Event Details
- Date: Wednesday, July 22nd 2026
- Location: Southeast Community College | 8800 O Street | Lincoln, Nebraska
Event Description:
Planning for the 2026 NECPA Statewide Convening is underway, and we’re excited to once again bring together professionals from across the state for a dynamic event focused on networking, collaboration, and continuing education. We look forward to welcoming representatives from all our member institutions for another impactful and inspiring gathering.
We invite session proposals for the 2026 NECPA Statewide Convening, a gathering of Nebraska higher education professionals working in alcohol and substance use prevention, student wellness, counseling, student conduct, residence life, campus safety, and related fields.
Our goal is to provide practical, high-value training and networking that:
- Corresponds to the NECPA’s mission to promote services that help students arrive at graduation healthy, well, and ready to thrive (substance use prevention, mental health and well-being initiatives, hazing, problem sports betting, etc.)
- Supports both new and experienced professionals
- Reflects current campus realities (tight budgets, limited travel, competing demands)
- Centers on student-focused, evidence-informed prevention and harm reduction
Who Attends
- NECPA members, sponsors, and community partners
- Higher education professionals, including prevention specialists, nurses, mental health practitioners, student affairs staff, and more
Attendees expect:
- Evidence-based strategies for substance use prevention & student mental health
- Skill-building workshops & networking with statewide professionals
- Opportunity to earn up to 4.5 Contact Hours for nursing, social work, mental health, and education
Who Should Submit?
We welcome proposals from:
- Campus-based practitioners (prevention, counseling, health promotion, residence life, student conduct, campus safety, disability services, etc.)
- Cross-functional teams (e.g., counseling + residence life, prevention + campus police)
- State and community partners working with college populations
- Researchers/practitioners with applied, practice-ready content
Experienced professionals are especially encouraged to present campus initiatives to support professional development and help justify participation/travel.
Priority Topics
We are particularly interested in applied, “on-the-ground” sessions that answer:
“What can we actually do differently next semester or academic year as a result of this session?”
Priority Areas in Prevention in Higher Education
(including, but not limited to):
- Alcohol, cannabis, and other substance prevention strategies
- Practical ways to use Y1CBP & NACHB data for programming and compliance (Clery, Biennial Review)
- Integrating harm reduction and risk-reduction conversations into existing programming
- Effective prevention programs for diverse student populations
- Addressing co-occurring issues (mental health, trauma, academic stress) in prevention messaging
- Sports betting and gambling prevention
- Hazing prevention
- Narcan access and stigma reduction
- High-impact programming strategies (res halls, student orgs, athletics, online spaces)
- Collaborations between clinical services, prevention, and conduct
- Approaches to supporting mandated students while honoring autonomy and dignity
Session Formats
- Keynote Presentation (75-120 minutes, includes 15-minute break) – A featured session designed to inspire and set the tone for the convening. Keynotes should provide big-picture insights, emerging trends, or innovative strategies relevant to prevention, wellness, and student safety. Presenters are encouraged to include practical applications and actionable ideas that participants can take back to their campuses.
- Standard Breakout Session (60 minutes) – Interactive or presentation-style with Q&A
- Workshop / Skills Session (60 minutes) – Hands-on learning with practice or planning time
- Panel Discussion (60 minutes) – 3–4 panelists sharing perspectives with guided Q&A
- Case/Program Spotlight (60 minutes) – Highlighting a specific program or initiative
- Roundtable Discussion (60 minutes) – Interactive discussion with participant engagement on a focused topic
Presenter Benefits
- Free conference registration for all presenters
- Keynote Presenter: $1,750 honorarium
- Breakout Session Presenters: $600 honorarium
(For employees of the NU system, total payout will not exceed $600 when factoring in base salary and fringe rate.)
Review Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated based on:
- Relevance to college prevention, wellness, and/or student safety in Nebraska
- Practicality: clear takeaways or tools participants can use
- Clarity of the abstract and learning objectives
- Engagement: plans to involve participants
- Applicability across roles (or a clearly defined niche audience)
Submission & Timeline
- Submission Deadline: January 21, 2026
- Notification of Acceptance: February 4, 2026
- Final Schedule Provided: May 15, 2026