Speaking

Available for conferences, institutional workshops, and professional development events.

Invite Mike to Speak

I've presented nationally at NACADA, NASPA, and the Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience, and facilitated pre-conference workshops on early alert and academic intervention. I speak from practice — everything I present on is grounded in work I've actually done, data I've collected, and problems I've helped solve at a large flagship institution.

If you're organizing a conference, planning a professional development day, or looking for someone to lead a workshop for advisors or administrators, I'd love to hear from you.

Get in Touch ↗
Available For Conferences · Workshops · Webinars · Institutional PD
Past Venues NACADA · NASPA · Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience · Appreciative Education Conference
Format Keynote · Concurrent Session · Pre-Conference Workshop · Webinar
Contact mtdial@gmail.com

Topic Areas

Core areas I speak and present on — individually or in combination.

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Early Alert & Academic Intervention

Designing, implementing, and scaling early alert systems that actually work — including how to move beyond faculty referral models toward advisor-facilitated proactive outreach and the use of predictive analytics to reach students before small struggles become serious ones.

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Academic Recovery

Supporting students on academic probation through intentional advising, structured seminar interventions, and institutional policy reform. Drawn from editing the field's primary resource on the topic and years of direct program leadership.

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Advising Technology & Digital Literacy

How institutions can thoughtfully adopt and govern advising technologies — from CRM platforms and degree audit tools to AI-assisted workflows — and why digital literacy is now a core competency for every academic advisor.

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Advising Administration & Leadership

Building and scaling advising organizations, developing advisors through appreciative onboarding and structured professional development, and creating the data infrastructure to make advising legible to institutional leadership.

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Peer Leadership & First-Year Programs

Recruiting, training, and supporting undergraduate peer educators who co-teach first-year seminars — including extended orientation models and strategies for managing growth without sacrificing program quality.

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Appreciative Approaches in Higher Education

Applying appreciative advising and appreciative education frameworks to advisor onboarding, student support, early alert outreach, and organizational culture — grounded in peer-reviewed research and institutional practice.

Past Presentations

Selected national presentations and pre-conference workshops.

Pre-Conference Workshops

2022

Developing Academic Intervention Initiatives to Enhance Student Success and Persistence

Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience · Orlando, FL

Dial, M., & McKeown, P.

2021

Designing Early Alert Programs Aimed at Fostering Student Success and Persistence

NASPA Annual Conference · Virtual

Dial, M., & McKeown, P.

2021

Designing Early Alert Programs Aimed at Fostering Student Success and Persistence

Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience · Virtual

Dial, M., & McKeown, P.

2020

Designing Early Alert Programs Aimed at Fostering Student Success and Persistence

Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience · Washington, D.C.

Dial, M., & McKeown, P.

National

2021

Academic Recovery: Designing a Seminar to Support Students on Probation

Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience · Virtual

2020

Assisting Students on Probation: The Seminar as Intervention

Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience · Washington, D.C.

Dial, M., & Greene, M.

2019

Leveraging Early Alert Programs to Foster Cross-Campus Collaborations Aimed at Student Success

NACADA Annual Conference · Louisville, KY

Dial, M., & Young, D.

2019

Academic Recovery: Leveraging the First-Year Seminar as an Intervention for First-Year Students on Probation

NACADA Annual Conference · Louisville, KY

2019

Leveraging Early Alert Programs to Foster Cross-Campus Collaborations Aimed at Belonging and Student Success

NASPA Annual Conference · Los Angeles, CA

Dial, M., & Young, D.

2019

Academic Recovery: Designing Intervention Seminars for First-Year Students on Probation

Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience · Las Vegas, NV

2019

Leave it to Peers: Utilizing Peers to Lead Difficult Conversations

Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience · Las Vegas, NV

Kaze, R., & Dial, M.

2018

The University 101 Peer Leader Program

National Mentoring Symposium · Indianapolis, IN

2018

The University 101 Peer Leader Program

NASPA Annual Conference · Philadelphia, PA

2018

Extended Orientation for Peer Educator Development: The University 101 Model

Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience · San Antonio, TX

Stuart, S., & Dial, M.

2018

25 Years of Peer Leadership in University 101

Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience · San Antonio, TX

Dial, M., & Stuart, S.

2017

Designing and Enhancing Peer Educator Programs Through Recruitment and Training

Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience · Atlanta, GA

Dial, M., & Greene, S.

2016

Connecting Students to Success: A Comprehensive Approach to Retention and Persistence

National Symposium on Student Retention · Orlando, FL

Moschella, E., Bouknight, J., Dial, M., & Winfield, J.

2015

Success Connect: An Appreciative Approach to Early Intervention

Appreciative Education Conference · Myrtle Beach, SC

Invited Presentations

2020

Remote Work: The Reality and Strategies for Success

South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice Mini-Summit

2019

Beyond Buzzwords — Getting Real about Assessment of Peer Education

Institute on Peer Educators · Columbia, SC

Dial, M., & Young, D.

2019

Training Reconsidered: Facilitating Meaningful Learning for Peer Educators

Institute on Peer Educators · Columbia, SC

Dial, M., Conde, T., & Bunting, B.

2017

Connecting Students to Success: A Comprehensive Approach to Retention and Persistence

Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange Webinar Wednesdays · Online

Bouknight, J., Dial, M., & Winfield, J.

For Event Organizers

Ready-to-use bios and photo for your program, website, or promotional materials.

50-Word Bio

Mike T. Dial is Senior Program Manager for Advising Technology Innovation & Assessment at the University of South Carolina. An author, editor, and national presenter, he works at the intersection of student success, advising technology, and academic leadership. He writes regularly on higher education at mtdial.substack.com.

150-Word Bio

Mike T. Dial is Senior Program Manager for Advising Technology Innovation & Assessment at the University of South Carolina, where he oversees campus-wide implementation of advising systems and leads initiatives at the intersection of technology, student success, and institutional leadership. An editor and co-author of books on academic advising administration and academic recovery, Mike brings both scholarly perspective and practitioner experience to every conversation. He has presented nationally at NACADA, NASPA, and the Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience, and has facilitated pre-conference workshops on early alert system design and academic intervention. His research and commentary have appeared in the Journal of Academic Excellence, NACADA Journal, eCampusNews, and E-Source for College Transitions. Mike writes regularly on higher education at mtdial.substack.com and is available for conferences, workshops, institutional professional development days, and webinars.

Headshot

Mike Dial headshot Download Photo ↓

Let's Work Together

Interested in having me present at your conference or lead a workshop for your team?

mtdial@gmail.com