The EdUp Experience

Welcome back to America's leading higher education podcast! In this incredible episode of The EdUp Experience, sponsored by MDT Marketing, we are honored to bring Melissa Loble, Chief Customer Experience Officer at Instructure! Melissa brings in the critical perspective of the changing student buying habits during the pandemic, which should continue post-pandemic.  She defines that the "customer" for Instructure is the institution, the faculty, the staff, and the students.  She discusses how to balance clashing user needs, which includes prioritizing what is built for Canvas based on what's happening in the world around us.  The student first shift has resulted in a concurrent user increase of approximately 4M during 2020.  Institutions of higher education need to deliver on their expectations, there is much less tolerance for outdated and clunky technology - and Melissa predicts that online learning will see more robust synchronous pieces moving forward.   Melissa leads Instructure’s customer success, services, and partnership organizations. She’s a champion for crucial customer-focused topics like data usage and privacy—and it’s her personal mission to drive innovation in our customer experience and enable customers to leverage our solutions in engaging and effective learning environments. Melissa has spent 20 years in educational technology working for a number of technology suppliers and educational institutions, as well as teaching leadership courses on managing technology for educational change. She has a master’s degree in educational policy from Teachers College, Columbia University and an MBA from Columbia Business School. Another episode sponsored by our great friends at MDT Marketing! Get your free marketing consultation today! mdtmarketing.com/edup Thanks so much for tuning in. Join us again next time for another episode!  Contact Us! Connect with the hosts - Elvin Freytes, Elizabeth Leiba, and Dr. Joe Sallustio ● If you want to get involved, leave us a comment or rate us! ● Join the EdUp community at The EdUp Experience! ● Follow us on Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube Thanks for listening!

Welcome back to America’s leading higher education podcast! This is The EdUp Experience President Series Episode #75.  In this episode, sponsored by MDT Marketing, we welcome Dr. Kenya Ayers-Palmore, President, Tarrant County College!  Keyna talks about literally changing the life trajectory for students and their families in one of the largest community college systems in the country.  She discusses paying attention to and scaling the opportunity for women of color to ascend to greater roles in higher ed.  Kenya also talks about the value of higher education and, specifically, the economic impact of community colleges and their impact on the national stage.  She also talks about what higher ed can learn from Carvana - you don't want to miss this! Prior to assuming the presidency with TCC, Dr. Ayers served for three years as Vice President and Chair of the Board for the Northwest Educational Council for Student Success (NECSS).  NECSS is a partnership organization which unifies William Rainey Harper College and its three feeder school districts (D211, D214 and D220) in Chicago’s northwest suburbs. As chief executive officer of NECSS, Ayers helmed many cutting edge initiatives that were instrumental in Harper’s accomplishments in the area of student success for the K-14 pipeline.  Harper College is winner of the 2016 Leah Meyer Austin Award and a 2017 Aspen Prize eligible institution. Ayers has managed multi-million dollar budgetary resources and has led multiple institutional initiatives responsible for forward momentum and sustainable transformation. Ayers was featured on the cover of the June/July 2016 edition of the Community College Journal in an article, “The Mentorship of Kenya Ayers.” Another episode sponsored by our great friends at MDT Marketing! Get your free marketing consultation today! mdtmarketing.com/edup Thanks so much for tuning in. Join us again next time for another episode!  Contact Us! Connect with the hosts - Elvin Freytes, Elizabeth Leiba, and Dr. Joe Sallustio ● If you want to get involved, leave us a comment or rate us! ● Join the EdUp community at The EdUp Experience! ● Follow us on Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube Thanks for listening!

Welcome back to America’s leading higher education podcast! This is The EdUp Experience President Series Episode #74.  In this episode, sponsored by MDT Marketing, we welcome Akiba Covitz, CEO of Foundry College.  We round out our coverage of the amazing work at Foundry College by talking with Akiba about Foundry's charge toward national accreditation via DEAC and potential approval of an accredited associate degree in business administration.  With a commitment to online synchronous learning, students (aka consumers) leave Foundry with something explicit - job-ready skills that can earn them at least a starting salary of $50,000.  It's then the student's choice whether to select out or continue stacking skills or degrees - an empowered student, a student in control of their future.   Dr. Akiba J. Covitz has led business development processes at numerous Ed-Tech companies, including serving as founding Vice President for University Relations at edX. Akiba started his career as a tenure-track professor, and his academic career culminated with his appointment as Associate Dean for Faculty Development and a member of the faculty at Harvard Law School. At Harvard, under the leadership of now United States Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, Akiba oversaw the extraordinary expansion and diversification of the HLS faculty, after a long period of stagnant growth. Another episode sponsored by our great friends at MDT Marketing! Get your free marketing consultation today! mdtmarketing.com/edup Thanks so much for tuning in. Join us again next time for another episode!  Contact Us! Connect with the hosts - Elvin Freytes, Elizabeth Leiba, and Dr. Joe Sallustio ● If you want to get involved, leave us a comment or rate us! ● Join the EdUp community at The EdUp Experience! ● Follow us on Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube Thanks for listening! We make education your business!

