The Key with Inside Higher Ed

In this episode of The Key, we're diving deep into what’s happening on Capitol Hill and inside the White House—and how it’s all affecting higher ed. Joining Sara Custer, IHE's editor in chief, is news editor Katherine Knott to unpack everything: the funding cuts hitting Minority Serving Institutions, restrictive policies upending life for international students and scholars, the latest twists in negotiated rule making around student borrowing, and yes—that Compact for Excellence in Higher Education everyone's talking about. Thank you to the Gates Foundation for sponsoring this episode. 

This series of Voices of Student Success focuses on the use of generative artificial intelligence in higher education and how technology can support student success goals.   Upward transfer is viewed as a mechanism to provide college students with an accessible and affordable onramp to higher education through two-year colleges, but breakdowns in the credit transfer process can hinder progress toward a student’s degree.   A recent survey by Sova and the Beyond Transfer Policy Advisory Board found the average college student loses credits transferring between institutions and has to repeat courses they’ve already completed. Some students stop out of higher education altogether because transfer is too challenging.  CourseWise is a new tool that seeks to mitigate some of these challenges by deploying AI to identify and predict transfer equivalencies using existing articulation agreements between institutions. So far, the tool has been adopted at over 120 colleges and universities, helping to provide a centralized database for credit transfer processes and automate course matching.   In the most recent episode of Voices of Student Success, Joshua Pardos, an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley, discusses how CourseWise works, the human elements of credit transfer and the need for reliable data in transfer.   Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success reporter Ashley Mowreader, this episode is sponsored by Strada Education Foundation.   Read a transcript of the podcast here.

Beverly Daniel Tatum—two-time college president, New York Times bestselling author, and one of the country’s most influential voices on race and education – joins Inside Higher Ed’s editor in chief Sara Custer to discuss her latest book, College Leadership in Turbulent Times: Peril and Promise. Tatum shares lessons from her own leadership journey serving as president at Spelman College and serving as interim president at Mount Holyoke and dives into some of the biggest issues facing colleges today, from diversity equity and inclusion to politics and finances.   Thanks to the Gates Foundation for sponsoring this episode. 

This series of Voices of Student Success focuses on uses of generative artificial intelligence in higher education and how technology can support student success goals.   As generative AI tools become more common, a growing number of young people turn first to chatbots when they have questions. A survey by the Associated Press found that among AI users, 70 percent of young Americans use the tools to search for information.   For colleges and universities, this presents a new opportunity to reach students with curated, institution-specific resources via chatbots.   In the most recent episode of Voices of Student Success, Jeanette Powers, executive director of the student hub at Western New England University, discusses the university’s chatbot, Spirit, powered by EdSights, and how the technology helps staff intervene when students are in distress.   Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success reporter Ashley Mowreader, this episode is sponsored by Strada Education Foundation.   Read a transcript of the podcast here. 

For more than 20 years, StoryCorps has been documenting conversations between Americans and broadcasting them on public radio. In 2017, StoryCorps launched One Small Step, a new project that pairs strangers on opposing sides of the political divide for one-on-one conversations. The organization is now bringing its initiative to college campuses. Dave Isay, the founder of StoryCorps, speaks with Sara Custer, Inside Higher Ed’s editor in chief, about the power of conversation and how seeing the common humanity in everyone can help foster understanding and belonging among students.   Thanks to our partners The Gates Foundation for sponsoring this episode. 

Matt Bergman, a senior fellow at the Council on Post-Secondary Education, Dallas Kratzer, an expert in credit for prior learning, and Tracy Teater, an advocate for adult education, delve into the challenges and solutions around supporting military-affiliated learners in higher ed. They highlight the crucial role of translating military experiences into academic credits through credit for prior learning. The discussion also covers data's importance in improving educational outcomes and strategies for enhancing inclusivity in adult education environments.

In this discussion, Jenny Billings, an English department leader at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, shares her journey of embracing AI in education, highlighting its positive impact on student retention and confidence. Alongside her is Jenny Maxwell from Grammarly, who explores innovative AI tools that foster student engagement in writing. They delve into the importance of responsible AI use, the shift in student-faculty conversations, and how tools like Grammarly can enhance learning without compromising academic integrity.

Sean Armstrong, Dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, dives into the unique challenges faced by adult learners. He discusses how flexible education programs, including workforce-aligned credentials and community initiatives, empower these students. Armstrong emphasizes the importance of using positive language to uplift learners and highlights innovative options like prison education and career-focused tracks. The conversation also touches on coaching models that help overcome imposter syndrome and foster student success.

The ongoing uncertainty in the economy, the government demanding enormous sums from Ivy League institutions, research funding freezes and changes to the endowment tax mean that everyone has their mind on higher ed’s money and higher ed’s money on their mind. Kara Freeman, president and CEO of the National Association of College and University Business Officers joins Inside Higher Ed's editor in chief Sara Custer to share how NACUBO members are adapting their budgeting practices to respond to heightened unpredictability. Kara also explains how some colleges are diversifying revenue streams to meet the moment and discusses what she’s most concerned about when she looks at the federal policy landscape. Later in the episode, Dee Goines, the higher education lead at KI, joins Sara to discuss a new study that surveys the strategic and master plans of institutions in Texas, Arizona, New York and Florida.  Thanks to KI for sponsoring this episode. 

This series of Voices of Student Success focuses on adult learners in higher education, the various challenges they face and successful support mechanisms to aid their retention and completion.   Credit for prior learning (CPL) is one strategy colleges and states can employ to expedite adult learners’ progress toward degree and promote student success. Past research also shows that students’ who take advantage of f CPL opportunities have higher employment rates and increased earnings after graduation.  But administering CPL can be a challenge in part because of different departmental and academic disciplines’ understandings of and evaluation of prior experience.   In the most recent episode of Voices of Student Success, Colleen Sorensen, Utah Valley University’s director of CPL and student assessment services, discusses how her university is encouraging faculty and department heads to offer and promote CPL pathways.   Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader, this episode is sponsored by KI.   Read a transcript of the podcast here.