

The EdUp Experience
YOUR Higher Education Podcast
We welcome YOU to America’s leading higher education podcast! Hosted by Dr. Joe Sallustio, whose down-to-Earth approach & industry experience helps to make dry & complicated educational topics more fun & engaging to discuss. Elvin Freytes, Producer, brings YOU the most innovative leaders in higher education to the microphone. The EdUp Experience team brings over 40 years of experience in higher education - YOU will feel refreshed, upskilled, & reskilled after listening to this podcast.
LEARN MORE:
edupexperience.com
We make education YOUR business!
LEARN MORE:
edupexperience.com
We make education YOUR business!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 5, 2025 • 44min
From Wicked Problems to Ingenious Solutions: The Leadership Transformation - with Melissa Morriss-Olson, CEO, The American University of Greece Global Campus
It's YOUR time to #EdUp with Melissa Morriss-Olson, CEO, The American University of Greece Global Campus, Distinguished Professor of Higher Ed Leadership, Bay Path University, host of the IngenioUs podcast, & author of Ingenious Leadership: Creating Solutions to Wicked Problems in Higher Education!In this episode, brought to you by Career-Bond,YOUR co-host is Darius Goldman, Founder & CEO, Career-BondYOUR host is Elvin Freytes How does a 150 year old institution founded by women missionaries from Massachusetts bring its incredible history & culture to the world through an entirely online global campus with faculty & students from around the globe?What happens when a leader interviews college presidents for 5 years, identifies common themes & habits from thriving leaders & turns those insights into a book with embedded QR codes & an accompanying workbook for emerging leaders?How does an online university design asynchronous 8 week MBA courses with weekly modules, 24/7 discussion forums & highly intentional learning outcomes that allow modern adult learners to complete assignments on their own time while maintaining rich interaction?Buy Melissa's book & accompanying workbook at Academic Impressions:https://www.academicimpressions.com/product/ingenious-leadership/Listen in to #EdUpThank YOU so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for YOUR time to EdUp!Connect with YOUR EdUp Team - Elvin Freytes & Dr. Joe Sallustio● Join YOUR EdUp community at The EdUp ExperienceWe make education YOUR business!P.S. Want to get early, ad-free access & exclusive leadership content to help support the show? Then subscribe today to lock in YOUR $5.99/m lifetime supporters rate! This offer ends December 31, 2025

Dec 4, 2025 • 47min
4 Nobel Prizes, 100+ Programs, 600K Alumni: Inside Berkeley's Innovation Machine - with Darren Cooke, Interim Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer, UC Berkeley
It's YOUR time to #EdUp with Darren Cooke, Interim Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer, UC Berkeley!In this episode, sponsored by the 2026 InsightsEDU Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, February 17-19,YOUR co-host is Brent Ramdin, CEO, EducationDynamicsYOUR host is Dr. Joe SallustioHow does a university with over 100 innovation & entrepreneurship organizations on campus coordinate them all to become #1 in the world for venture backed startups founded by undergraduate alumni, beating Stanford 3 years in a row?What happens when a university wins 4 Nobel prizes in 1 week & makes innovation & entrepreneurship activity count as a positive in faculty tenure evaluations?How does a public university leverage 600,000 living alumni & scale to 1,000X alumni engagement while maintaining its mission of providing long term societal benefits?Listen in to #EdUpThank YOU so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for YOUR time to EdUp!Connect with YOUR EdUp Team - Elvin Freytes & Dr. Joe Sallustio● Join YOUR EdUp community at The EdUp ExperienceWe make education YOUR business!P.S. Want to get early, ad-free access & exclusive leadership content to help support the show? Then subscribe today to lock in YOUR $5.99/m lifetime supporters rate! This offer ends December 31, 2025!

Dec 3, 2025 • 37min
Half of America's Colleges Are Coin Tosses, Here's How to Beat the Odds - with Gary Stocker, Founder, College Viability
It's YOUR time to #EdUp In this episode, part of our EdUp Extra series (because who doesn’t love a little extra goodness in their life), & sponsored by the 2026 InsightsEDU Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, February 17-19,YOUR guest is Gary Stocker, Founder, College ViabilityYOUR host is Elvin FreytesHow does a guy helping a friend prepare for a college presidency discover in 2015 that there was zero merger partner data available & end up founding College Viability in 2018 to create financial comparison apps for 3,000 colleges?What happens when you discover that not even half of American 4 year colleges graduate at least 50% of their students in 4 years & create tools to help parents check financial health before majors or campus tours?How does tracking the CapEx to depreciation ratio & 8 year enrollment trends reveal which of the hundreds of colleges in financial distress will face closure versus merger decisions driven by economic survival?Listen in to #EdUpThank YOU so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for YOUR time to EdUp!Connect with YOUR EdUp Team - Elvin Freytes & Dr. Joe Sallustio● Join YOUR EdUp community at The EdUp ExperienceWe make education YOUR business!P.S. Want to get early, ad-free access & exclusive leadership content to help support the show? Then subscribe today to lock in YOUR $5.99/m lifetime supporters rate! This offer ends December 31, 2025!

