MACPE 2025 | Maine Peer Educators Summit
The Student Academic Support Center at Bates College is excited to host the first annual conference on Saturday, October 25, 2025, for the newly formed Maine Association for Collegiate Peer Educators (MACPE). The summit is intended for any undergraduate student at a Maine institution who works or volunteers in an academic peer education role.
The theme of this year’s summit is Finding Connections. We want to explore and highlight similarities in the work we do across institutions. We want to foster new relationships with peers and colleagues throughout the state of Maine. We also want to uncover intellectual and pedagogical connections, such as shared interests, common challenges, and questions that might be easier to answer together.
If you are a student who works as an academic peer educator or a higher education professional who supervises peer educators, this summit is for you!
About MACPE
MACPE started in the spring of 2025 with a question: “How can we create a network of support and practice among undergraduate peer educators in Maine?” The answer? There isn’t one. Or, rather, there isn’t just one.
So, we decided to start with an invitation to gather together; to make connections with colleagues throughout Maine; and to share questions, experiences, and wisdom stemming from our shared work of academic support.
The vision for the Maine Association for Collegiate Peer Educators is to give undergraduate peer educators in Maine a community of practice in which to learn, connect, collaborate, and innovate. This year’s summit is just the start of those efforts, and as we strengthen the ties of community, we hope that programming and resources beyond the annual summit will make this group uniquely sustaining and useful year-round.
Want to learn more and stay up to date on MACPE developments? Join our email community!
Registration
In an effort to maintain accessibility and affordability, this year’s individual registration fee ($15) is only intended to cover the cost of food. Other costs of the summit will be assumed by the host institution.
Individual Registration
To register as an individual, follow the link below to Qualtrics and complete the registration form. Upon submitting the registration form, you will be directed to a separate payment portal to pay the registration fee.
Group Registration
To register a group of attendees from your institution, please follow the link below to the same Qualtrics form. The form will ask whether you are registering an individual or a group. Please ensure that the payee information provided in the Qualtrics form is the same contact information given when paying the registration fee, so we can connect your registration and payment across the two platforms.
Call for Proposals
We are excited to announce our formal call for proposals. Whether you’ve presented at a conference before or this would be your first time speaking in public at all, we strongly encourage all student attendees to consider submitting a proposal.
We will respond to proposals on a rolling basis, releasing decisions on the following dates in order to give presenters and facilitators as much time to prepare for their sessions:
- Friday, September 26
- Friday, October 3
- Friday, October 10
- Friday, October 17
Note: There is no proposal deadline; however, we cannot guarantee consideration of any proposals submitted after Friday, October 17.
What session topics are welcome?
We are excited to consider proposals on any topic related to academic peer education, including supporting peers with learning differences, grappling with AI, problem-solving and questioning strategies, peer education as professional development, or any other topic that seems relevant and interesting to you. For more ideas, please take a look at our session topics handout.
What session formats are welcome?
We are interested in pretty much all session formats, including traditional conference presentations, facilitated workshops, moderated panels, case study explorations, round table discussions, and more! Along with a brief description of your session topic, we would ask you to think carefully about the type of session that would best lend itself to exploring your topic. For more ideas, please take a look at our session formats handout.
What if I’m not an “expert” on a subject?
Well, you can’t be an expert on everything! If you’d like to explore a topic, but you’re concerned you aren’t enough of an authority on the subject, think instead about how you might facilitate activities or conversations that can highlight the collective wisdom of summit attendees. It’s perfectly fine to pose big questions to which you don’t have the answers. Maybe we can find them together!
Where should I begin?
- Choose an overarching subject for your proposal
- Find a collaborator, co-presenter, or advisor to bounce ideas off of
- Then, identify a more discrete topic or angle from which to explore that subject
- Compose a short list of 3-4 learning objectives or participant outcomes for your session
- Clarify the format of your session, and consider potential space or technology needs
- Finally, submit your proposal and bask in your accomplishment!
What to Expect
The shape of the final schedule is ultimately dependent upon the volume and types of presenter/facilitator proposals we receive. However, we expect the schedule will look something like this:
- 9:00 – 9:30 AM | Arrival & Check-In
- 9:30 – 9:50 AM | Welcome Address
- 10:00 – 10:50 AM | Concurrent Session #1
- 11:00 – 11:50 AM | Keynote Workshop
- 12:00 – 1:15 PM | Lunch in Commons
- 1:30 – 2:20 PM | Concurrent Session #2
- 2:30 – 3:20 PM | Concurrent Session #3
- 3:30 – 4:00 | Closing Remarks & Planning
About Bates College
Where: The summit will be held in Lewiston, Maine, at Bates College. The Bates team looks forward to welcoming folks from institutions across Maine as we gather in one of our flagship academic buildings (Pettengill Hall).
Getting to Bates: Most campuses should be able to reach the College via I-95, Route 202, or ME 136. Ample parking will be available directly behind Pettengill Hall (for easy access) and a bit farther away, behind Bonney Science Center, for those of you interested in a scenic walk across the Historic Quad. Please feel free to explore our interactive campus map.
Food: Lunch will be served in Commons, the Bates campus dining hall, with ample space reserved on the Mezzanine for attendees. Commons offers plenty of food options for all diets and preferences. Please feel free to explore the Commons Menu and information about special dining needs on the Commons website.