Welcome back to America’s leading higher education podcast! In this BONUS episode, sponsored by Claremont Lincoln University, we welcome Danielle Shelton, Founder, LitWorks4u! Danielle talks about: 1. Connecting with the Struggling Student 2. Reaching At Risk Students 3. How to Get Your Online Classroom Rocking Follow her on Instagram at LitWorks4u and listen to her Tips and Tricks for Online Instructors podcast, part of The EdUp Experience Network! Thanks so much for tuning in. Join us again next time for another episode!  Contact Us! Connect with the hosts - Elvin Freytes, Elizabeth Leiba, and Dr. Joe Sallustio ● If you want to get involved, leave us a comment or rate us! ● Join the EdUp community at The EdUp Experience! ● Follow us on Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube Thanks for listening! We make education your business!

Welcome back to America’s leading higher education podcast! In this episode, sponsored by Claremont Lincoln University, we welcome Tara Eames Durante, President, Caerus Communications. Listen in as Tara talks about why she believes 2021 might be the most competitive yield season in the history of higher education.  Tara is an award-winning marketing communications professional with twenty years of experience. She worked on projects for higher education institutions, independent schools, distribution and logistics corporations, tech firms, executive coaching consultants, and nonprofit organizations. She founded Caerus in 2019 to expand my portfolio’s range of projects and clients. But her story starts in the 1970s and 80s, when her father would bring her to work with him at a Philadelphia ad agency, and talk shop most nights across the kitchen table. Thanks so much for tuning in. Join us again next time for another episode!  Contact Us! Connect with the hosts - Elvin Freytes, Elizabeth Leiba, and Dr. Joe Sallustio ● If you want to get involved, leave us a comment or rate us! ● Join the EdUp community at The EdUp Experience! ● Follow us on Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube Thanks for listening! We make education your business!

Welcome back to America’s leading higher education podcast! This is The EdUp Experience President Series Episode #73. In this episode, sponsored by MDT Marketing, we welcome Dr. Jermaine Whirl, President of Augusta Technical College.  Guest hosts Holly Owens and Dr. Stacey Gonzales lead the discussion where Jermaine discusses the value of technical and community colleges to their region, but specifically, about creating seamless pathways for students to move to a job or to their next degree without barriers.  Jermaine talks about how technical colleges play a role in recruiting businesses in the region - for him, in particular, it's between 10-30 meetings a year to meet with business leaders as a part of workforce packages. Opportunity for education, and opportunity for job!  Dr. Jermaine Whirl is the 5th president of Augusta Technical College (ATC), a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia. The college is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC) and offers programs on four campuses: Augusta, Grovetown, Thomson/McDuffie, and Waynesboro. Dr. Whirl is a student-success-oriented, collaborative, innovative, engaged, and passionate leader who simply desires to see students succeed, colleagues develop, and local and regional economies grow. Another episode sponsored by our great friends at MDT Marketing! Get your free marketing consultation today! mdtmarketing.com/edup Thanks so much for tuning in. Join us again next time for another episode!  Contact Us! Connect with the hosts - Elvin Freytes, Elizabeth Leiba, and Dr. Joe Sallustio ● If you want to get involved, leave us a comment or rate us! ● Join the EdUp community at The EdUp Experience! ● Follow us on Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube Thanks for listening! We make education your business!

Welcome back to America's leading higher education podcast! In this incredible episode of The EdUp Experience, sponsored by MDT Marketing, we are honored to bring Dr. Francisco Marmolejo, President of Higher Education with The Qatar Foundation, to talk about education. Francisco drops serious knowledge about the necessity of a Universal Skills Passport to help both students and employers understand the relevance of a student's education to the job market.  He also highlights Education City in Qatar, which is a landmass with nine institutions teaching students from across the globe.  The Qatar Foundation is an ecosystem of more than fifty organizations facilitating the unlocking of human potential.  Francisco talks about why the accident of geography should not affect one's future educational possibilities.  Finally, he discusses why quality is NOT a synonym for elitism. Francisco Marmolejo is President of Higher Education at Qatar Foundation (QF), where he leads support and coordination activities to the unique ecosystem of eight prestigious universities that offer more than 70 undergraduate and graduate programs to students from 60 countries at QF’s Education City, the largest campus of its kind globally, based in Doha, Qatar.  He joined QF in February 2020 as the organization’s Education Advisor. From 2012 to 2020, he worked at the World Bank, where he served as the Global Head of the Bank’s Solutions Group on Higher Education, based in Washington, D.C., and, more recently, as Lead Higher Education Specialist for India and South Asia, based in New Delhi.  Another episode sponsored by our great friends at MDT Marketing! Get your free marketing consultation today! mdtmarketing.com/edup Thanks so much for tuning in. Join us again next time for another episode!  Contact Us! Connect with the hosts - Elvin Freytes, Elizabeth Leiba, and Dr. Joe Sallustio ● If you want to get involved, leave us a comment or rate us! ● Join the EdUp community at The EdUp Experience! ● Follow us on Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube Thanks for listening! We make education your business!

