Destination Day Celebrates DPL’s Progress and Looks Toward What’s Next
Digital & Professional Learning colleagues gathered at The Dubois Center on September 9 for Destination Day 2026, celebrating accomplishments across the unit and exploring the strategic priorities that will guide the coming year.
The day began with a playful awards show–the Goldies–using humor, ridiculous trophies, and scripted unit-wide participation to recognize the people behind the progress. (Imagine: a children’s Christmas pageant meets the Oscars during office hours.) The format brought work from across DPL into the spotlight, helping colleagues see contributions and connections beyond their own teams.
The stories reflected five strategic goals examined by the 2026 Goal Getters: growing enrollment and workforce partnerships, supporting learners, strengthening DPL’s identity, expanding its institutional impact, and connecting its portfolio. Highlights included more responsive enrollment communications, stronger employer relationships, greater use of workforce intelligence in program development, and a redesigned web ecosystem.
The second half of the day turned attention to three focus goals for 2026–2027: I.A, In-Demand Programs; III.A, Learner-Centered Experiences; and III.B, An Awesome Place to Work. These priorities connect the programs DPL offers, the experiences of the learners it serves, and the workplace that makes that work possible. Colleagues were asked to consider what those goals could look like in their own teams’ work.
That shift in focus also carried forward lessons from the morning. The Goal Getters identified opportunities for clearer learner pathways, better coordination across teams, and stronger ways to measure DPL’s collective impact—work that remains important as the next annual cycle begins.
The Journey So Far, the accompanying report, connects both halves of Destination Day to DPL’s longer-term direction. It documents accomplishments, examines remaining gaps, and introduces the priorities shaping the next stage of the journey toward 2031.
Read The Journey So Far: Destination Day 2026 Report.