Dec 2, 2025 • 50min
How Is a 70 Year Old Testing Organization Reinventing Itself with AI & Why Should You Care? - with Joy Jones, CEO, Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC)
It's YOUR time to #EdUp In this episode, sponsored by the 2026 InsightsEDU Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, February 17-19,YOUR guest is Joy Jones, CEO, Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC)YOUR host is Dr. Joe SallustioHow does an organization that's been delivering the GMAT exam for over 70 years grow from 9 member schools in 1953 to partnering with over 220 business schools today while reimagining itself with AI enabled platforms?What happens when 80% of business schools now offer non degree programs through executive & leadership education while test taking in the US stays at lower levels than pre COVID despite online testing being available?How does graduate management education continue to prove its relevance when schools are partnering directly with employers on satellite campuses & onsite programs to deliver short intensive practice oriented training that feeds back into degree curricula?Listen in to #EdUpThank YOU so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for YOUR time to EdUp!Connect with YOUR EdUp Team - Elvin Freytes & Dr. Joe Sallustio● Join YOUR EdUp community at The EdUp ExperienceWe make education YOUR business!P.S. Want to get early, ad-free access & exclusive leadership content to help support the show? Then subscribe today to lock in YOUR $5.99/m lifetime supporters rate! This offer ends December 31, 2025

Dec 1, 2025 • 42min
Is AI Destroying Learning or Saving It? 23 Years of Ed Tech Lessons from Studiosity's Founder - with Jack Goodman, Founder, Studiosity
It's YOUR time to #EdUp In this episode, sponsored by Studiosity,YOUR guest is Jack Goodman, Founder, Studiosity YOUR cohost is Dr. Carmin Chan, Vice Provost of NAU Online, Northern Arizona UniversityYOUR host is Elvin FreytesHow does a company founded 23 years ago transform from providing study support through public libraries to serving 200 universities & colleges across Australia, the UK, North America & the Middle East while maintaining its core mission to increase life chances for students everywhere?What happens when an ed tech platform re engineers its entire human powered writing feedback system using large language models trained on millions of pieces of data to deliver feedback in 2 minutes or less & successfully migrates over 70% of university customers to the new Writing Feedback Plus platform by 2024?How does the acquisition of Norvalid, a Norwegian startup, shift the focus from policing dishonest work to validating student learning through integrity quizzes & assessments that evidence understanding at the point of submission while preserving learning integrity in the age of generative AI?Listen in to #EdUpThank YOU so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for YOUR time to EdUp!Connect with YOUR EdUp Team - Elvin Freytes & Dr. Joe Sallustio● Join YOUR EdUp community at The EdUp ExperienceWe make education YOUR business!P.S. Want to get early, ad-free access & exclusive leadership content to help support the show? Then subscribe today to lock in YOUR $5.99/m lifetime supporters rate! This offer ends December 31, 2025!

Nov 26, 2025 • 40min
When Selling Your Campus Saves Your University: The NDNU Story - with Dr. Beth Martin, President, Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU)
It's YOUR time to #EdUpIn this episode, President Series #427, powered by Ellucian, & sponsored by the 2026 InsightsEDU Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, February 17-19,YOUR guest is Dr. Beth Martin, President, Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU) YOUR cohost is Darius Goldman, Founder & CEO, Career-BondYOUR host is Elvin FreytesHow does a 175 year old institution sell its entire campus, go fully online & achieve zero debt while serving 80% of students online who only use 3 classrooms?What happens when a university creates a 3D virtual campus, turns all programs online in 3 years with 5 instructional designers & stacks credentials to equal master's degrees for adult learners averaging 35 years old?How does a president embed AI in every single program, partner with companies for cybersecurity & AI concentrations & prepare working parents to earn degrees asynchronously on their own time?Listen in to #EdUpThank YOU so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for YOUR time to EdUp!Connect with YOUR EdUp Team - Elvin Freytes & Dr. Joe Sallustio● Join YOUR EdUp community at The EdUp ExperienceWe make education YOUR business!P.S. Want to get early, ad-free access & exclusive leadership content to help support the show? Then subscribe today to lock in YOUR $5.99/m lifetime supporters rate! This offer ends December 31, 2025!

Nov 25, 2025 • 50min
Why 88% of Faculty Voted to Blow Up the Liberal Arts Model (& How Your Institution Can Too) - with Dr. Arthur Levine, President, Brandeis University
It's YOUR time to #EdUpIn this episode, President Series #426, powered by Ellucian, & sponsored by the 2026 InsightsEDU Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, February 17-19,YOUR guest is Dr. Arthur Levine, President, Brandeis UniversityYOUR co-host is Brent Ramdin, CEO, EducationDynamicsYOUR host is Dr. Joe SallustioHow does a president come out of retirement for his alma mater & convince 88% of faculty to completely reinvent the liberal arts in a secret ballot vote?What happens when a university pairs every student with 2 advisors (academic & career), creates a 2nd transcript for competencies & reorganizes entire departments to combine core disciplines with real-world applications?How does a 21 year veteran college president transform a 1948 institution by partnering with Educational Testing Service to create competency based assessments & micro credentials that prepare students for careers, not just their parents' world?Listen in to #EdUpThank YOU so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for YOUR time to EdUp!Connect with YOUR EdUp Team - Elvin Freytes & Dr. Joe Sallustio● Join YOUR EdUp community at The EdUp ExperienceWe make education YOUR business!P.S. Want to get early, ad-free access & exclusive leadership content to help support the show? Then subscribe today to lock in YOUR $5.99/m lifetime supporters rate! This offer ends December 31, 2025!