Welcome back to America's leading higher education podcast! In this incredible episode of The EdUp Experience, sponsored by MDT Marketing, we welcome, we welcome KarenGross, Senior Counsel, Finn Partners.  Karen is an expert in student trauma and she discusses the layers of trauma experienced during the last year-plus of health, social, financial, and educational disruptions.  She advocates for the "need for processing" - which can include Care Rooms for teachers and pop up courses for students to learn about their trauma and what caused trauma.  Liz and guest host Loki Mulholland host of The Uncomfortable Truth podcast, which is a part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network, ask critical questions about how trauma affects students today, don't miss it. Karen is a former education policy advisor in the Obama administration, a trauma educator and author of books for adults and children. More about Karen can be found at www.karengrosseducation.com. She speaks, advises and consults on trauma and its impact, student success, improving educational leadership and handling educational crises. Her latest adult book is Trauma Doesn’t Stop at the School Door: Strategies and Solutions for Educators PreK - College (Columbia Teachers College Press June 2020). It follows her earlier award-winning adult book: Breakaway Learners, also published by Teachers College Press (also TCPress). Another episode sponsored by our great friends at MDT Marketing! Get your free marketing consultation today! mdtmarketing.com/edup Thanks so much for tuning in. Join us again next time for another episode!  Contact Us! Connect with the hosts - Elvin Freytes, Elizabeth Leiba, and Dr. Joe Sallustio ● If you want to get involved, leave us a comment or rate us! ● Join the EdUp community at The EdUp Experience! ● Follow us on Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube Thanks for listening! We make education your business!

Welcome back to America's leading higher education podcast! In this incredible episode of The EdUp Experience, sponsored by MDT Marketing, we welcome Patrick Methvin, Director of Postsecondary Success at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Patrick joins us again to talk all things related to the timely and influential Postsecondary Value Commission Report!  Patrick Methvin, director of Postsecondary Success in the United States Program, oversees work designed to significantly increase the number of Americans achieving a post-high school credential and eliminate educational attainment disparities by race and income.  Previously, Patrick served as deputy director for the Postsecondary Success strategy, focusing on the adoption and scaling of innovations associated with improving student success and institutional sustainability. Prior to joining the foundation in 2013, Patrick served as a principal in the Boston Consulting Group’s Social Impact and Consumer Goods Practice Areas. Another episode sponsored by our great friends at MDT Marketing! Get your free marketing consultation today! mdtmarketing.com/edup Thanks so much for tuning in. Join us again next time for another episode!  Contact Us! Connect with the hosts - Elvin Freytes, Elizabeth Leiba, and Dr. Joe Sallustio ● If you want to get involved, leave us a comment or rate us! ● Join the EdUp community at The EdUp Experience! ● Follow us on Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube Thanks for listening! We make education your business!

Welcome back to America's leading higher education podcast! In this incredible episode of The EdUp Experience, sponsored by The Evolllution, we welcome Ken Knueven, Senior Project Officer, Higher Education Innovation, Charles Koch Foundation. Ken comes back for his second visit and talks with Joe and Liz about his new work at the Foundation. He also talks about how education and technology will impact investing, how the metaverse will be the new iteration of the internet, and how online education is the present and future. Listen in to another fantastic episode with Ken!  Ken Knueven has been instrumental in the development, growth, and leadership of transformative organizations for over twenty-five years. He has extensive experience in Higher Education as well as the Fortune 500, Public Sector and Nonprofit organizations. A successful technology executive, Ken has consistently been at the forefront of industry leading innovations and initiatives. Presently, Ken leads engagements with college and university boards and their leadership teams involving their student acquisition, retention and success strategies. Through inclusive problem-solving sessions, he assists institutions in identifying and achieving outcomes that drive their future success and prosperity. Thanks so much for tuning in. Join us again next time for another episode!  Contact Us! Connect with the hosts - Elvin Freytes, Elizabeth Leiba, and Dr. Joe Sallustio ● If you want to get involved, leave us a comment or rate us! ● Join the EdUp community at The EdUp Experience! ● Follow us on Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube Thanks for listening! We make education your business!