands both heart and boldness.
Sample Session Tracks
- Courageous Leadership: Building brave teams and leading through change
- Connection in Action: Holistic supports and wrap-around care
- Learning Together: Collaborative approaches to professional growth
- Belonging by Design: Inclusive environments for staff and students
Dates:
Pre-Conference - 2/11/26
Conference - 2/12/26 - 2/13/26
Location:
Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel & Conference Center
8235 Northeast Airport Way Portland, Oregon 97220
View Directions
Accommodation
Marriott Bonvoy Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel
Our room block at The Sheraton has filled up! Not to worry, we were able to secure an additional room block at The Hampton (across the parking lot from The Sheraton).
A room block has been held at the Hampton Inn Portland-Airport. Use this link Book your rate for Student Success 2026 to reserve your room at the Identified rate of $160.68 USD per night.
Please note this additional block will be released this Friday, 2/6/2026. After Friday, attendees will no longer be able to access the conference rate, and rooms may no longer be available at either hotel.
Featured Speakers
Keith Orchard, LCSW
Author, Speaker, and Coach
SSRC 2026 Preconference Session
Title: Motivational Interviewing for Student Services Professional
Subtitle: An Interactive Workshop for Community College Staff
Session Description
- Overview of the spirit and core principles of Motivational Interviewing in community college settings
- Understanding student ambivalence, resistance, and disengagement through an MI lens
- Skill development and practice with key MI techniques:
- Open-ended questions
- Affirmations
- Reflective listening
- Summarizing (OARS)
- Using MI in brief interventions, advising appointments, crisis-adjacent conversations, and referral discussions as well as supervision with staff.
- Applying MI strategies to common student services scenarios, including academic probation, attendance concerns, mental health stressors, and help-seeking resistance
- Guided role-plays, small-group practice, and facilitated reflection
- Describe the core spirit and principles of Motivational Interviewing as applied in community college student services
- Demonstrate MI communication skills to build rapport and reduce resistance in student interactions
- Apply MI strategies to support students in clarifying goals, increasing motivation, and making informed decisions
- Respond more confidently to student ambivalence, avoidance, or disengagement
- Integrate MI techniques into everyday conversations to support retention, persistence, and student well-being
LeDerick Horne
Biography/Introduction
- Artist of the spoken word
- Advocate for people with disabilities
- Ambassador to all
SSRC 2026 Keynote Session
Learning Outcomes
SSRC 2026 Featured Speaker Session
Session Title: Strengthening Your CORE: How an lmprov Mindset Builds Resilience and Wellbeing
Keynote description
How we show up each day - through our character and sense of purpose, within our relationships, and in our environment - shapes not only our own wellbeing but also the success of those around us. In this engaging and interactive session, Dr. Sue Orchard draws on insights from positive psychology and improv to explore four core elements that help us thrive in both work and life.
Participants will examine how character serves our "values in action" and how our individual strengths become superpowers in times of challenge. She'll reflect on the importance of aligning purpose with what's within our control to boost resilience and wellbeing. The session highlights how relationships drive engagement and belonging, emphasizing the importance of empathy, trust, and emotional contagion in fostering positive team cultures.
Finally, participants will consider how the environment and context shape behavior, and how understanding others' perspectives and showing grace can foster growth and connection.
Attendees will leave inspired and ready to strengthen their CORE to enhance their wellbeing and improve workplace culture to the benefit of student success!
Clackamas Community College President Tim Cook
Dr. Tim Cook has more than 30+ years of experience working in higher education as an advisor, counselor, faculty member and administrator. A native of Oregon City, he joined Clackamas Community College as the President in 2018.
A first-generation college student, President Cook understands how community colleges provide economic mobility for students and the communities where they live. He has a lifelong passion of helping college students achieve their dreams and works each day to remove barriers so students can be successful. He has a proven record of developing partnerships with business and education that lead to mutually beneficial outcomes.
Before joining Clackamas Community College, President Cook served as the Vice President of Instruction at Clark College, a comprehensive community college serving 21,000 students annually across three campuses in Southwest Washington.
President Cook earned a doctorate in community college leadership from Oregon State University. He holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Lewis & Clark College and a bachelor’s degree in english from Western Oregon University. Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his wife and three children. An avid runner, he has completed over 37 marathons and is working to run a marathon in all 50 states.
