The Key With Inside Higher Ed podcast

59:55

In this episode of The Key, we turn the tables on host Sara Custer, editor in chief at Inside Higher Ed as she joins David Hummels, professor of economics and dean emeritus at Purdue University, and Jay Akridge, trustee chair in teaching and learning excellence, professor of agricultural economics and former provost at Purdue, in conversation with host Colleen Flaherty, senior editor, special content at Inside Higher Ed. They discuss the findings from the Inside Higher Ed /Hanover Research 2025 Survey of College and University Presidents which show that two in three presidents doubt the value of tenure, half think that higher ed has a real affordability problem and a mere 3 percent say that higher ed has been highly effective at responding to the growing education divide in the electorate. Hummels and Akridge are also co-authors of a Stubstack newsletter called Finding Equilibrium , which seeks to provide data-driven, research-informed takes on where higher education is and where it’s going. They’ve done recent deep dives into tenure, the college value debate and more. The conversation doesn’t suggest that there’s any silver lining to what’s happening to higher education at the moment. But it does highlight opportunities for action, including local engagement, pricing transparency, career readiness and targeted sharing of the tangible benefits of higher education to counteract declining public confidence. This episode is sponsored by Strada Education Foundation.…

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Ep. 151: Voices of Student Success: Navigating Students’ Digital Addictions 24:13

11 days ago24:13

24:13

This season of Voices of Student Success, “Preparing Gen Z for Unknown Futures,” addresses challenges in readying young people for the next chapter of their lives in the face of large-scale global changes. The latest episode addresses how digitalization has made it easier for young people to engage in unhealthy habits, including substance abuse, pathological gambling or social media addiction, compared to past generations. Amaura Kemmerer, director of clinical affairs for Uwill, discusses the role of preventive health measures and how existing research can provide a roadmap for addressing new challenges. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. Read a transcript of the podcast here .…

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Ep. 150: Can civil engagement work be measured? 31:49

17 days ago31:49

31:49

Many college leaders turned to civil discourse and dialogue programs in response to students protests that roiled campuses after the start of the Israel Hamas war. It’s work that they have been doing for decades, but a big question around these programs is: how do we know they’re working? That question led to Raj Vinnakota, president of the Institute for Citizens and Scholars, an 80-year old non-profit that works with leaders in higher education, business and philanthropy to equip young people with the skills they need to be engaged citizens. In 2023, the institute launched its College Presidents for Civic Preparedness initiative and its membership has grown to over 120 leaders from 2 and 4-year institutions in 35 states. Part of its mission is to develop ways to assess and measure the level of civil discourse and critical thinking on campuses. In this interview, Raj talks with Sara Custer, editor in chief at Inside Higher Ed, about the grassroots beginnings of the program and how creating language around the concepts of free speech and open inquiry is important for engaging with stakeholders on both sides of the political divide. This episode is sponsored by Grammarly. Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Spotify…

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Ep. 149: Voices of Student Success: Helping Gen Z Navigate Future Careers 43:21

25 days ago43:21

43:21

This season of Voices of Student Success, “Preparing Gen Z for Unknown Futures,” addresses challenges in readying young people for the next chapter of their lives in the face of large-scale global changes. This episode focuses on the world of work and how experiential learning can provide students with a glimpse into professional careers and what they don’t know about work. Jane Swift , president of Education at Work, describes how private partners can help higher education meet workforce needs through intentional internship experiences. Later, Jocelyn Frelier , associate director of the Brown in Washington program , discusses how the program uses internship experiences in Washington, D.C. to connect curricular and co-curricular learning. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. Read a transcript of the podcast here.…

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Ep. 148: Cuts to the Education Department, an Ultimatum for Columbia and ICE Arrests 49:34

4 weeks ago49:34

49:34

We’ve turned the page on the third month of the Trump administration and the White House has shown no signs of slowing down when it comes to actions that have direct impacts on higher education in this country. Linda McMahon was confirmed as education secretary and has made quick work of shrinking the size and influence of her department. At the same time the agency opened investigations into reports of antisemitism on dozens of college campuses and has threatened to withhold $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University unless it agrees to demands from the government. Also this month, president Trump signed the long-awaited executive order to dismantle the department of education and international students and scholars are on edge after a series of arrests and deportations. In this episode of The Key, Sara Custer, Inside Higher Ed 's editor in chief, check in on the latest developments in Washington with federal policy reporter Jessica Blake and news editor Katherine Knott.…

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Ep. 147: Voices of Student Success: Connecting Academics and Support Resources for Success 24:33

6 weeks ago24:33

24:33

There are a few elements of the student lifecycle in higher education that are unavoidable, one being general education courses. While a majority of college students are unaware of support resources or unlikely to engage with all of them , each student must fulfill common core curriculum. For over a decade, the University of Louisville has offered an Oral Communication Success Guide for students in the public speaking general education course. Now a digital resource embedded in learning software, the guide helps connect students’ learning to institutional services and supports. In this episode of Voices of Student Success, oral communications faculty member Elyssa Smith and Katherine Taylor, director of the oral communication basic course, outline the process of digitalizing the guide, the benefits for student access and how it breaks down barriers across the institution. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. This episode is sponsored by KI . Read a transcript of the podcast here. Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify…

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Ep. 146: Trust and the College Presidency 40:02

6 weeks ago40:02

40:02

People across higher education are calling on college presidents to speak out against the onslaught of threats and funding caught imposed by the Trump administration. But that is just one kind of leadership. Jorge Burmicky, assistant professor in education leadership and policy studies in the school of education at Howard University, joins Sara Custer, editor in chief at Inside Higher Ed, for this episode of The Key. Burmicky's research focuses on the core competencies for the modern presidency and at the very top is trust building. He stresses that the list is ever changing and discusses what competencies would best serve presidents now at such a pivotal moment for higher education. Read more about Burmicky's work: "The 7 Competencies Presidents Need"…

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Ep. 145: Voices of Student Success: Putting Mental Health Counselors Where Students Are 39:53

8 weeks ago39:53

39:53

Mental health is one of the greatest threats to student persistence and retention in higher education, but providing large-scale preventative and responsive mental health care is a looming challenge for colleges and universities. In addition to having sufficient clinicians and trained professionals to support students in need, finding ways to deliver wellness support to students before they’re in crisis is critical. One strategy is embedding mental health counselors into student spaces or academic departments. By integrating services into a physical location, such as a student center, clinicians can connect with students in informal and intentional ways, gaining their trust and supporting specific pockets of the campus community. In this episode of Voices of Student Success, Estevan Garcia, chief wellness officer at Dartmouth College, talks about the root of the youth mental health crisis and some of Dartmouth’s embedded services for student athletes. Later, hear from Casey Fox, associate director of integrated services from the University of South Carolina, who leads the university’s integrated mental health program, about the benefits of these services for students and community members. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. This episode is sponsored by KI . Read a transcript of the podcast here. Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify…

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Ep. 144: The Policies, People and Surprises of Trump's First 30 Days 37:28

8 weeks ago37:28

37:28

In this episode of The Key, Inside Higher Ed’s news and analysis podcast, editor in chief Sara Custer speaks with IHE’s news editor Katherine Knott about the policies, people and surprises from the first 30 days of the second Trump administration. They discuss the executive orders and actions that could have the most impact on higher ed and what pushback they’ve seen from the sector, as well as the people who Trump has tapped to lead the department. Katherine shares what has surprised her the most in the last month and what she and the IHE reporters will be watching in the next 30 days. Stay on top of the key developments in federal policy and funding by subscribing to The First 100 Days, IHE’s pop-up newsletter explaining the week’s news out of Washington. Learn more .…

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Ep. 143: Voices of Student Success: A Day Without Classes, Packed with Career 24:53

10 weeks ago24:53

24:53

Having successful career outcomes is important for colleges and also for students, but getting students to engage in career services can feel like an uphill battle. Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania leaders decided to bring careers to students with an event called LVC Success Expo . During this day, LVC cancels classes so students can engage in an all-day career fair or meet with academic support staff to ensure their success in and after college. In this episode of Voices of Student Success, Tomomi “T” Horning, vice president of college partnerships and strategic initiatives, and Jasmine Bucher, senior director of the Breen Center for Career and Professional Development , discuss the event, campus partnerships and how it contributes to a larger institutional mission. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. Read a transcript of the podcast here. Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify…

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Ep. 142: An L.A. Community College Begins to Heal 26:37

10 weeks ago26:37

26:37

At the beginning of February, the deadly L.A. wildfires were fully contained after burning for nearly a month. A few weeks ago we spoke with colleges in the city whose communities were upturned by the fires. Hundreds of students and staff had lost their homes and thousands more were displaced from evacuation zones. Now that the embers have died out, we wanted to check back in with one college to see how it is managing to rebuild. In this episode of The Key we speak with Ryan Cornner president of Glendale Community College which serves 24,000 students on a campus about five miles from where the Eaton wildfire burned. Dozens of GCC students and employees lost their homes and many more were displaced for more than a week. The college has expanded its efforts to provide access to basic needs for its students and has recognized that its part-time adjunct faculty need the most support. Hosted by Sara Custer, editor in chief of Inside Higher Ed…

