Welcome to the fall 2026 MDCLCA Coffee and Conversation!

This year we are taking a new approach to our PD!  In these sessions we will aim to develop community and conversation, share best practices, and play an active role in the session, to build on one another's expertise and share golden nuggets.

Well-being in the Learning Center: Supporting Ourselves to Support Students 

Friday, September 18th at 1:00PM

Come ready to take a deep breath and leave a little lighter and more refreshed.

Objective/Purpose of the session:

• Practice mindfulness as a way to ground and restore participants.

• Share with one another some of the ways we help ourselves, each other, and our students restore and refresh

• Build awareness of the risks of being in service roles

• Launching semester with continued well-being practices

Beyond Counting Visits: Storytelling the Impact of Academic Support

Friday, October 16, 2026, 3:30 PM

Instead of simply reporting appointments, visits, or contact hours, how do we demonstrate effects on learning, confidence, belonging, persistence, and student success? What story do you wish or already capture? What practical assessment methods might we use to capture what we care about and, importantly, how to translate the results into a compelling story for senior leadership. 

Reaching the Students Who Don’t Come: Rethinking Access and Engagement

Friday, November 20, 2026, 1:00 PM

This gets at a challenge almost every learning center faces. Who uses our services? Who doesn't? Why? The session could explore help-seeking behavior, stigma, faculty referrals, embedded support, communications, and using student input to redesign services. Let’s compare approaches and learn from one another.