SSRC 2026 Closing Keynote Session
Dr. Tim Cook, President, Clackamas Community College
Leading With Your Feet: Lessons Learned By Running 1,400 miles Across Oregon
Last Summer, Clackamas Community College President, Tim Cook physically ran 1,411 miles to all 17 Community Colleges in Oregon. The Run for Oregon Community College Students (ROCCS) raised awareness and over $175k for student basic needs support. Averaging over 27 miles per day it equated to running 53 marathons in 52 consecutive days. Running for approximately 8 hours per day for nearly two months provides lots of time to think about leadership, personal philosophy, and student success. President Cook will share details about this once in a lifetime endeavor as well as how it impacted his views on leadership and community impact.
Schedule Subject to Change
| Thursday, February 12, 2026 | |
| 7:00 – 7:30 | Exhibitors Check In & Set Up |
| 7:15 – 8:45 | Check-in/Registration & Breakfast & Exhibitors |
| 8:45– 9:00 | Opening Welcome & Labor and Land Acknowledgement |
| 9:00 – 10:15 | Opening Keynote |
| 10:15 – 10:30 | 15 Minute Break |
| 10:30 – 11:45 | Session 1 Breakout Presentations |
| 11:45 – 1:00 | Break & Lunch |
| 1:00 – 2:15 | Session 2 Breakout Presentations |
| 2:15 – 2:30 | 15-Minute Break |
| 2:30 – 3:30 | Session 3 Breakout Presentations |
| 3:30 - 3:40 | 10-Minute Break |
| 3:40 – 4:30 | Featured Speaker |
| 4:30– 6:00 | Cocktail Social (Light refreshments and non-alcoholic drinks are offered along with a no-host bar) |
| 6:00 | End of Day 1 |
Conference Day 2:
| Friday, 13, 2026 | |
| 7:30 – 8:10 | Breakfast / Exhibitors |
| 8:10 – 9:10 | Session 4 Focused Breakout session |
| 9:10 – 9:20 | 10-Minute Break |
| 9:20– 10:20 | Session 5 Focused Breakout Presentations |
| 10:20 – 10:30 | 10-Minute Break |
| 10:30– 11:30 | Closing Keynote |
| 11:30 – 11:40 | Q&A with Closing Keynote Speaker |
| 11:40 am – 12:15 | Closing Remarks & Awards |
| 12:15 | End of Conference (lunch not provided) |
| End Day | |
Sponsored by the Oregon Council for Student Services Administrators (CSSA), the Student Success and Retention Conference (SSRC) brings together community college student services professionals to learn, lead, and engage. Grounded in this year’s theme—Connected & Courageous: Learning, Leading, Belonging—the conference centers on best practices that strengthen student success and the boldness required to meet emerging challenges.
With dynamic keynote sessions that spark inspiration, deepen purpose, and elevate our collective impact, attending SSRC offers powerful opportunities to learn from leaders who are actively supporting students, advocating for change, and shaping the future of higher education. Through sessions, workshops, and networking, attendees gain strategies, tools, and insights that translate directly into stronger, more connected support for students.
What You’ll Gain From Attending
• New strategies for supporting student success
• Insights from dynamic keynote speakers
• Tools you can apply immediately on your campus
• Connections with colleagues facing the same challenges and opportunities
Early Bird Registration is open through 1/16/26 - $275
General Registration after 1/16/26 - $325
Pre Conference Session on 2/11/26- $60
Cancellation Policy: The last date to cancel with a refund is 1/30/26.
Please note that the last day to cancel your registration with a refund is January 30, 2026. Following this date, we will transfer the registration upon request to another participant, but will not provide a monetary refund. There will be no refunds in the event of inclement weather.
Thank you for your understanding.
For registration questions please contact Garrett Mickalson at gmickalson@bluecc.edu or Joey GrosJacques at jgrosjacques@bluecc.edu
Keith Orchard
With decades of experience supporting the people and systems that care for our most vulnerable youth, Keith Orchard brings insight, empathy, and practical strategies to every training, keynote, and coaching session. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker and current Mental Health Coordinator for Coeur d’Alene Public Schools, Keith’s background spans education, mental health, wilderness therapy, nonprofit leadership, and international service in the Peace Corps. This breadth of experience allows him to connect meaningfully with student services professionals working with diverse, complex community college populations.