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Ep. 141: Voices of Student Success: Expanding Access to Study Abroad 24:14

12 weeks ago24:14

24:14

Study abroad is tied to personal and professional growth for college students, but crossing the border can be an enormous hurdle for some learners or feel unattainable. A new initiative at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania seeks to empower and support first-generation and low-income students who are interested in experiential learning and study away through workshops, financial aid and mentorship. In this episode of Voices of Student Success, Chris Brown, Bucknell’s Andrew Hartman ‘71 & Joseph Fama ‘71 executive director of the Center for Access & Success, talks about the center and how it reduces barriers to student participation in high-impact activities. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. Read a transcript of the podcast here . Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Spotify…

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Ep. 140: What IHE's newsroom will be tracking in the first days of the new Trump administration 23:24

14 weeks ago23:24

23:24

In the run up to the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, Inside Higher Ed ’s editor-in-chief Sara Custer and news editor Katherine Knott discuss what we know and what we don’t know about president-elect Trump’s policy agenda and how it could affect universities and colleges. Katherine and Sara discuss what sources are telling IHE reporters about incoming education secretary Linda McMahon and who the key players in the Republican-led Senate and House are. It's anyone's guess what the administration's policy priorities will be, but Katherine shares what she and Inside Higher Ed journalists will be looking for to get a sense of which way the wind might be blowing for higher ed on Capital Hill. Hosted by Sara Custer, editor-in-chief of Inside Higher Ed . Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify…

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Ep. 139: Enrollment Management's AI Future 55:59

18 weeks ago55:59

55:59

Highly customized admissions information and processes. Credit transfer evaluations that take minutes, not days or weeks. Precision tuition discounting estimates. Student success interventions informed by data gathered about students before they ever even applied to their institution. These are some of the ways that artificial intelligence is or may soon be improving the enrollment management experience for students, teams and institutions. That’s according to our recent panel discussion with experts Joseph Paris, dean of graduate and professional studies at Delaware Valley University, Naronda C. Wright, president of NAGAP at The Association for Graduate Enrollment Management and associate dean of the Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies at Georgia Southern University, and Claire Brady, president of Glass Half Full Consulting. The discussion, featured on this episode of The Key, Inside Higher Ed 's news and analysis podcast, also draws on insights from “Beyond the Hype: Understanding and Unlocking AI’s Potential in Enrollment Management,” a recent special report Inside Higher Ed published on the following: How admissions and enrollment management teams are already deploying AI to assist their work The potential near- and longer-term future of AI in enrollment management Best and emerging practices for building data readiness and AI literacy among admissions and enrollment management personnel Download that report, written for Inside Higher Ed by journalist Ben Upton, here. Hosted by Colleen Flaherty, senior editor of special content at Inside Higher Ed . This episode is sponsored by Liaison.…

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Ep. 138: Doug Lederman Says Farewell to Inside Higher Ed 54:10

18 weeks ago54:10

54:10

In his final days in the newsroom, editor and co-founder of Inside Higher Ed and host of The Key, Doug Lederman, sits down with editor-in-chief Sara Custer to discuss his nearly 40-year career in higher education and what he plans to do next. Doug talks about his work as a journalist over four decades, including leading Inside Higher Ed for the past 20 years. Doug shares what kept him up at night when he and Scott Jaschik started a new, independent media company in 2003 and the big breaks along the way that helped establish Inside Higher Ed as a trusted source of news for universities and colleges across the country. Doug and Sara discuss the future of IHE and how its role to both explain higher education to readers and hold it to account is more critical now than it has ever been. "I don’t think us journalists would be writing about higher education if we didn’t think it was important,” he says. Hosted by Sara Custer, editor in chief of Inside Higher Ed . This episode is sponsored by the Gates Foundation. Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 137: How to Lead With Purpose in Higher Ed 38:30

19 weeks ago38:30

38:30

College presidents don’t work in a bubble and there are a multitude of competing priorities jostling for their time and attention on a daily basis. It can be an overwhelming job, but having a guiding purpose behind every decision a president makes, the teams they form and the long-term strategies they develop can help keep leaders on the right track. How do they know which areas deserve their attention and which should be delegated to talented team members? How do they know they are making the right decisions and doing good by their institution? When should they take risks? In this episode of The Key, Inside Higher Ed ’s news and analysis podcast, Donde Plowman, the chancellor at UT Knoxville, Harry Williams the former president of Delaware State University and the current president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall Foundation, and Jonathan Koppell, president of Montclair State University tell an audience at the Student Success US event how they keep their purpose front of mind as they lead their institutions. They share their experiences of making tough decisions, championing student success to stakeholders, lobbying for greater funding from legislators and striking out on paths unknown with new partners. Hosted by Sara Custer, editor in chief of Inside Higher Ed . This episode is sponsored by the Gates Foundation. Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 136: Voices of Student Success: GenAI in Teaching and Learning 31:07

20 weeks ago31:07

31:07

Over the past two years, generative AI has blazed its way on to college campuses, first in the students’ hands and increasingly in the hands of administrators and instructors to improve campus operations and enrollment management, as well as teaching and learning. One of the greatest challenges of using generative AI in teaching is providing students with skills without interrupting the process of learning or introducing errors or misinformation. The University of Texas at Austin is in the initial stages of launching a custom GPT model, UT Sage, which serves as a tutor of sorts for students who need help related to a specific course. In this episode of Voices of Student Success, Julie Schell, assistant vice provost of academic technology at UT Austin, shares the inspiration behind the tool, her work with AI in the classroom and teaching the ethics of AI use. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. This episode is sponsored by KI . Read a transcript of the podcast here. Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Spotify…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 135: Reasons to Be Optimistic About Student Success Efforts 46:12

20 weeks ago46:12

46:12

A recent IHE survey of university and college student success administrators found that they are confident in the quality of education their institution provides and say their college is effective in making student success an institutional priority. There are, however, still many areas where administrators say their institution can improve, with greater effort among faculty being the most common desired action. This episode of The Key explores the results of our survey and how they compare with what students have told us in other polls. We’ll also hear a case study on how a teaching and learning center is encouraging faculty to be active participants in students’ success. Joining the discussion are Colleen Flaherty, special content editor at Inside Higher Ed, and Trey Conatser, assistant provost for teaching and learning at the University of Kentucky and director of UK’s Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. Both discussions paint an overall optimistic picture of how institutions are working to find innovative ways to support their students to stay in college and graduate. You can read more about our survey findings in our article “ Survey: Student Success Administrators Optimistic” . Hosted by Sara Custer, editor in chief of Inside Higher Ed . This episode is sponsored by the Gates Foundation. Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 134: Voices of Student Success: Life Design for Student Success 31:49

22 weeks ago31:49

31:49

A growing number of colleges and universities are integrating life design into the student experience to improve student well-being, academic pursuits and future planning beyond graduation. Life design, which originates from the 2016 book Designing Your Life , uses design thinking principles to help guide individuals as they navigate change and transition, ultimately helping them find meaning and purpose in their lives. In this episode of Voices of Student Success, Adrienne Ausdenmoore, assistant vice president and executive director, Geoffrey H. Radbill Center for College and Life Design at Bowling Green State University , shares how the university is implementing campus-wide changes to integrate life design into the student experience. Later, hear from Stanford University’s James Tarbox, assistant vice provost and executive director of career education, who shares how life design is essential in career services. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. This episode is sponsored by KI . Read a transcript of the podcast here . Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Spotify…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 133: Voices of Student Success: The Evolution of the Campus Library 37:43

24 weeks ago37:43

37:43

Many college libraries have undergone transformation in recent years to serve as hubs for student success, offering a central location for students to hang out, work with peers and connect to support resources like tutoring. This reimagination of the library often comes with a physical reconfiguration, relocation of offices and expanded services, all in hopes of supporting access and student success. In this episode of Voices of Student Success, Katie Clark, higher education market manager for KI and a former campus administrator, speaks to the evolution of the campus library and what it means for students and practitioners. Later, hear from Marquette University’s Lemonis Center director Marilyn Jones and vice provost for academic affairs and student success, John Su, to discuss how Marquette remodeled its Memorial Library to better support students. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. This episode is sponsored by KI. Read a transcript of the podcast here .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 132: Voices of Student Success: Teaching Career Competencies In On-Campus Work 20:30

