Future U Podcast - The Pulse of Higher Ed

Higher ed has spent four years managing AI through policies, restrictions, and isolated pilots. That approach bought time, but is time running out? Students are caught in a patchwork of incoherent expectations, and the labor market is shifting faster than the curriculum. In this episode featuring Andrea Goldsmith (President, Stony Brook University), Klara Jelinkova (VP and CIO, Harvard University), and Sandra Loughlin (Chief Learning Scientist, EPAM Systems), Jeff and Michael dig into what colleges can do to move from fragmented experimentation to a coherent, campus-wide AI strategy that preserves the right level of friction for students. This episode is made with support from Google for Education.Chapters0:00 - Intro4:33 - Should Colleges Forge More Coherent AI Policies?9:29 - What Are the Cost and Benefits of the Patchwork Approach to AI?12:06 - A Case for a Coherent AI Strategy at Colleges15:33 - A Case Against Standardization in AI18:08 - How Can College Leaders Measure AI Progress?20:46 - The Importance of Stopping Some AI Pilots20:24 - How to Make Decisions When AI Changes So Rapidly23:59 - Sponsor Break24:29 - Should Colleges Build, Buy, or Partner on AI27:54 - Should Undergrads Learn AI From Day 1?31:41 - What Research Shows About AI and Learning34:12 - Convincing Students to Build Human Skills38:49 - Do Selective Colleges Need to Change?41:24 - How Can Colleges Show They Teach Durable Skills?43:50 - Is Higher Ed Ready to Fully Assess Learning?46:26 - How Will Colleges Deal With the Costs of AI?48:26 - AI Could Help Some Colleges Leapfrog Others50:50 - Colleges That Get AI Right Will …52:15 - Closing Thoughts on AI at CollegesRelevant Links“Why College Could Matter More than Ever in the AI Era,” by Michael Horn.

Colleges are being pushed to define what they uniquely offer, prove their value, and rethink which programs deserve investment. The discussion explores AI policy, redesigning assessment, affordability, federal pressure, dual enrollment, and whether college still pays off. It also examines campus loneliness, the need for meaningful in-person experiences, and the University of California’s possible return to standardized testing.

We’ve been wondering how prison education programs have grown since the reinstatement of Pell grants for incarcerated learners a couple of years ago. So we sent our producer Jeff Young to learn more. It turns out colleges wanting to set up programs face complicated logistics and cultural challenges. To help, several states have recently set up statewide consortiums to help. On this episode we hear from the director of a new program in Minnesota building a playbook for colleges hoping to serve incarcerated students. This episode is made with support from Ascendium Education Group. Chapters 0:00 - Intro 2:06 - A New Statewide Coalition 3:08 - How Financial Aid Rules Changed In 2023 5:27 - Prison Education Programs Need a Range of Resources 6:40 - Have College Prison Programs Expanded In Recent Years? 7:28 - Colleges Don’t Know Where to Start With Prison Programs 8:32 - What Is the Model for Minnesota’s New Prison Education Consortium? 10:40 - What Professors Need to Know About Teaching in Prison 12:24 - A Guidebook for Prison Education Programs 13:50 - A Student’s Perspective on Higher Ed in Prison 20:40 - The Importance of Learning While in Prison 23:15 - How a Prison Program Changed a Student’s Outlook 24:48 - A Student’s Advice for Professors Teaching in Prison 26:05 - Sponsor Break 26:24 - Online v. In-Person Prison Education Programs 29:29 - When Students Take Ownership of Prison Education Programs 32:17 - Cultural Factors of Setting Up Programs in Prison 33:47 - Technology Needed for Prison Education Programs 35:55 - A Student’s Perspective on Edtech in Prison 39:42 - What’s the Policy Outlook for Prison Education? 41:52 - An Argument for Non-Credit Programs in Prisons 44:51 - What’s the Future for Prison Education? 48:46 - Improving Re-entry Support Relevant Links “Reinstating Pell Grants in Prisons Moves Slowly After 26-Year Ban,” in Inside Higher Ed. “State Coalitions Emerge as Key Infrastructure for Higher Education in Prison,” in Open Campus. “Advancing Opportunities for Higher Learning: An Evaluation of Minnesota's New Higher Education in Prison Programs,” by the U of Minnesota’s Center for Urban & Regional Affairs. Check out our previous episodes on the topic: “‘College Unbound’ from the Traditional Model” from 2024 and “College in Prison” from 2022. Connect with Michael Horn: Sign Up for the The Future of Education Newsletter Website LinkedIn X (Twitter) Threads   Connect with Jeff Selingo: Dream School: Finding the College That's Right for You Sign Up for the Next Newsletter Website X (Twitter) Threads LinkedIn Connect with Future U: Twitter YouTube Threads Instagram Facebook LinkedIn   Submit a question and if we answer it on air we'll send you Future U. swag! Sign up for Future U. emails to get special updates and behind-the-scenes content.

A season-in-review conversation about how institutional mission shapes tough choices in higher education. They touch on collapsing enrollments and 'ghost town' campuses, runaway deficits and the MBA market downturn. Technology risks, AI-driven redesigns of universities, and the struggle to restore trust also come up.

