COSI Symposium

Book your stay at the Double Tree by Hilton using the COSI room block for a discounted rate!

Call the reservation line at 1-844-570-7816 and use your group code or book online using this link: https://group.doubletree.com/erk1sb. 

Group code: CDH

We recommend booking by May 2nd! If the block is full, call and mention that you are with the CDHE/COSI group because they may be able to get you the discounted rate. 

Dr. Angie Paccione

Executive Director, Colorado Department of Higher Education

Dr. Angie Paccione (Pah-CHŌ- nēē) is the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and a member of the Governor’s Cabinet. She has been a professional athlete, a high school educator, administrator, and coach, a university professor, a state legislator, a global corporate consultant, and an award-winning author. Through all the work she has done, Dr. Paccione continues to be committed to activating the potential of others.

What can you look forward to learning at this year's COSI Symposium? Here it is! Please note that a full list of the sessions and the times will be available in the Symposium program a week prior to the event. This list of session descriptions is meant to provide a preview. 

View the full program

Change Management Made Simple: This session will teach you the three human elements of change and how to use that knowledge to lead others in making a change. Many change initiatives don’t fail because of poor planning. They fail because they don’t understand how people react to change. Participants will learn strategies to address the rational, emotional, and execution factors that limit change and to better prepare you to lead any change situation. Recommended for all grant types.

(Re)Considering Labels: Examining the Complexities of Culture, Identity, Race, and Ethnicity. In today's society, and in particular postsecondary education labels are often used to categorize individuals based on their culture, identity, race, and ethnicity. While these labels can be useful in providing a framework for disaggregating data and understanding different groups, they can also be confusing, ever evolving, ignored, limiting and contribute to stereotypes and discrimination. In this session participants will engage and understand how to better utilize and recognize how labels can change over time and across different contexts. The goal of the session is to better understand and appreciate the complexity and diversity of individuals and communities and the importance and nuance of labels. Recommended for all grant types.

Sharpening Your College Matchmaking Skills: College Possible shares its training on college match and fit for aspiring collegians, with a specific focus on students from underserved communities. Research shows that pairing students with strong-fit institutions can have powerful effects on a student's likelihood of graduating on time and with as manageable a debt load as possible, setting up students and families for a sustainable economic and career path. In this session, we will discuss best practices as it relates to matching students' unique backgrounds, ambitions, and financial realities with their best-fit post-secondary option. We will work through a variety of scenarios, examining real case studies to offer practical examples to better prepare you, your teams, and your students for college advising success. Attendees will leave with new and tangible frameworks that can be put to use as soon as you step back onto campus! Recommended for Pre-Collegiate grantees.

Creating a Sustainable Program:  Learn the best practices of taking a grant funded program and institutionalizing the work to make it a sustainable program in the future. Chris Heuston from Front Range Community College shares her experience with Apprenticeship programs, which started as a grant funded work and expanded into a new initiative funded by the college. This session is applicable to all grant types, but we recommend it for Back to Work, Finish What You Started, and Pre-Collegiate grantees. 

Maximizing your Leverage with Matching Gifts: Dive into best practices for leveraging MSS and Endowment matching opportunities. This session is recommended for MSS grantees. 

COSI Accounting 101: Don't get bogged down by numbers and spreadsheets. Our COSI accounting team can help you with best practices for managing and tracking your budget and spending. We'll have two sessions available, one focused on CPP and the other on MSS grants. 

Telling the COSI Story: How do we share the messaging of COSI in a consistent and impactful way? This session will offer guidance on branding your program, resources for messaging and outreach.