26 weeks ago20:30

20:30

Internships are a high-impact practice that can provide students with valuable career skills, a professional network and on-the-job experience, but not every student has the opportunity to participate. A recent report found of the 8.2 million students who wanted to intern in 2023, close to half didn’t participate in one. Many of these students are from historically marginalized groups, including first-generation, low-income, community college students and students of color. The University of New Hampshire launched Campus-2-Career in 2022, a campus-wide program that equips students with career competencies through their on-campus work positions. In this episode, Gretchen Heaton, associate vice provost for career and professional success and high impact practices at the University of New Hampshire, discusses how UNH is increasing rich work-based learning opportunities through intentional professional development. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. This episode is sponsored by KI. Read a transcript of the podcast here. Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Spotify…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 131: Bipartisan Alignment Around Workforce Training 33:23

26 weeks ago33:23

33:23

The partisan divide in the U.S. seems unbridgeable at times, and many issues in higher education are deeply dividing politicians. But with the 2024 election just days away, there’s a remarkable amount of alignment around the importance of workforce development and training and how to strengthen it. A new episode of The Key explores explores the relative consensus between the parties and its implications. Joining the discussion are Amanda Winters, program director for postsecondary education at the National Governors Association, and Michelle Van Noy, director of the Education and Employment Research Center at Rutgers University’s School of Management and Labor Relations. They examines how this alignment around workforce training is affecting policy development at the state and federal levels, and how November’s election might change what happens in the next few years, if at all. Hosted by Doug Lederman, editor and co-founder of Inside Higher Ed. This episode is sponsored by The Gates Foundation. Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Spotify…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 130 Bonus Episode: Focus on Caring and Building Strengths Leads Students to Success 22:33

27 weeks ago22:33

22:33

In this episode of The Key, Melissa Ezarik speaks with University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s chancellor, Donde Plowman, and Amber Williams, vice president of student success on their efforts to ensure their teams—and students—are aware of and confident about their strengths as they navigate their work. Williams, who joined the institution in 2020, soon before it fell a bit short on its retention increase goal, has found it helpful to remind colleagues that data is about individuals and showing what can be done to meet their needs. “One of my framings for leadership is that you lead through people, priorities and then projects,” she says. “People is the first thing. If you don’t get the people part right, the rest of it doesn’t work.” On October 28, 29 and 30, student success professionals from across the country will visit UT’s campus to share their challenges and successes in supporting students at their own institution. Learn more about the Student Success US event here, and look out for coverage in Inside Higher Ed. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Editor, Melissa Ezarik. Read a transcript of the podcast here . Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Spotify…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 129: Voices of Student Success: A College Bridge Program for Incarcerated Students 24:40

28 weeks ago24:40

24:40

In July 2023, Congress lifted a ban on federal Pell Grant funding for incarcerated individuals in prison education programs, but there still remain barriers to enrollment and success for these learners. The Petey Greene Program (PGP), a non-profit organization that partners with prisons and higher education institutions, launched a College Bridge program in 2020 to increase college-level writing, reading and math skills for incarcerated students. In this episode, PGP’s Chiara Benetollo, executive director of The Puttkammer Center for Educational Justice and Equity, and Katherine Meloney, director of the Villanova Program at SCI Phoenix, discuss the college bridge program and the ways higher ed can support justice and learning for incarcerated individuals. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader . This episode is sponsored by KI. Read a transcript of the podcast here . Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Spotify…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 128: Voices of Student Success: Building a Culture of Mentorship 28:31

30 weeks ago28:31

28:31

Prior research shows students who have at least one connection to campus are more likely to persist, retain and complete a college degree, particularly for students from historically marginalized or less privileged backgrounds. However, building high-quality and long-lasting relationships can feel challenging or unattainable for many college students. In this episode, Elon University’s Peter Felten, and Emily Krechel, who serve as members on the Mentoring Initiatives Design Team, discuss the role of relationships in student success and how Elon stakeholders look to create a relationship-rich university community. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader . This episode is sponsored by KI. Read a transcript of the podcast here . Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Spotify…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 127:Voices of Student Success: Breaking Down Barriers to Basic Needs Resources 30:34

32 weeks ago30:34

30:34

Rising costs of living and increasing student housing rates have exacerbated college retention efforts as campus leaders look to tackle a rising concern: basic needs insecurity. A lack of essential resources such as food, housing and clothing and general financial strain are two of the top reasons students say they leave college. To address this issue and provide resources to students, the University of Houston opened its Center for Student Advocacy and Community in 2020, which houses some of the university’s essential needs programs. I spoke with the center’s director and assistant director about the relationship between student success and basic needs and how to promote resources across campus. In this episode, host Ashley Mowreader speaks with the University of Houston’s director, Michael Crook, and associate director, Kevin Nguyen, of the Center for Student Advocacy and Community to learn more about how the center operates, the ties between basic needs and student success and some of the center’s future goals. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader . Read a transcript of the podcast here . Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Spotify…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 126: Voices of Student Success: The Role of Belonging in Campus Conflict, Protests 26:36

34 weeks ago26:36

26:36

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, colleges and universities have seen heightened tensions on campus as student protesters demand change from their administrators. Anti-war protests on college campuses are not a new phenomenon, with many institutions seeing similar unrest during the 1960s during the Vietnam War. The University of South Carolina was one such institution, which saw a general unrest among its student body amid racial tensions, the anti-war movement and other institutional grievances which came to a head in May 1970. The University of South Carolina took an unconventional approach to mitigate student frustrations, which included implementing a comprehensive University 101 course that infused feelings of belonging among participants. The initiative was largely successful, with the university experiencing no student riots for another 50 years. In this episode, John Gardner, one of the professors who helped create the first-year seminar at USC and founder of the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education, reflects on the protests of the 70s and shares how campus leaders today can learn from the past. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader . Read a transcript of the podcast here . Follow us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Spotify…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 125: Voices of Student Success: Improving campus facilities for student wellness 33:29

36 weeks ago33:29

33:29

With student mental health concerns on the rise, college leaders have turned their attention outward to campus facilities and the role space, light, sound and décor can play in student learning and healthy living. Many college campuses have established wellness rooms, sensory spaces or relaxation zones to promote healthy habits and academic success for learners. The focus on environmental wellness is also an inclusive effort, supporting students who struggle with sensory issues, including those with learning or developmental disabilities, and promotes universal design thinking. In this episode, experts from design firm HKS, Renae Mantooth, research lead in education, and Brad Robichaux, studio practice leader, discuss the science behind environmental wellness and how colleges are adapting to serve their students. Later, hear from Lauren Kehoe, then-accessibility and accommodations librarian at New York University, about how NYU adapted a room in the library to create a safe space for neurodiverse students to study and destress. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader . Read a transcript of the podcast here .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 124: Voices of Student Success: Improving Upward Transfer Processes 32:44

38 weeks ago32:44

32:44

Community college students make up 40 percent of enrollment in U.S. higher education, and 80 percent of those students want to go on to earn a bachelor’s degree. However, only around 16 percent of those students will be successful in transferring and completing a four-year degree within six years after transferring. Transfer students often lose credits when continuing to their bachelor’s degree, slowing their progress toward graduation and increasing the costs associated with higher education. Transfer advocates recognize the need for state and institutional interventions (both at the two- and four-year level) to improve processes and promote degree attainment. In this episode, researchers from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College, Aurely Garcia Tulloch and Tatiana Velasco Rodriguez, discuss CCRC’s current projects to improve transfer across the country. Later, hear from Pamela Johnston, dean of career and academic planning at Tallahassee State College, about how the institution has revised its advising process to make registration, transfer planning and working with an adviser more seamless for students. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader . Read a transcript of the podcast here .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 123: Reprise: Generative AI’s Potential Influence on Teaching and Learning 26:03

39 weeks ago26:03

26:03

Discussions about the impact of generative artificial intelligence in teaching and learning are steadily moving beyond questions about whether and how students will cheat. Today’s episode of The Key is drawn from a workshop expertly led by Inside Higher Ed’ s Colleen Flaherty at the Digital Universities U.S. conference at Washington University in St. Louis. The conversation on “Teaching with Generative AI: Benefits and Risks” featured four thoughtful experts on teaching and learning: Asim Ali, executive director of the Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning at Auburn University; Trey Conatser, director of the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching at the University of Kentucky; Emily Thompson, director of online programs at Washington University’s School of Medicine, and Michael Reese, associate dean at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation. You’ll hear precious little discussion about cheating, but a lot of talk about the need for faculty training and support and the importance of bridging potential gaps in access and overcoming bias in the technology, among other things. The Key is hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by Mongoose .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 122: Voices of Student Success: Tech Solutions for Student Mental Health 21:36