Nov 24, 2025 • 49min
How Religious Mission Drives Innovation (Not Prevents It) - with Elder Gilbert, Commissioner of Education, Church Educational System
It's YOUR time to #EdUpIn this episode, President Series #425, powered by Ellucian, & sponsored by the 2026 InsightsEDU Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, February 17-19,YOUR guest is Elder Gilbert, Commissioner of Education, Church Educational SystemYOUR host is Dr. Joe SallustioHow does a religious university system serve over 160,000 students across 5 institutions & offer a $7,500 bachelor's degree without perpetual subsidies?What happens when a teaching focused university grows from 10,000 to 40,000 students while inflation adjusted costs actually DECLINE (& why year round calendars change everything)?How does religious mission drive innovation rather than prevent it & why did 100% of successful disruptive innovations in 900 firms require structural separation from the mothership?Listen in to #EdUpThank YOU so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for YOUR time to EdUp!Connect with YOUR EdUp Team - Elvin Freytes & Dr. Joe Sallustio● Join YOUR EdUp community at The EdUp ExperienceWe make education YOUR business!P.S. Want to get early, ad-free access & exclusive leadership content to help support the show? Then subscribe today to lock in YOUR $5.99/m lifetime supporters rate! This offer ends December 31, 2025!

Nov 21, 2025 • 32min
Will Universal Design for Learning Save Higher Education? - with Dr. Melissa Beck Wells, Associate Professor, Director of Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development, Empire State University
It's YOUR time to #EdUpIn this episode, part of our Academic Integrity Series, sponsored by Integrity4EducationYOUR guest is Dr. Melissa Beck Wells, Associate Professor, Director of Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development, Empire State UniversityYOUR cohost is Thomas Fetsch, CEO, Integrity4EducationYOUR host is Elvin FreytesHow does Empire State University, a 98% online institution with 20,000 students ranging from age 19 to 89, use Universal Design for Learning to minimize barriers & reduce the temptation to cheat by offering multimodal content delivery, flexible assessment options, & 24/7 support including tutoring & even a virtual food pantry?Why does Melissa refuse to use AI tracker tools due to false positives, & how does Empire's required AI statement in every syllabus (allowing instructors to permit, prohibit, or require citation of AI) create transparency & support proactive conversations rather than punitive measures?How does Empire's approach of 200 plus hours of monthly professional development for faculty & focusing on removing unintentional barriers lead to authentic student engagement, & why does Melissa believe that when students feel supported & can demonstrate learning in ways meaningful to them, they're less likely to violate academic integrity?Listen in to #EdUpThank YOU so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for YOUR time to EdUp!Connect with YOUR EdUp Team - Elvin Freytes & Dr. Joe Sallustio● Join YOUR EdUp community at The EdUp ExperienceWe make education YOUR business!P.S. Want to get early, ad-free access & exclusive leadership content to help support the show? Then subscribe today to lock in YOUR $5.99/m lifetime supporters rate! This offer ends December 31, 2025!

Nov 20, 2025 • 39min
What Faculty Innovation Grants Reveal About the Future of AI in Education - w/ Patricia Salkin, Sr. VP-Academic Affairs, Provost-Graduate & Professional Divisions, & Professor of Law, Touro University
It's YOUR time to #EdUpIn this episode, part of our Academic Integrity Series, sponsored by Integrity4EducationYOUR guest is Patricia Salkin, Senior VP for Academic Affairs, Provost of the Graduate & Professional Divisions, & Professor of Law, Touro UniversityYOUR cohost is Thomas Fetsch, CEO, Integrity4EducationYOUR host is Elvin FreytesHow has Touro grown from a couple dozen students 53 years ago to 20,000 students across 7 states & 4 countries, & why does Patricia believe the vast majority of students & faculty act with integrity?What innovative approach is Touro taking by hiring an associate provost for AI, implementing faculty innovation grants to teach responsible AI use, & why does Patricia believe teaching students to fact check AI outputs & craft effective prompts is better than banning the technology?How does Touro's Academic Integrity Council function with officers from every program, what does their AI addendum allow (students may use AI unless faculty specify otherwise), & why does Patricia emphasize thorough investigations, informal resolutions when appropriate, & robust student support systems?Listen in to #EdUpThank YOU so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for YOUR time to EdUp!Connect with YOUR EdUp Team - Elvin Freytes & Dr. Joe Sallustio● Join YOUR EdUp community at The EdUp ExperienceWe make education YOUR business!P.S. Want to get early, ad-free access & exclusive leadership content to help support the show? Then subscribe today to lock in YOUR $5.99/m lifetime supporters rate! This offer ends December 31, 2025!


