My employment requires me to attend 4-5 out-of-town conferences annually. I laugh when thinking back to a "major" conference I attended about 7 years ago at a 5-star hotel. I was a greenie and brought along a few sport coats slipped over cheap, bent metal hangers (the kind you get when picking up your clothes from the dry cleaners) and protected my off-the-rack threads from the elements by draping them in a black Hefty garbage bag. I was embarrassed when the formal doorman offered to take my luggage to my room - pretending not to notice my sheik suit sack. The first thing I did upon returning home was drive to East Towne Mall to purchase a garment bag. You know, I don't wear sport coats much anymore - I'm now a "vest" guy -- and you don't need a garment bag for vests - just a duffel bag (preferably a black one).OK, back to conferences...it seems that more and more conferences offer some type of "credit option" -- meaning that you can obtain a college graduate credit for attending the conference and completing a modest paper or project. These credit options are very popular with educators - as most teachers and administrators (at least in Wisconsin) need credits for teaching license renewal or salary lane advancement.
So, who offers these credit options? It varies - public and private colleges. The instructor must be a faculty member with the college/university - and yes, adjunct meets this requirement!
Look around at your area conferences, paying special attention to the events that target educators. Then look for a credit option. If there isn't a credit option, it might be worth contacting the conference chairpersons to weigh their interest in working with you - and a post-secondary institution, to evolve a credit option. I did this - exactly as noted. For nearly a decade, I've regularly attended the Rehabilitation for Wisconsin conference held in Kohler, WI. The event is attended by approximately 400 professionals - of which perhaps 150 are educators. A few years ago, I realized that the conference didn't offer a credit option - hmmm... Opportunity knocked, I developed a credit proposal and shared it with the conference committee. They were thrilled! I developed a syllabus and had it approved by my primary university. A fee arrangement was worked out between the university, conference committee and myself - and it's been a wonderful symbiotic relationship ever since... I take care of everything - registering students, taking payments, making credit option folders, etc. It's totally hassle-free for the conference committee - they just advertise in their mailers and give me a seat at the registration table. I don't miss out on attending the conference sessions as I only operate the "credit" table during registration or at the end of the day. I leave my cell # at the table to make sure I don't miss anyone who wants to talk with me about the credit option. I grade all papers in the evening or during non-work time to prevent supplanting - and again, the credit table is closed during all presentations / sectionals. As I noted, this was a conference that I would attend with or without being involved in the credit option. If it were a conference that I was only attending for the intent of providing the credit option, I would take a vacation day to avoid supplanting. Don't ever place yourself in a situation of putting the credit option ahead of your full-time employment.
To learn more about this credit option, please view the credit option website I created for this offering at http://viterbo.homestead.com/Index.html
In an upcoming post, I'll share the contract template I developed between the instructor and the conference committee.
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