The college athletics arms race has created a complex financing puzzle for many institutions. That has led athletics departments to become a kind of ‘shadow university’ within their campuses, with their own systems and processes. And university leaders need to pay closer attention. For this episode, Jeff and Michael talk with Karen Weaver, an expert on the finances behind college athletics. Do colleges need a whole new board structure for sports? Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 1:35 - Why All College Leaders Should Care About College Athletics 4:14 - Introducing Our Guest, Karen Weaver 5:12 - What Are University Presidents and Board Members Missing About College Sports? 6:38 - How is the Transfer Portal Impacting Graduation Rates? 8:26 - Do Athletics Align With College Mission Statements? 9:51 - What Washington Should Do to Regulate College Sports 11:50 - What If College Sports Lost Tax-Exempt Status? 13:23 - How Women’s Sports and Olympic Sports Fit In? 16:20 - Do NCAA Classifications Work Anymore? 20:22 - Who Defines Success for College Sports? 20:53 - Is Athletics Worth It As a ‘Front Porch’ of the College? 22:08 - How Should College Athletics Be Reformed? 25:36 - The Growth of Club Sports 29:18 - Do We Know the ROI of College Athletics? 34:00 - Getting Beyond Football and Basketball 37:05 - Connecting Athletics to Work-Integrated Learning 40:05 - Why Are People ‘All In’ on College Athletics 40:59 - How Injuries Play a Role 42:48 - The Connection Between Research and Athletic Prestige 45:07 - Is a Whole New Governance Structure Needed for Athletics? 46:05 - Lightning Round with Karen Weaver Relevant Links: “Four quick thoughts on the Protect College Sports Act: aka a college sports bill you should actually pay attention to,” by Matt Brown in his Extra Points newsletter. “Sport Finance: Where the Money Comes From and Where the Money Goes,” by Karen Weaver. “Trustees and Presidents: A Podcast for University Leaders,” by Karen Weaver “Understanding College Athletics: What Campus Leaders Need to Know About College Sports,” by Karen Weaver “The Future of Elite Youth Sports Is Here—and It’s a Mess,” in The Wall Street Journal. “Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World,” by David Epstein.

Doug Moore, a specialist who guides college wind-downs, explains the complex logistics of shutting a campus. He describes timing the announcement, managing graduations and teach-outs, auctions and community freebie days, odd regulatory headaches, and why many institutions may fail in the coming years. Short, practical, and unexpectedly emotional insights into closing colleges.

Michael Bettersworth, vice chancellor at Texas State Technical College and founder of Skills Engine, explains a bold funding shift tying state support to graduates’ earnings. He discusses the college’s outcomes-based funding, how earnings are measured, mapping curriculum to workplace skills, faculty and culture changes, and AI’s role in skills alignment.

Harrison Keller, president of the University of North Texas and former Texas higher-education commissioner, champions aligning degrees to workforce needs. He discusses creating real-time labor-market intelligence, redesigning programs for time-to-value, preserving social-value fields with new models, and rethinking university structures and credentials to prepare students for an AI-driven job market.

These days colleges are under fire from the Trump administration and critics on multiple fronts. Dartmouth's president, Sian Beilock, is one of the few Ivy League presidents not getting hauled before Congress, though her approach has plenty of detractors. Jeff and Michael talked with Beilock about the purpose of college, and how to lead in this polarized and uncertain time. This episode is made with support from Ascendium Education Group. Relevant Links “It feels like there’s no jobs,” in The New York Times.  “Dartmouth announces AI partnership with Anthropic, company accused of plagiarizing Dartmouth professors’ publications,” in The Dartmouth. “What an Ivy League Education Really Gets You,” in The Atlantic. Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 1:52 - An Up-and-Coming College President 4:17 - ‘Leading With Values’ 6:24 - The Choice to Be Outspoken in this Moment 7:16 - How Should We Think About the Modern College Presidency? 8:33 - How to Respond to Controversial World Events 10:00 - Why Does College Seem So Much Harder and Less Satisfying to Students Today? 12:24 - How Can Colleges Provide More Work Experience? 15:30 - Helping Students Learn Soft Skills 18:04 - What Role Should Colleges Play With AI? 20:15 - Do Students Need Colleges to Learn in an AI Era? 22:27 - How Should College Presidents Engage With Students? 24:53 - Should Highly-Selective Colleges Expand Their Classes 26:39 - Sponsor Break 27:24 - The Importance of Clarity of Mission 33:04 - How Should Colleges Talk About the Soft Skills They Teach? 35:20 - How Personal Stories Bleed Through in Leadership 37:10 - The Challenge of Presidents Forging Relationships With Students 40:27 - Lightning Round with Sian Beilock Connect with Michael Horn: Sign Up for the The Future of Education Newsletter Website LinkedIn X (Twitter) Threads   Connect with Jeff Selingo: Dream School: Finding the College That's Right for You Sign Up for the Next Newsletter Website X (Twitter) Threads LinkedIn Connect with Future U: Twitter YouTube Threads Instagram Facebook LinkedIn   Submit a question and if we answer it on air we'll send you Future U. swag! Sign up for Future U. emails to get special updates and behind-the-scenes content.

They argue the campus building boom is over and colleges face massive deferred maintenance. They explore how AI could reshape jobs, curricula, and even create AI-native universities. They question whether college leaders are prepared for intense financial and political pressures. They examine why college athletics costs may be unsustainable and suggest structural changes.