An Educated Guest

Todd Zipper, EVP and GM of Wiley University Services and Talent Development, welcomes Angela Kersenbrock, President, Community College Baccalaureate Association (CCBA). Todd and Angela discuss the importance of community colleges offering baccalaureate degrees and how the CCBA supports this mission. Topics Discussed:•The dynamic and critical relationship between higher ed and industry, and the communities that they serve•How the CCBA is supporting institutions and associations with efforts to increase the number of states allowing community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees•The impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on those without baccalaureate degrees, and how legislators, industries, and communities are responding to this impact•The concept of family-sustaining careers and innovations on the horizon for community college baccalaureatesGuest BioAngela Kersenbrock is currently the president of the Community College Baccalaureate Association. An accomplished educator with experience at the associates, bachelor, master’s, and doctoral levels, she recently retired after 34 years at Seminole State College in Florida. There, she was a tenured faculty member, department chair, dean, and the associate vice president of the School of Business, Health, and Public Safety. Angela holds a doctorate degree in higher education and public policy and is a masters prepared registered nurse. She has been involved with workforce education programs, having developed almost 30 different degrees and certificates, as well as several baccalaureate programs, including business and information management, nursing, health sciences, and information systems. She has also led partnerships between multiple stakeholders to gain regional approval for baccalaureate degrees.

Todd Zipper, EVP and GM of Wiley University Services and Talent Development, welcomes Dan Avida, CEO and Co-founder of Engageli. Todd and Dan discuss how the pandemic highlighted the need for more engaging online learning. Topics Discussed:•The need for engaging synchronous tools in online education and ways to improve asynchronous learning•The shortcomings of traditional teleconferencing tools like Google Meet, Slack, and Teams•Ways to improve engagement and collaboration between instructors and students to help drive quality outcomes at scale•How to address inclusivity, equity, and diversity through platform design and functionality•The future of the personalized learning journey, machine learning, use of data, dashboards, and AIGuest BioDan Avida has been working in technology companies as an executive and/or board member for over three decades. Several of these companies have scaled from a small founding team to over $100M in revenues and valuations of over $1B. He started Engageli in 2020 with wife and Coursera co-founder Daphne Koller, Stanford emeritus professor Serge Plotkin, and former executive at 2U and Trilogy, Jamie Nacht Farrell. He earned his B.S. in Computer Engineering from Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, summa cum laude.

Todd Zipper, EVP and GM of Wiley University Services and Talent Development, welcomes Shai Reshef, President of University of the People. Todd and Shai discuss how University of the People provides tuition-free online education to qualified individuals regardless of geographic, financial, or societal constraints.  Topics Discussed: •Maximizing open-source technology and resources to increase access to affordable, quality education across the globe •Disrupting the industry with a low cost, tuition-free model powered by the support of 25,000 volunteers •Leveraging peer-to-peer learning and instructor supervision to achieve scale while maintaining course quality and a 14:1 learner to instructor ratio •Ensuring learner success through a unique admissions model and individual support throughout the learner’s journey •Collaborating with global universities to provide increased access and pathways to higher educationGuest BioShai Reshef is the President of University of the People, the world’s first non-profit, tuition-free, American, accredited online university, dedicated to opening access to higher education.An educational entrepreneur, Shai Reshef received a PhD from the Open University and has more than 30 years of experience in international education. From 1989 to 2005, he served as Chairman of the Kidum Group, a for-profit educational services company. Starting in 2001, Shai also chaired KIT eLearning, the online learning partner of the University of Liverpool and the first online university outside of the United States. Shai is a member of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration; being named one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business; selected by OneWorld as one of its ‘People of 2009;’ awarded an Ashoka fellowship; joined UN-GAID as a High-level Adviser; presented at TED; granted an RSA Fellowship; selected by The Huffington Post as the Ultimate Game Changer in Education; nominated as one of Wired Magazine’s 50 People Changing the World; and selected as a Top Global Thinker by Foreign Policy Magazine. Recently, he was awarded the Prince’s Prize for Innovative Philanthropy by Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Todd Zipper, EVP and GM of Wiley University Services and Talent Development, welcomes Dr. Scott Ralls, President of Wake Technical Community College. Todd and Scott discuss the importance of apprenticeships and how they benefit both students and employers. Topics Discussed:•The reason community colleges are America’s opportunity colleges•The ways the Biden Administration could impact funding for community colleges•Why apprenticeships are considered the gold standard of workplace learning•How the WakeWorks Apprenticeship Program provides individuals with on-the-job training while also working towards a college degree•How education impacts economic mobilityGuest BioDr. Scott Ralls became the fourth President of Wake Technical Community College in April 2019. Before coming to Wake Tech, he served as President of Northern Virginia Community College from 2015-2019, President of the NC Community College System from 2008-2015, and President of Craven Community College in New Bern from 2002-2008. He has also worked for the NC Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of Labor. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Distinguished Public Service Award from the North Carolina Chamber, and the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina’s highest civilian honor. Dr. Ralls earned his bachelor’s degree at UNC-Chapel Hill and master’s and doctorate degrees in Industrial and Organization Psychology from the University of Maryland.

Todd Zipper, EVP and GM of Wiley University Services and Talent Development, welcomes Manoj Kutty, CEO and Founder of GreenLight Credentials. Todd and Manoj discuss how GreenLight is putting the student first and setting them up for future success through the secure storage and sharing of lifelong verified credentials. Topics Discussed:•The growing need for verifiable digital records of lifelong learning•How blockchain technology can secure student records•The appetite for a common language when evaluating credentials versus degrees•An employer’s role in the accelerating trend of verified digital credentials•COVID-19’s impact on the adoption of this technologyGuest BioManoj Kutty is the Founder/CEO of GreenLight Credentials and a leader in ed tech for the past 28 years. He founded LoudCloud Systems in 2010, a competency-based learning platform with clients in North America, Australia, and India. In 2016, LoudCloud was sold to Barnes and Noble Education. Kutty then served on the leadership team to transition and integrate LoudCloud into the digital business. From 1993-2010 he was the President of Tata Interactive Systems, one of the world’s largest developers of custom e-learning products and services. He serves on several Boards, including the Dallas Education Foundation and the Center of Brain Health at UT Dallas.

Todd Zipper, EVP and GM of Wiley University Services and Talent Development, welcomes Paul LeBlanc, President of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). They discuss how SNHU reimagined affordability and accessibility to drive quality outcomes for more learners. Topics Discussed:•Implementing systems and processes that work specifically for the online learner•Rethinking the delivery of programs to be more experiential and project-based •Using competency-based education to deliver learning in equitable ways•Building a learning ecosystem that accommodates true lifelong learning•Creating short, affordable, skills-based offerings applicable to in-demand jobsGuest BioDr. Paul J. LeBlanc is President of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). Since 2003, under Paul’s leadership, SNHU has grown from 2,800 students to over 170,000 learners and is the largest nonprofit provider of online higher education in the country. Forbes Magazine has listed LeBlanc as one of its 15 “Classroom Revolutionaries” and one of the “most influential people in higher education.” Washington Monthly named him one of America’s ten most innovative university presidents. His book, Students First: Equity, Access, and Opportunity in Higher Education will be available later this year.