Keith’s presentations are engaging, encouraging, and grounded in real-world practice. Whether delivering a dynamic keynote, facilitating an interactive workshop, or providing individualized coaching, he is known for his warmth, humor, and deep understanding of the pressures facing today’s educators. Participants leave with practical tools they can use immediately to support student regulation, motivation, persistence, and well-being—while also reducing burnout and strengthening their own resilience.
Keith is the author of The Fostering Resilience Workbook: Strategies and Steps to Support Our Learners, which offers coaching-based tools for navigating challenging student interactions with clarity and compassion. Learn more at coachorchard.com.
SSRC 2026 Preconference Session
Title: Motivational Interviewing for Student Services Professionals
Subtitle: An Interactive Workshop for Community College Staff
Session Description
This skill-building workshop is designed for student services professionals at community colleges who want to strengthen their ability to engage students in meaningful, change-oriented conversations. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative, student-centered communication approach that helps reduce resistance, increase engagement, and support students who may feel stuck, overwhelmed, ambivalent, or disengaged.
Whether you work in counseling, advising, TRIO programs, disability support, basic needs, student conduct, or retention efforts, this workshop provides practical tools for supporting students navigating academic, behavioral, mental health, and life challenges. Through hands-on practice, discussion, and real-world application, participants will build confidence using MI strategies in brief, everyday student interactions.
Workshop Focus & Activities:
● Overview of the spirit and core principles of Motivational Interviewing in community college settings
● Understanding student ambivalence, resistance, and disengagement through an MI lens
● Skill development and practice with key MI techniques:
○ Open-ended questions
○ Affirmations
○ Reflective listening
○ Summarizing (OARS)
● Using MI in brief interventions, advising appointments, crisis-adjacent conversations, and referral discussions as well as supervision with staff.
● Applying MI strategies to common student services scenarios, including academic probation, attendance concerns, mental health stressors, and help-seeking resistance
● Guided role-plays, small-group practice, and facilitated reflection
Learning Outcomes:
● Describe the core spirit and principles of Motivational Interviewing as applied in community college student services
● Demonstrate MI communication skills to build rapport and reduce resistance in student interactions
● Apply MI strategies to support students in clarifying goals, increasing motivation, and making informed decisions
● Respond more confidently to student ambivalence, avoidance, or disengagement
● Integrate MI techniques into everyday conversations to support retention, persistence, and student well-being
The Oregon Council for Student Services Administrators (CSSA) works to promote practices and strategies that maximize access and success for all students. CSSA has identified recognition awards aimed to 1) elevate the student services professionals in Oregon, and 2) acknowledge and celebrate the efforts of professionals and programs that go above and beyond to support the needs of students.
These awards highlight the significance of services such as enrollment management, academic advising, career counseling, mental health support, student engagement, and service areas that promote practices and strategies that maximize access and success for all students.
Award descriptions, eligibility and criteria are provided below for each award. All award nominations will be reviewed by a selection committee of CSSA members.
Award winners will be announced at the Student Success and Retention Conference (SSRC) in Portland, Oregon in February 2026. There are four award categories available:
- Legacy of Excellence
- Innovation Award
- Rising Star Award
- Unsung Hero Award
For complete eligibility and criteria please click here.
Current and former members of CSSA are able to nominate for the Legacy of Excellence award. All other awards are open for nominations from registered participants of the SSRC conference.
Nominators can submit nominations for each award listed below and can submit multiple nominations for the same award by submitting multiple forms. Please review the award description and criteria for each award and provide as much information as possible in support of your nominee.
Nomination Form
Nominations are due by January 16th. Award recipients will be announced and recognized at the Student Success and Retention Conference.
The Council of Student Success Administrators would like to thank our sponsors for this event.
Crater Lake Level
Three Sisters Level
Mount St. Helens Level
Accommodation
Marriott Bonvoy Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel
Our room block at The Sheraton has filled up! Not to worry, we were able to secure an additional room block at The Hampton (across the parking lot from The Sheraton).
A room block has been held at the Hampton Inn Portland-Airport. Use this link Book your rate for Student Success 2026 to reserve your room at the Identified rate of $160.68 USD per night.
Please note this additional block will be released this Friday, 2/6/2026. After Friday, attendees will no longer be able to access the conference rate, and rooms may no longer be available at either hotel.