Discovery Day: August 27, 2026

Agenda

Time	Event
11 – 11:50 a.m.	BREAKOUT SESSION I A Look at Our Lynx: Student Retention Data Emily Salyards and Jen Snyder Ever wondered how those kudos and flags you enter into Starfish impact student success and retention? Or what about all those events and trips that students attend? In this session, we’ll dive into data around Starfish activity and student engagement touchpoints across campus. Afterwards we’ll engage in discussion about how to use this data and brainstorm what other data might be helpful to look at to support student retention and success. Beyond the Numbers: How Carroll’s Impact Fuels Maryland’s Community College Story Jean Marriott Every data point on the Maryland Association of Community College (MACC)’s statewide dashboard traces back to real students and real classrooms, including the ones at Carroll. This session pulls back the curtain on the analytics driving Maryland’s FY2027 budget advocacy, showing how enrollment trends, completion rates, and workforce outcomes translate into the funding case for programs across the college, from health professions to transfer pathways to workforce training. QUICs in Action: Using Evidence to Drive Improvement at Carroll Jennifer Greenwood, Robert Krzanowski, Marsha Nusbaum, and Michelle Kloss How do we know whether our efforts are making a difference? This interactive session will explore Carroll’s Quality Improvement Cycle (QUIC) process through real examples from colleagues who have recently completed QUICs, highlighting questions explored, data examined, and changes implemented as a result. Participants will learn how QUICs support continuous improvement, strategic planning, and accreditation efforts, and how they can engage in the QUIC process or track QUIC reports each year. The MSCHE Self Study Process: What is it and Why Does it Matter? Debra Baker and Rob Brown This session introduces the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) accreditation process and explains why the Self-Study matters. Attendees will learn how the College evaluates itself against the seven MSCHE Standards for Accreditation, how the College structures its approach to complete the Self-Study, the ways that data is used to support the Self-Study, and how tools like the Evidence Inventory support the effort. Opinion Meets Evidence: A Marketing Data Challenge Maya Demishkevich We all have ideas about what grabs attention, what students are looking for, and what makes a message successful. But how often do those assumptions match reality? Through live polls, interactive challenges, and real examples from Carroll, we’ll put our instincts to the test and compare them with actual data, from search trends and social media analytics to website behavior and campaign results. Along the way, you’ll gain a behind-the-scenes look at how Marketing turns data into strategy and discover how evidence, not assumptions, can lead to better decisions in any role. Carroll’s Strategic Planning Hub: Connecting Plans, Progress, and Performance Gregg Bricca The Strategic Planning Hub brings together Carroll’s strategic plan, annual initiatives, institutional effectiveness measures, performance dashboards, QUIC (Quality Improvement Cycle) projects, and improvement activities into a single, easy-to-navigate resource. This session will provide an overview of the Hub, demonstrate how employees can explore strategic priorities, performance measures, and QUIC efforts, and highlight tools for accessing planning, assessment, and accountability information. Participants will leave with a better understanding of how the Hub supports data-informed decision making, continuous improvement, and alignment between institutional priorities and day-to-day work across the College.
12 p.m. – 12:50 p.m.	College-Wide Lunch
1 – 1:50 p.m.	BREAKOUT SESSION II All Sessions Are Repeat Offerings of Breakout Session I A Look at Our Lynx: Student Retention Data Emily Salyards and Jen Snyder Beyond the Numbers: How Carroll’s Impact Fuels Maryland’s Community College Story Jean Marriott QUICs in Action: Using Evidence to Drive Improvement at Carroll Jennifer Greenwood, Robert Krzanowski, Marsha Nusbaum, and Michelle Kloss The MSCHE Self Study Process: What is it and Why Does it Matter? Debra Baker and Rob Brown Opinion Meets Evidence: A Marketing Data Challenge Maya Demishkevich Carroll’s Strategic Planning Hub: Connecting Plans, Progress, and Performance Gregg Bricca

Time

Event

11 – 11:50 a.m.

BREAKOUT SESSION I

A Look at Our Lynx: Student Retention Data
Emily Salyards and Jen Snyder

Ever wondered how those kudos and flags you enter into Starfish impact student success and retention? Or what about all those events and trips that students attend? In this session, we’ll dive into data around Starfish activity and student engagement touchpoints across campus. Afterwards we’ll engage in discussion about how to use this data and brainstorm what other data might be helpful to look at to support student retention and success.

Beyond the Numbers: How Carroll’s Impact Fuels Maryland’s Community College Story
Jean Marriott

Every data point on the Maryland Association of Community College (MACC)’s statewide dashboard traces back to real students and real classrooms, including the ones at Carroll. This session pulls back the curtain on the analytics driving Maryland’s FY2027 budget advocacy, showing how enrollment trends, completion rates, and workforce outcomes translate into the funding case for programs across the college, from health professions to transfer pathways to workforce training.

QUICs in Action: Using Evidence to Drive Improvement at Carroll
Jennifer Greenwood, Robert Krzanowski, Marsha Nusbaum, and Michelle Kloss

How do we know whether our efforts are making a difference? This interactive session will explore Carroll’s Quality Improvement Cycle (QUIC) process through real examples from colleagues who have recently completed QUICs, highlighting questions explored, data examined, and changes implemented as a result. Participants will learn how QUICs support continuous improvement, strategic planning, and accreditation efforts, and how they can engage in the QUIC process or track QUIC reports each year.

The MSCHE Self Study Process: What is it and Why Does it Matter?
Debra Baker and Rob Brown

This session introduces the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) accreditation process and explains why the Self-Study matters. Attendees will learn how the College evaluates itself against the seven MSCHE Standards for Accreditation, how the College structures its approach to complete the Self-Study, the ways that data is used to support the Self-Study, and how tools like the Evidence Inventory support the effort.

Opinion Meets Evidence: A Marketing Data Challenge
Maya Demishkevich

We all have ideas about what grabs attention, what students are looking for, and what makes a message successful. But how often do those assumptions match reality? Through live polls, interactive challenges, and real examples from Carroll, we’ll put our instincts to the test and compare them with actual data, from search trends and social media analytics to website behavior and campaign results. Along the way, you’ll gain a behind-the-scenes look at how Marketing turns data into strategy and discover how evidence, not assumptions, can lead to better decisions in any role.

Carroll’s Strategic Planning Hub: Connecting Plans, Progress, and Performance
Gregg Bricca

The Strategic Planning Hub brings together Carroll’s strategic plan, annual initiatives, institutional effectiveness measures, performance dashboards, QUIC (Quality Improvement Cycle) projects, and improvement activities into a single, easy-to-navigate resource. This session will provide an overview of the Hub, demonstrate how employees can explore strategic priorities, performance measures, and QUIC efforts, and highlight tools for accessing planning, assessment, and accountability information. Participants will leave with a better understanding of how the Hub supports data-informed decision making, continuous improvement, and alignment between institutional priorities and day-to-day work across the College.

12 p.m. – 12:50 p.m.

College-Wide Lunch

1 – 1:50 p.m.

BREAKOUT SESSION II
All Sessions Are Repeat Offerings of Breakout Session I