40 weeks ago21:36

21:36

Student mental health is a growing concern for higher education administrators and practitioners as national rates of anxiety, depression and loneliness grow among college learners. During the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities made heavy investments into digital solutions to improve students’ health and wellness, but how well do these applications serve students? In this episode, Sara Abelson, assistant professor and senior director of training and education at The Hope Center, explains what digital mental health interventions are, how they support students’ mental health and the need for more data regarding these interventions and the students who use them. Abelson is one of four authors of a recently published report by the Hope Center, commissioned by the Ruderman Family Foundation and in partnership with the Healthy Minds Network and Boston University. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader . Read a transcript of the podcast here .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 121: Voices of Student Success: Institutional change for Black student success 21:35

42 weeks ago21:35

21:35

Nationally, Black students are less likely than their white peers to persist, retain and earn a degree. Many interventions at colleges and universities seek to support struggling Black students, but a new program at Sacramento State University aims to celebrate Black excellence and history, recognizing Black students as scholars. In this episode, hear from Luke Wood, president of Sac State about the California State University’s commitment to improve Black student success, the foundation of the Black Honors College and a state-wide bill to recognize California institutions that help Black students achieve. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader . Read a transcript of the podcast here .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 119: Voices of Student Success: Careers as an Undercurrent 32:16

44 weeks ago32:16

32:16

Recent public polls have found American’s confidence in higher education is waning, but current college students say they still see the investment they’re making in their future. Colleges, universities and national groups are looking to help students make the most of their degree through professional skill development and embedding careers into curriculum. In this episode, hear from Shawn VanDerziel, CEO of the National Association for Colleges and Employers about the national state of career curriculum in higher education, and Jim Duffy, associate dean of co-curricular education from Gettysburg College, to learn more about the college’s new strategic plan, which incorporates career development throughout the student experience. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 118: Colleges’ Responsiveness to the Job Market 25:11

44 weeks ago25:11

25:11

Colleges are increasingly being judged by how well they prepare students for jobs and careers after they leave, and in response most are trying to adapt their programs and offerings to align with the needs of employers. How are they doing? This week's episode of The Key uses two recent studies (from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce and from the Upjohn Institute) as a jumping-off point for a larger conversation about how colleges and universities are responding to the growing pressure to prepare learners for work. Our guest is Michelle Van Noy, an associate research professor and director of the Education and Employment Research Center at Rutgers University New Brunswick. In a wide-ranging conversation, she discusses the complex set of factors that make easy answers hard to come by in this realm, the differing expectations of different types of institutions, the roles that employers and learners themselves have as well as institutions, and the emergence of skills-based hiring, among other topics. The Key is hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by the Gates Foundation.…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 117: Voices Of Student Success: Counting Student Parents 34:18

46 weeks ago34:18

34:18

National estimates find around one in five students have dependents, but few colleges and universities have accurate numbers of who their parenting students are and what their circumstances may be. Student parents are faced with additional financial stress and time constraints compared to their non-parenting peers, so how can higher ed leaders find these parents and better serve them? In this episode, hear from Eddy Conroy, and Da'Shon Carr from the think tank New America to learn about their Student Parent Initiative and federal policy movement on student parent data, and Ray Murrilo, interim vice chancellor for student affairs, belonging and equity at the California State University Chancellor’s office, to discuss state legislation that provides priority registration for student parents at the CSU. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader . Read a transcript of the podcast here .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 116: Provosts' Perspectives on Generative AI, Tenure and Academic Program Cuts 30:15

47 weeks ago30:15

30:15

Colleges and universities are undergoing intense pressure from a lot of angles – and their provosts are arguably at the epicenter of most of them. A new episode of The Key, Inside Higher Ed’ s news and analysis podcast, explores our 2024 Survey of College and University Chief Academic Officers and topics such as the future of tenure, cost-cutting around academic programs, and the potential impact of generative artificial intelligence. Joining the discussion are Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Ed' s special content editor, and Ryan Quinn, Inside Higher Ed' s faculty issues reporter, who together have reported on the faculty and academic issues for a dozen years. The Key is hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by Interfolio from Elsevier .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 115: FAFSA, Affordability and Financial Aid’s Future 24:06

47 weeks ago24:06

24:06

The last year has been a hellish one for many college financial aid directors – and, not surprisingly, for the head of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, who’s leaving his role after 14 years. This episode of The Key features a conversation with Justin Draeger, who recently announced that he would soon wrap up his work as president and CEO of NASFAA for a new role leading Strada Education’s efforts to make higher education more affordable. In the conversation, he discusses the impact of the FAFSA mess, possible approaches to make college more affordable, and the state of the financial aid workforce, among other topics. The Key is hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by Mongoose .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 114: Generative AI's Potential Influence on Teaching and Learning 27:43

49 weeks ago27:43

27:43

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 113: Helping Higher Education Own Its AI Future 35:26

50 weeks ago35:26

35:26

How Arizona State University is working with Open AI to shape the development of generative AI. This week’s episode of The Key explores the recently announced partnership between Arizona State University and Open AI – one major way colleges and universities are trying to make sure higher education isn’t left behind in generative AI’s development. The conversation that follows was drawn from a session last week at the Digital Universities U.S. conference that Inside Higher Ed put on with our partner Times Higher Education. It features Lev Gonick, the enterprise chief information officer at Arizona State, talking with Inside Higher Ed editor Doug Lederman about the university’s goals in its partnership with Open AI, how ASU and other institutions hope to influence the development of generative AI, and how other colleges might be thinking about their own AI futures. The Key is hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by Mongoose .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 112: How Should We Measure Post-College Outcomes? 31:28

52 weeks ago31:28

31:28

Zakiya Ellis, a longtime policy expert, on whether we’re asking the right questions and have the right data. This weeks’s episode of The Key podcast explores a vexing question: how might policy makers and college leaders go about showing that getting a postsecondary education pays off for later in life? The episode features a conversation with Zakiya Smith Ellis, a principal at the education policy consulting firm Education Counsel and former senior Obama education aide and secretary of education in New Jersey. Ellis shares her thoughts on how we’ve gotten to the point where we are assessing college value primarily by looking at individuals’ financial outcomes, whether we’re asking the right questions about the benefits of college-going, and what institutional leaders should be doing to make sure their academic programs are serving students well. The Key is hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by the Strada Education Foundation .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 111: Stackable and Alternative Credentials Go Mainstream 37:38

1 year ago37:38

37:38

This week’s episode of The Key explores whether the emergence of shorter-term and alternative credentials pose a threat -- or offer salvation – to traditional colleges and universities. The episode draws from a panel discussion at last week’s annual ASU+GSV Summit involving a number of thoughtful higher ed leaders. It featured Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, President Marlene Tromp of Boise State University in Idaho, Ann Kirschner, interim president of Hunter College of the City University of New York, and Maria Anguiano, executive vice president for learning enterprise at Arizona State University. The conversation explored whether or not colleges and universities will adapt their curriculums and their delivery models to supplement degrees with certificates and credentials, sustaining their historical advantage as the primary path for learners seeking career advancement and better futures. The group was overall pretty bullish about higher education’s ability to adapt to the changing expectations of learners, but also clear-eyed about the fate of colleges that don’t: declining relevancy and, in some cases, extinction. The Key is hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by the Strada Education Foundation .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 110: Underemployment of College Graduates: How Concerned Should We Be? 31:10

1 year ago31:10

31:10

Half of all graduates don’t work in jobs that require a bachelor’s degree. What can institutions do to best prepare their students for work? More than half of bachelor’s degree holders are underemployed a year after graduation, and roughly four in 10 are still underemployed a full decade later. How worried should we be about those rates, and what can colleges and universities do to decrease them? That question was at the heart of “Talent Disrupted,” a recent report from Strada Education Foundation and the Burning Glass Institute, which adds important nuance to the larger discussion about post-college outcomes for graduates. In this episode, we dig into the report with two experts. Carlo Salerno is a managing director at the Burning Glass Institute and an author of the aforementioned report. Gary Daynes is founder and principal of Back Porch Consulting and a former professor and senior administrator at several private nonprofit colleges. They discuss what underemployment means and how serious a problem it is, the conditions that contribute to it, and what colleges and universities can do to shield their graduates from it. The Key is hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by the Strada Education Foundation .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 109: Voices Of Student Success: Creating Community for Students in Recovery 17:39

1 year ago17:39

17:39

Many students on college campuses struggle with substance use and abuse, but fewer have a supportive community they can turn to. In this episode, Angela Lauer Chong, associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Florida State University speaks about supporting students’ physical and emotional health through LIFT, a collegiate recovery program. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. This episode is sponsored by InsideTrack . Read a transcript of the podcast here .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 108: Helping Learners Plan Their Path Through College 28:48

1 year ago28:48

28:48

The “guided pathways” model as not just a student success initiative, but a way to redesign how a college operates. This week’s episode of The Key podcast explores the “guided pathways” model, which hundreds of community colleges have embraced to give students a clearer path to reaching their educational goals. Davis Jenkins, a senior research scholar at the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College, and Hana Lahr, a senior research associate and director of applied learning there, join The Key to discuss their recent papers evaluating how guided pathways has spread, what iterations of the model work best, and what it takes to bring about this kind of sweeping, “whole college” change at institutions that can be both tradition-bound and financially strapped. The Key is hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by Coursedog .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 107: Voices Of Student Success: Making College Visible to Rural Learners 24:04

