The NCICU Communications Conference on January 7, 2026 at Gardner-Webb University brings together communications and marketing professionals from North Carolina’s independent colleges and universities for a full day of networking, idea-sharing, and practical strategies to strengthen brand, enrollment, and advancement storytelling. Element451 will be there to share how AI-powered engagement can help small teams drive bigger results across the student journey.

Element451 will be at the 2026 GEM Summit (NAGAP’s Graduate Enrollment Management Summit), April 8–11, 2026, at the Marriott Baltimore Waterfront in Baltimore, Maryland. The GEM Summit convenes 800+ graduate enrollment management professionals for education, peer learning, and fresh strategies across topics like recruitment and marketing, integrated operations, student services, and enrollment modeling/strategic planning. Element451 will be on-site, sharing how our AI-powered agents help teams elevate graduate recruitment and communications, streamline operations, and deliver more personalized support across the full learner lifecycle

NAGAP 2026

The American Association for Community Colleges (AACC) Annual Conference is the premier event for community college leaders and partners in the two-year college sector. With dynamic keynotes, insightful breakout sessions, cutting-edge technology showcases, peer-to-peer learning, and unmatched networking opportunities, it’s your gateway to innovation, collaboration, and leadership growth.

Join us for these sessions:


CEO Think Tank: From Transactions to Transformations: How AI is Redefining Student Engagement as an Institutional Strategy
Student engagement is no longer just a service function—it’s a strategic differentiator. As AI reshapes communication and personalization, colleges can move beyond transactional outreach to create authentic, data-informed relationships at scale. In this session, CEOs will explore how AI-driven engagement can strengthen trust, retention, and institutional impact—without losing the human touch.

Expanding Community College Capacity with Agentic AI

Agentic AI—AI that can reason, plan, and act autonomously—is opening a new pathway for community colleges to expand capacity in enrollment services, advising, onboarding, and student support without adding staff. This session introduces the core components of agentic AI and explains how they differ from basic chatbots and scripted automation. Attendees will explore real examples from two-year institutions, such as automated onboarding tasks, proactive advising outreach, FAFSA follow-up, and re-engagement of adult learners and stopped-out students.

Presenters:

J.C Bonilla, Ph.D, Joshua Schwartz Ed.D


Strategic AI and Student-Centered Innovation: Resourcing Student-Focused Infrastructure  

In a world where disruption is a necessity rather than a possibility, Clark State College rethinks what it means to be “college-ready” by asking whether the college is ready for its students and by placing the student experience at the center of the redesign, guided by strategic use of artificial intelligence and other technologies. This session shares real-world case studies—such as the nursing program’s integration of Unbound Medicine to keep pace with expanding healthcare knowledge and the deployment of Element451, an AI-powered CRM that personalizes outreach to boost engagement and persistence—and outlines Clark State’s college-wide AI governance process where faculty leadership and institutional vision shape policies that ensure AI amplifies humanity. Through interactive discussion and forward-looking frameworks, attendees will explore how to manage rapid, disruptive change, determine whether they are innovating processes or merely fixing them, and consider how AI can create more room for meaningful human engagement in the student journey.

Presenters: 
Matt Frantz, Kelly Sinacola

The American Association for Community Colleges (AACC) Annual Conference is the premier event for community college leaders and partners in the two-year college sector. With dynamic keynotes, insightful breakout sessions, cutting-edge technology showcases, peer-to-peer learning, and unmatched networking opportunities, it’s your gateway to innovation, collaboration, and leadership growth.

AACC 2026

Element451 will be at the ASU+GSV Summit, April 12–15, 2026, in San Diego, California—a premier gathering for education and workforce innovation, bringing together leaders and edtech trailblazers focused on expanding access and opportunity. We’ll be there sharing how Element451 helps institutions move faster with smarter outreach, streamlined student support, and more connected experiences across the learner lifecycle.

NCICU 2026

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NAGAP 2026

AACC 2026

ASU + GSV Summit 2026

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