So, You're Interested In AI, Instructional Design, Policy & Compliance, Accessibility, and More? There's a Session for That!  

Welcome to Your WCET 2026 Annual Conference Preview

By Betsy Piland

An underrated reason to gather with your higher education digital learning community? You get to stop explaining your job to people for just a few days. Phew!

All jokes aside, WCET spends months planning an Annual Conference that addresses the most critical issues the digital learning community is facing. We can’t wait to see all that planning come to fruition as we welcome you to Minneapolis, Oct. 14-16.

If you’ve been to a WCET Annual Conference before, you already know that we keep it intentionally intimate, offering an event where the coffee-break conversation is as valuable as the session that sparked it. 

With so many sessions to choose from, here’s a brief (but far from exhaustive) list of a few highlights based on some standout topics and tracks.  

Interested in AI? Be sure to attend: 

• From Playbook to Practice: Transforming the Future of Public Higher Education With Applied AI  

• When AI Replaces Relationships: What Institutions Lose When Efficiency Displaces Connection 

• AI Show & Share: From AI Bots to Meaningful Learning Experiences  

Thinking about Change Management? Jot these down: 

• Leading When Change Never Slows Down  

• Building Resilience for Disruptions and Continuity Challenges  

• Institution-Wide by Design: Lessons in Building a Data-Informed Culture  

*Waves Hello to Instructional Designers* Don’t miss these presentations: 

• Failing Forward: Embracing the Messy Reality of Instructional Design  

• Reimagining Faculty Development & Support: Transforming ID Operations for a New Era  

• Authenticity Over Autopilot: Designing for Trust, Learning, and Integrity  

If Policy & Compliance is your jam, don’t miss: 

• Two Roles, One Mission: Scaling Academic Compliance Through Cross-Campus Partnerships 

• Regulation, Risk, and Reach: What Institutions Need to Know About Professional Licensure Compliance   

• What Accreditation Reform Means for Digital Learning  

Want to ensure an inclusive digital experience? Check out these Accessibility sessions: 

• Accessibility: Lessons Learned and Experiences Shared  

• The Accessibility Awards Show: Voting on What Really Works 

• Accessibility Is Not a Checklist: Confronting the Hard Problems We’ve Been Avoiding  

Come for answers (or at least commiseration) to your most pressing questions, and we’re confident you’ll meet others who are mulling over the same ones.  

REGISTER NOW: WCET 2026 | Oct. 14–16 | Marriott Minneapolis City Center 

Bringing a group? Register four people from the same institution and the fifth registers for free!