1 year ago24:04

24:04

In this episode, host Ashley Mowreader spoke with Ron Slinger, president of Miles Community College, to learn more about the college’s Opportunity Realized program and how the initiative is benefiting Montana, the college and students’ futures. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. This episode is sponsored by InsideTrack .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 106: Higher Ed News Roundup: Athlete Unions and the FAFSA Fiasco 32:02

1 year ago32:02

32:02

A panel of news hounds discusses some of the biggest stories involving colleges. This week’s episode features a conversation about some of the hottest news developments unfolding in higher education today. Topics include how the recent formation of a union for basketball players at Dartmouth College might help to reshape college sports, the turmoil created by the federal government’s botched roll-out of the federal financial aid form, and what Inside Higher Ed’ s recent survey of college and university presidents says about higher education and about campus leaders themselves. Joining the discussion is Katherine Knott, who covers federal policy for Inside Higher Ed, and Erin Hennessy, executive vice president at TVP Communications and an acute observer of higher education. The Key is hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by Coursedog .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 105: Voices of Student Success: Improving Textbook Affordability 18:42

1 year ago18:42

18:42

Affordability is a top concern for higher education leaders, and professors are directly responsible for the affordability of their course materials. In this episode, Patty Goedl from the University of Cincinnati at Clermont discusses her OER e-textbook, which she wrote and developed to make her managerial accounting course more accessible to learners. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. This episode is sponsored by InsideTrack .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 104: Higher Education in a ‘Post-Generational Society’ 26:36

1 year ago26:36

26:36

What would postsecondary education look like in a world where true lifelong learning – people engaging in education or training at many points throughout their lives – was the norm? This week’s episode of The Key features a conversation with Mauro F. Guillén, the William H. Wurster Professor of Multinational Management at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and author of The Perennials: The Megatrends Creating a Post-Generational Society. The book isn’t about higher education; it explores cross-cutting trends -- people living longer and healthier lives, and technological changes that shorten the half-life of our knowledge and skills – that promise to blur the “stages” (play, schooling, work and retirement) into which most of us have historically divided our lives. In the conversation, Guillén discusses the implications of these shifts for institutions and learners, and what it would take for colleges and universities to truly operate as providers of lifelong learning for people in a society where one’s chronological age becomes less meaningful and work and learning blend throughout our lives. The Key is hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by Coursedog…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 103: Voices Of Student Success: Adult Learners in Higher Education 26:50

1 year ago26:50

26:50

The episode features two higher education professionals, Mike Krause from the John M. Belk Endowment and Ashley Flood from Purdue Global, on adult learners. Krause and Flood talk about the needs of adult learners, how an institution can support their success and practical ways to assist students. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. This episode is sponsored by InsideTrack .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 102: Voices of Student Success: Engaging Faculty in Student Success 18:25

1 year ago18:25

18:25

This week’s episode of Voices of Student Success features Jody Greene, associate campus provost for academic success at the University of California, Santa Cruz, on the relationship between faculty and student success, how UCSC is empowering faculty to practice equitable course design and the future of academic success. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. This episode is sponsored by InsideTrack .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 101: Voices of Student Success: Supporting Belonging and Campus Engagement of Latinx Students 18:24

1 year ago18:24

18:24

This week’s episode of Voices of Student Success features Adelí Durón, the inaugural director of the Latinx Resource Center at the University of California, Irvine, on its mission and how she works to ensure student voices inform programming, engagement and center leadership. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. This episode is sponsored by InsideTrack .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 100: The Key Podcast Hits 100 (Episodes) 25:09

2 years ago25:09

25:09

Three years ago, Inside Higher Ed created a podcast to try to give its audience insight into how the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting colleges, employees and students, with a particular focus on the more “invisible” students who too often fly under the radar of journalists and campus leaders. This week’s episode, The Key’s 100th, features a discussion with Paul Fain, who as Inside Higher Ed’s news editor launched the podcast and nurtured it through its first year. Paul, whose newsletter The Job explores the intersection of employment and education, talks with The Key’s host, Doug Lederman, about the people working on behalf of those invisible students and the issues they’re addressing. The Key is hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 99: Designing Courseware to Produce Equitable Outcomes 34:50

2 years ago34:50

34:50

“Gateway courses” are supposed to clear the path to fields of study, but for millions of students who struggle in those key classes, they often shut the door prematurely. This week's episode of The Key digs into early efforts to develop courseware for 20 high enrollment courses that can make or break whether students from all backgrounds persist and ultimately complete their educations. The goal of the initiative, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is to bring together colleges, companies and research organizations to build digital courses that can be used on dozens if not hundreds of campuses to eliminate gaps in performance by students from different backgrounds. Ariel Anbar is a President’s Professor at Arizona State University, which is working with Carnegie Mellon University and the publisher OpenStax to create a general chemistry course heavy on active learning and real-world problem solving. Jeanette Koskinas is chief product officer at Lumen Learning, which is developing an intro statistics course in close collaboration with students and instructors at institutions like Rockland Community College and Santa Ana College. The Key is hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 98: Streamlining and Scaling Transfer for Equity’s Sake 31:47

2 years ago31:47

31:47

The complex, confusing process by which students move between colleges has been an acknowledged barrier impeding postsecondary completion, particularly for underrepresented students. The issue is drawing increasing attention from policy makers, given rising concerns about value and equity. This week’s episode of The Key looks at some of the transfer work being done by the major college and university systems that enroll a majority of today’s learners. Two experts participate in the discussion. Dan Knox is director of the Institute for Systems Innovation and Improvement at the National Association of System Heads, known as NASH, which is undertaking various efforts to align the work of state systems on attacking this problem. Rebecca Karoff is associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Texas System, where she oversees a transfer advisory group and works with other systems in the state on these issues. The Key is hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Bonus Episode: Campus Interview with Stevens Institute of Technology Dean of Undergraduate Education Eve Riskin 32:24

2 years ago32:24

32:24

The Key continues to share Inside Higher Ed ’s latest collaboration with Times Higher Education – Campus Podcast . Eve Riskin, dean of undergraduate education at Stevens Institute of Technology, talks about the power of mentorship, diversity in excellence and what she, as an electrical engineer and computer scientist, thinks about the emergence of generative AI. Episode sponsored by Stevens Institute of Technology .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Bonus Episode: Campus Interview with Montclair State University President Jonathan Koppell 44:30

2 years ago44:30

44:30

The Key shares Inside Higher Ed ’s latest collaboration with Times Higher Education – Campus Podcast . This interview features Montclair State University President Jonathan Koppell as he discusses how universities can be more proactive in rebuilding public trust in higher education. It’s tied to accessibility and degree completion, he argues, and universities need to acknowledge their failures in meeting those objectives. Meanwhile, service learning and supporting minoritized groups are central to Dr. Koppell’s institutional strategy. And with many institutions in the US facing financial difficulties, he discusses his decision to merge Bloomfield College into the Montclair system.…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 97:Promoting Student Well-Being in Today’s Learning Environments 36:03

2 years ago36:03

36:03

This week’s episode of The Key, Inside Higher Ed’ s news and analysis podcast, builds off a great conversation that took place earlier this month at Digital Universities U.S. , an event Inside Higher Ed co-hosted in Chicago with our partners from Times Higher Education. The conversation featured leaders from three very different institutions talking about how their institutions create online or blended educational experiences that build a sense of community and belonging for students, prepare faculty and staff members to respond to learners’ social and psychological needs as well as academic ones, and use data effectively. Joining the discussion were Sarah Dysart, senior director of online learning at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; Omid Fotuhi, director of learning innovation at WGU Labs; and Jeremy Alexis, vice provost in the office of professional and continuing education at Illinois Institute of Technology. Times Higher Education’ s Charlotte Coles moderated the conversation. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 96: Creating Higher Ed Experiences That Transform Lives 32:56

2 years ago32:56

32:56

As public support belief in the value of higher education has steadily declined in recent years, most of the attention for turning that around has been on improving the career readiness of graduates and making college more affordable. But an emergent group of college leaders believes the real key may be to ensure that all learners, regardless of background, have experiences in college that help them develop identity, agency and purpose with the goal of improving their well-being 30 years down the road. This episode of The Key features a conversation with Richard K. Miller, president emeritus of Olin College of Engineering and a driving force behind the Coalition for Life Transformative Education. In our interview, he discusses how the coalition’s diverse group of members are using data-informed experiments to rework their curriculums and scale the use of project-based experiences to build a sense of belonging and a growth mindset for all of their students. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 95: Redefining ‘Mental Health’ for Today’s College Students 40:14

2 years ago40:14

40:14

Are we in the midst of a mental health “crisis” for college students and other young people? How should campus administrators and faculty members be thinking about the mental health of their students and their roles in addressing it? And do we perhaps need to reframe the discussion around what “mental health” even is? This week’s episode of The Key explores an issue that has been at or near the top of the worry list for those who work in and around higher education, as learners report record levels of depression, anxiety and other conditions; strain campus counseling and health centers seeking treatment; and struggle academically, sometimes to the point of stopping out altogether. Joining the discussion are Lisa Damour, a psychologist and author of The Emotional Lives of Teenagers, Nance Roy, chief clinical officer at the Jed Foundation; and R. Ryan Patel, senior staff psychiatrist at Ohio State University and chair of the mental health section of the American College Health Association. This episode is sponsored by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation . Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman.…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 94: Higher Ed’s Longtime Chief Lobbyist, Unplugged 35:20

2 years ago35:20

35:20

Terry Hartle retired last fall after 30 years as the chief government and public affairs officer at the American Council on Education, where he had a front-row seat to virtually every important higher education policy discussion. In this week’s episode of The Key, Hartle talks about the partisanship and inertia that afflicts today’s politics, politicians’ increased questioning and oversight of higher education, and the implications for colleges, their employees, and their students. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed 's Editor and Co-Founder Doug Lederman…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 78: Dropping the Degree as a Hiring Requirement 36:49

3 years ago36:49

36:49

Last month the State of Maryland announced that it would no longer require a bachelor’s degree in the hiring process for nearly half of its jobs, joining a growing number of companies and other employers. Some people in higher education might view steps like that as a slight, since Maryland and other employers are responding in part to questions about the value of degrees and growing concerns about the cost – and opportunity cost – of earning one. But in this week’s episode of The Key, Bridgette Gray of the nonprofit group Opportunity@Work, which is helping Maryland identify non-degreed workers to fill jobs in technology, administration and customer service, describes the market conditions that prompted the state’s decision and why equity was a primary factor behind its move. And Brandon Busteed of Kaplan explains how colleges and universities can respond in ways that not only sustain their relevance but position them better for the coming changes in how learning is likely to happen. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by Kaplan .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 77: Turnover, Burnout and Demoralization in Higher Ed 35:56

3 years ago35:56

35:56

Employers of all kinds are struggling to hold on to their employees in the wake of the pandemic and amid a white-hot job market. Data recently released by the University of North Carolina system, for instance, shows that faculty and staff turnover in the first half of this academic year was about 40 percent higher than the average of the last four years. Are colleges and universities just dealing with the same issues other industries are facing? Or are there unique problems in higher ed that campus leaders need to acknowledge? This week’s episode of The Key features a discussion with Kevin McClure, associate professor of higher education at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, who’s been writing about these issues and this summer will begin a three-year research project examining working conditions at public institutions in his state. In our conversation, he explores some of the reasons for the turnover, assesses the impact of the pandemic, and explains the difference between burnout and demoralization, both of which are probably playing a role. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Doug Lederman.…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 76: Reprise | Combatting Student Cheating 44:30

3 years ago44:30

44:30

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, student academic misconduct spiked, and an episode of The Key explored the reasons why and steps colleges and professors might take to combat it. The issue hasn’t gone away, even though a lot of instruction has returned to the physical classroom. So this week we revisit the February 2021 conversations, which remain timely and relevant. First up is Bradley Davis, associate director of the office of student conduct at North Carolina State University, who discusses the steps the university took in response to a roughly three-fold increase in academic misconduct cases NC State experienced in the wake of the shift to remote learning. In the second half of the episode, we bring in some national context through a conversation with two experts on academic integrity and learning. David Rettinger is a professor of psychological science and Director of Academic Integrity Programs at the University of Mary Washington, as well as president emeritus of the International Center for Academic Integrity. Kate McConnell is assistant vice president for research and assessment and director of the Value Institute at the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman.…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 75: Anticipating Higher Education’s Near Future(s) 22:19

3 years ago22:19

22:19

How has the COVID-19 pandemic and the other upheaval of the last couple of years changed the outlook for colleges, their students and their employees? Bryan Alexander is a writer, author, teacher and “futurist.” He wrote the 2020 book Academia Next and hosts his own series of video conversations, The Future Trends Forum. In this week’s episode of The Key podcast, he first explains the work of professional futurists, and how they differ from other kinds of analysts who operate as if they owned crystal balls. Then Alexander explores a wide range of topics about how the COVID-19 pandemic, the drive for racial justice and other recent phenomena might affect the next few years in higher education, touching on technology, the curriculum, and his current focus, environmental sustainability. This episode is sponsored by Pearson Inclusive Access . Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman.…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 74: Transforming Higher Ed, Live from SXSWEdu 26:39

3 years ago26:39

26:39

“Transformation” is a buzzword in today’s world, and it’s easy to talk about why it’s necessary. But how do you actually do the hard work of bringing about change within a college or university? This week's episode of The Key features highlights from a panel session at this month's SXSWedu conference in Austin, Tex. The discussion, heavy on practical advice for leading change within and across institutions, includes Michael Sorrell, president of Paul Quinn College; Michelle Weise, vice chancellor for strategy and innovation at the National University System; and Bridget Burns, executive director of the University Innovation Alliance. Inside Higher Ed ' s editor and host of The Key, Doug Lederman, moderated the discussion. This episode is sponsored by Pearson Inclusive Access .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 73: HBCUs Team Up to Go Digital 38:59

3 years ago38:59

38:59

Like a lot of undergraduate-focused, smaller institutions, historically black colleges and universities typically went online selectively, sporadically – or not at all. But that’s beginning to change, thanks to significant multi-college collaborations and help from funders increasingly recognizing the value and importance of these underresourced institutions. This week’s episode of The Key examines several major initiatives in which major philanthropies, corporations and nonprofit organizations are helping groups of HBCUs strengthen their ability to reach and serve students by improving their digital infrastructures, training their faculty and launching a joint platform for virtual courses. Featured on today’s episode is Ed Smith-Lewis, vice president for strategic partnerships and institutional programs at the United Negro College Fund, which is at the fulcrum of these efforts. He discusses how HBCUs have historically approached online and digital education, why those institutions are drawing so much attention (and funding) now, and the opportunities and challenges of getting numerous colleges to collaborate rather than compete. This episode is sponsored by Pearson Inclusive Access . Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman.…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 72: Why Colleges Are Hiring More Non-White Presidents 32:07

3 years ago32:07

32:07

It only took a few decades, but colleges and universities are hiring more Black and brown presidents to lead their institutions. This week's episode digs into data Inside Higher Ed published last month showing a big upturn in the proportion of minority presidents and chancellors that colleges hired in the year and a half after the death of George Floyd. Better than one in three presidents hired from June 2020 through November 2021 were people of color, a full quarter were Black, and the proportion of Latinx presidents who were appointed roughly doubled from the previous 18 months. Two guests join to dissect the data, what they mean and how much they matter. Lorelle L. Espinosa is program director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, where she focuses on grantmaking that drives evidence-based change around diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM education. She formerly oversaw research on the college presidency and other topics at the American Council on Education. Eddie R. Cole, associate professor of higher education and history at the University of California, Los Angeles, offers some context about the current moment based on his study of the civil rights era, when colleges also sought to diversify their leadership (for a while). Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Doug Lederman…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 71: Injecting Social Mobility Into the Carnegie Classifications 47:47

3 years ago47:47

47:47

The Carnegie Classifications are an enduring institution in higher education – but they’re about to undergo a facelift that could be dramatic. This week’s episode of The Key explores the recent news that the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching -- which created the main system we use to differentiate among types of colleges and universities about 50 years ago – had chosen the American Council on Education, the largest and most diverse association of college presidents, to remake and run the classifications going forward. Tim Knowles of Carnegie and Ted Mitchell of ACE discuss the new partnership and why the time is right to refresh the classifications. They emphasize their plan to add a significant focus on whether and how much colleges and universities contribute to social mobility and racial equity, potentially by adding an entirely new classification that would sort institutions by the degree to which they are engines of mobility and equity. The episode includes a conversation with Brendan Cantwell, an associate professor and coordinator of the Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education program at Michigan State University, who discusses the potential unintended consequences of focusing too much on social mobility in college rankings. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 70: The Impact of COVID-19 Learning Disruption 31:04

3 years ago31:04

31:04

College students almost certainly lost ground academically during the pandemic. But do we know how much? And what should colleges do about it? This week’s episode explores a free report Inside Higher Ed published in December, “Back on Track: Helping Students Recover From COVID-19 Learning Disruption.” It examines the available evidence about how the pandemic affected students’ educational paths, and finds, somewhat unsurprisingly, that most colleges really don’t know whether their students suffered what in the K-12 context is often called “learning loss” or “learning disruption.” But that doesn’t mean they aren’t adapting their practices and policies in areas such as placement, instruction, grading and assessment to help students make up whatever ground they’ve lost. Participating in this discussion are Natasha Jankowski, a higher education and assessment consultant and former executive director of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment; Matthew Gunkel, chief online learning and technology officer for the University of Missouri System; and Michael Hale, vice president of education at VitalSource. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is made possible by the support of VitalSource.com .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 69: A Major Cross-College Collaboration 19:47

3 years ago19:47

19:47

Colleges tend to compete rather than collaborate. That’s why a new five-college cooperative in New Mexico is so unusual. This week’s episode explores the Collaborative for Higher Education Shared Services, or CHESS. It’s made up, so far, of five independent community colleges in New Mexico that have teamed up because they think they’re stronger together than apart. They’ve started by agreeing to create a common enterprise resource planning structure to share resources and information in areas such as accounting, student records, human resources and payroll, but the vision ultimately includes many of the features you might see in a formal college system, including smoother student mobility and more efficient and cost-effective campus operations. In the conversation, the presidents of two of the colleges, Becky Rowley of Santa Fe Community College and Tracy Hartzler of Central New Mexico Community College, discuss the combination of trust, subjugation of institutional ego, and internal culture change required to bring about a massive cross-institutional collaboration like this. They acknowledge the help they’ve gotten from the external partners guiding their work, CampusWorks and Workday. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is made possible by the support of Formstack…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 68: Higher Ed’s Flexible Work Future 38:54

3 years ago38:54

38:54

The era of flexible work in higher education has begun. The pandemic drastically altered our collective relationship with work in the moment, but how will faculty, staff and administrative jobs look differently going forward? In this week’s episode, administrators at two institutions that are addressing these questions head-on discuss their approaches. Natalie McKnight is dean of the College of General Studies at Boston University and co-chair of its Committee on the Future of Staff Work, whose recommendations underpinned the university’s new policy allowing many employees to work up to two days a week from home. And Bryan Garey, vice president for human resources at Virginia Tech, discusses the university’s evolving “flexible work” policy under which nearly 10 percent of the workforce has already qualified to work 100% off site. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by Formstack .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 67: Community College Bachelor’s Degrees Gain Ground 23:22

3 years ago23:22

23:22

In the last month, California enacted a law that could greatly expand the number of bachelor’s degree programs being offered by the state’s 116 community colleges. And Arizona approving legislation allowing massive systems like the Maricopa Community Colleges to award their own four-year degrees for the first time. Half of all states now enable their community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees, but how many, and in what fields, remain a source of contention in many places. Advocates for the programs say they fill essential gaps left by four-year institutions in their states in providing educational opportunities to adults and other underrepresented students and meeting essential needs in health care and other industries. Efforts to create or expand community college bachelor’s programs are often opposed by four-year colleges and universities concerned about the quality of the programs and, let’s be honest, lower-cost competition. There’s a lot we don’t know about these emerging programs, and in this week’s episode of The Key, Debra Bragg of New America describes a report mapping the community college baccalaureate landscape. In the interview, she describes what we already know – and have yet to learn – about these programs, how we might gauge their effectiveness, and what they tell us about why so many students struggle along the traditional path of transferring from two-year to four-year institutions.…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 66: Enrollment Declines, No Free Community College: Higher Ed’s Rough Week 34:55

3 years ago34:55

34:55

Are politicians and the public losing faith in higher education? Last week delivered unwelcome news to colleges and universities. New data from the National Student Clearinghouse showed that college enrollments tumbled again this fall, with hundreds of thousands fewer students opting to start or continue their educations than even during the heart of the pandemic last fall. And a scaled-back version of President Biden’s Build Back Better Act contained about $40 billion in new funds for colleges and their students -- barely a third of the previous iteration and missing key initiatives such as much-touted tuition-free community college. This week’s episode features three thoughtful observers of the higher ed landscape on what these developments mean and why they matter. Tamara Hiler is director of education at Third Way, a center-left think tank in Washington. Robert Kelchen is professor and chair of education at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. And Teresa Valerio Parrot is a principal at TVP Communications. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by Formstack.…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 65: Debating the Value of College Arts (and Other) Programs 37:06

3 years ago37:06

37:06

Federal data now allow anyone who wishes to identify academic programs whose graduates on average earn more than enough to repay their student debt -- or don’t. As journalists and think tank analysts dissect the data, many of the programs whose graduates don’t earn enough to repay their debt prepare people for industries that don’t pay very well but that society values, such as teaching or the clergy. Degrees in the arts are a particular target. In this week’s episode of The Key, New America’s Kevin Carey and Doug Dempster, former dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin, debate the wisdom of pursuing degrees in the arts and other low-paying fields, whether economic outcomes are the best way to judge the value of those programs, and the prospects for driving down the costs of those programs.…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 64: A Struggling College’s Plea for Help 29:10

4 years ago29:10

29:10

“Time is growing short.” That’s how Bloomfield College’s president, Marcheta P. Evans, described the struggling private college’s situation this week in an atypical plea for help. Bloomfield, whose students are overwhelmingly black, Hispanic and from low-income backgrounds, acknowledged that it won’t make it through the 2022-23 academic year in its current condition, and asked for help from potential philanthropists and partner institutions to keep its mission alive. In this week’s episode, Marcheta Evans discusses the New Jersey college’s unexpected approach to an increasingly common plight. She explains why it chose to go public about a situation many institutions hide, and it’s options for surviving and even thriving. This week’s other guest is Barbara Brittingham, president emerita of the New England Commission of Higher Education, who as leader of the accrediting body in the demographically challenged Northeast encountered more than her fair share of financially ailing institutions. This episode is hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. Sponsor is Formstack…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 93: Is For-Profit Higher Education on Its Last Legs? 34:06

2 years ago34:06

34:06

Does the possible sale of the University of Phoenix to a public university system signal the demise of the for-profit higher education sector that Phoenix once epitomized? This week’s episode of The Key analyzes the implications of recent news that a nonprofit affiliated with the University of Arkansas System might buy the former giant among for-profit colleges. Joining the discussion are Kevin Kinser, who heads the department of Education Policy Studies at Pennsylvania State University; Julie Peller, executive director of the nonprofit Higher Learning Advocates and a longtime expert on federal higher ed policy; and Paul Fain, who edits a weekly newsletter called The Job and a former editor of Inside Higher Ed . The episode focuses less on the possible sale of Phoenix -- about which details remain sketchy -- than on the overall state of for-profit institutions, the changing definition of “for-profit” in higher education, and how to regulate the increasingly blurry landscape of postsecondary education and training. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman.…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 92: Looking Back at DIY U and Ahead, With Anya Kamenetz 21:33

3 years ago21:33

21:33

In 2010, a book called DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education envisioned a wholesale shift in how people learned. More than a decade later, how has that panned out? This week’s episode features a conversation with Anya Kamenetz, the author and journalist who in 2010 tapped into an emerging set of issues around student debt, rapid technological change and political upheaval to lay out a portrait of a world in which individuals could learn when and how they wanted and be far less dependent on instructors and institutions. She discusses the current landscape and what she got right and wrong 12 years ago. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by Kaplan.…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep. 91: The Pros and Cons of HyFlex Instruction 35:38

3 years ago35:38

35:38

During the pandemic, many colleges and universities embraced a form of blended learning called HyFlex, to mixed reviews. Is it likely to be part of colleges’ instructional strategy going forward? This week’s episode of The Key explores HyFlex, in which students in a classroom learn synchronously alongside a cohort of peers studying remotely. HyFlex moved from a fringe phenomenon to the mainstream during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the experience was imperfect at best, for professors and students alike. This conversation about the teaching modality features two professors who have both taught in the HyFlex format and done research on its impact. Enilda Romero-Hall is an associate professor in the learning, design and technology program at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville who got her doctorate in a HyFlex program and taught using it pre-pandemic. Alanna Gillis, an assistant professor of sociology at St Lawrence University, had her first Hyflex experiences during COVID-19. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman. Episode sponsored by Kaplan .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 90: How Colleges Are Defining and Measuring Their Value 45:42

3 years ago45:42

45:42

Colleges are under growing pressure to prove their “value” to students, parents, legislators and others. The scrutiny can be uncomfortable, but more institutions are responding with serious efforts to measure and explain their value. This week’s episode of The Key, the last in a three-part series on value in higher education, examines the data and metrics we’re using now – and those we might use going forward – to gauge the value colleges and universities are providing to their students and other constituents. The conversations include Michael Itzkowitz, senior fellow in higher education at the center-left think tank Third Way; José Luis Cruz Rivera, president of Northern Arizona University and a member of the Postsecondary Value Commission; and Pamela Brown, vice president for institutional research and academic planning for the University of California president’s office. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman This episode was made possible by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 89: How Federal and State Policies Judge Colleges ‘Value’ 36:58

3 years ago36:58

36:58

As recently as a decade ago, the concept of “value” rarely found its way into discussions about federal and state policymaking about higher education. Now it’s unusual to hear a meaningful conversation that doesn’t raise the issue. This week’s episode of The Key, the second in a three-part series on the value of higher education, examines how politicians and policy makers are responding to growing public doubt about the value of colleges and credentials by defining and trying to measure whether individual institutions and academic programs are benefiting consumers. Guests include Clare McCann, who until last month was a key member of the Biden administration’s higher education policy team, and is now higher education fellow at Arnold Ventures; Will Doyle, a professor of higher education at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College, who studies the government’s role in higher education; and Ernest Ezeugo, a federal policy strategy officer at Lumina Foundation who previously worked at Young Invincibles and the State Higher Education Executive Officers association. They discuss how the concept of value is factoring into state and federal policy, what’s driving that trend, and whether an overdependence on economic outcomes can lead to unintended consequences. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman Episode sponsored by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep.88: The Public’s Growing Concerns About Higher Ed’s ‘Value’ 27:16

3 years ago27:16

27:16

For decades, colleges and universities enjoyed almost unquestioned public support as some of America’s most important institutions. Like most institutions, they’ve been knocked off that pedestal in recent years, amid growing questions not about whether higher education remains important but whether it’s available, affordable and valuable enough. This week’s episode of The Key is the first in a three-part series on the concept of “value” in higher education, made possible by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The topic has gotten increasing attention as college prices and student debt continue to rise and policy makers develop data showing the return on investment for specific academic programs. Today’s episode looks at several recent surveys of public attitudes about higher education. Participants include Sophie Nguyen, senior policy analyst with New America’s Education Program, which publishes Varying Degrees and numerous other surveys about higher education; David Schleifer, vice president and director of research at Public Agenda, a national research organization; and Natasha Quadlin, an associate professor of sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and co-author of Who Should Pay? Higher Education, Responsibility, and the Public, published this year by the Russell Sage Foundation. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman Episode sponsored by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep.87: Colleges’ Financial Situations and Institutional Transformation 31:26

3 years ago31:26

31:26

Most business officers are upbeat about their colleges’ financial future. Why is that so, and are they right to be so optimistic? This week's episode of The Key features a discussion about Inside Higher Ed’ s 2022 Survey of College and University Business Officers , which generally found college chief financial officers feeling pretty good about how their institutions are faring and how they’re positioned for the future. The episode explores the survey’s results, but also digs into whether financial and other leaders in higher education think their institutions need to make meaningful changes in how they operate to be financially sustainable and stable down the road – and whether their pretty rosy view might make them less inclined to see the need for significant changes on their campuses. The conversation features three business officers: Diane Snyder, vice chancellor of finance and administration at the Alamo Colleges District in Texas; Cynthia Vizcaino Villa, senior vice president for administration and finance at California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, and Mark Volpatti, vice president for finance and chief financial officer at Indiana’s Valparaiso University. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman. Sponsored by EY-Parthenon .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep.86: Reprise: Mergers and Major Cross-College Collaborations 43:54

3 years ago43:54

43:54

Many people in higher education recoil at the idea of merging institutions, and it’s little wonder: in most such arrangements, one institution swallows the other, which virtually disappears. But that doesn’t mean the alternative is for every college to remain an island unto itself. Recent events – last month’s merger between Saint Joseph’s University and University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, and last week’s news that Antioch University and Otterbein University are teaming up to create a new national system of nonprofit colleges and universities – make this an opportune time to revisit an April 2021 discussion about transformative cross-college collaborations at a time of constrained resources. The conversation includes John MacIntosh of SeaChange Capital Partners, a driving force behind the Transformational Partnerships Fund; Art Dunning, former president of Albany State University, who oversaw that institution’s merger with Darton State College; and Sister Margaret Carney, president emerita of St. Bonaventure University, who offers a cautionary tale about a merger that didn’t happen – and what went awry. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman.…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep.85: Reading the Tea Leaves on the College Enrollment Drop 34:50

3 years ago34:50

34:50

College and university enrollments – particularly at community colleges – continue to plummet. Have they bottomed out? Will they recover if the economy cools off as expected? Has enrollment dropped to a new lower plateau that’s likely to be the baseline going forward? This week’s episode of The Key explores the 7.5 percent decline that college enrollments have suffered since the pandemic, with a focus on community colleges that enroll working learners and first-generation students, which have been especially hard hit. Digging into the reasons behind the enrollment declines and offering some insights into what’s ahead are Joe Garcia, chancellor of the Colorado Community College System, and Nate Johnson, a researcher and policy analyst whose firm, Postsecondary Analytics, advises states, foundations and businesses on education and workforce policy. They surmise that some of the enrollment losses of the last two years may represent a new lower baseline going forward, and discuss the implications for institutions and students. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman. Sponsored by Anthology.…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 84: Defining the Role of Digital Learning on Campus 28:27

3 years ago28:27

28:27

How are colleges and universities going about rethinking their teaching and learning strategies in the wake of widescale experimentation with digital instruction? This week’s episode is the last of a three-part series on digital teaching and learning, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The first two episodes explored how the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped what researchers and practitioners know about the role of technology in learning, and how well the hundreds of ed-tech companies that work with colleges, professors and students meet the needs of the institutions and their people and what they can do better. In this week’s episode, we look more closely at how individual colleges and universities are rethinking the role of digital learning. Dhanfu E. Elston, chief of staff and senior vice president for strategy at Complete College America, discusses an effort involving six historically black colleges and universities. Then we hear administrators from Arizona State, DeVry and Yale Universities describe the work they’re doing to evolve their strategies for using digital tools and approaches in instruction. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman. This episode was made possible by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 83: What Colleges and Instructors Need From Ed-Tech Companies 28:30

3 years ago28:30

28:30

The last two years disrupted many aspects of higher education, and the educational technology market -- and the relationship between colleges and companies – are no exception. This week’s episode of The Key explores how well the many hundreds of ed-tech companies that work with colleges, professors and students actually meet the needs of the institutions and their people, where they fall short, and how they can do better. The discussion includes two guests who’ve sat at the intersection of where technology meets teaching and learning. Kara Monroe is the founder of Monarch Strategies, a consulting firm she founded early this year after 25 years as an academic administrator at Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana. Kelvin Bentley is a senior consultant at WGU Labs, where he works with companies that want to help colleges and universities educate students at scale. Over 25 years, he has worked with a range of public two-year and four-year colleges and multiple ed-tech companies. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman. This episode was made possible by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 82: What Have We Learned About Digital Learning? 34:21

3 years ago34:21

34:21

This week’s episode of The Key explores whether and how the landscape of digital teaching and learning has been changed by the last two years of global pandemic, recession, upheaval over racial justice, and more. Participants in the conversation are Shanna Smith Jaggars, assistant vice provost of research and program assessment in Ohio State University’s Office of Student Academic Success, and Jessica Rowland Williams, director of Every Learner Everywhere, which pursues equitable outcomes in higher education through advances in digital learning. In our discussion, they explore such topics as whether student expectations have changed about when, where and how they learn, if most faculty members are likelier to incorporate technology into their pedagogy than they were before, and what institutional leaders need to do to ensure that whatever role digital learning plays in their future strategies, they do it well. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman. This episode was made possible by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 81: The Top Federal Higher Ed Policy Maker Speaks 18:28

3 years ago18:28

18:28

Student loan debt forgiveness. Free community college. Pell Grants for short-term programs. Those are just some of the higher education issues occupying the federal policy landscape in Washington. This week’s episode of The Key features a conversation with Under Secretary James Kvaal, the Education Department’s senior official on higher education. He discusses the administration’s current thinking about those and other issues, including the challenges of operating in a highly partisan era. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman.…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 80: The Evolving Conversation About Quality in Online Learning 22:50

3 years ago22:50

22:50

Has higher education’s forced experimentation with remote learning changed how students, professors, colleges and the public view online education? And will it make them more or less likely to participate in it? This week's episode of The Key explores Inside Higher Ed’ s recent report, The Evolving Conversation About Quality in Online Learning.” The report examines a wide range of issues around the current and future state of technology-enabled learning to try to help administrators and faculty members prepare to deliver high-quality virtual instruction, however it fits into their institutional missions. Lori Williams, president and CEO of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA), joins The Key this week to discuss the report and its implications for colleges, professors and policy makers. NC-SARA. Williams discusses how the pandemic has changed perceptions and practices around online education and how to judge quality in virtual learning, among other topics. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by NC-SARA .…

The Key with Inside Higher Ed

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Ep 79: Withholding Transcripts to Collect Student Debt 34:11

3 years ago34:11