The Key with Inside Higher Ed

Many colleges are seeing increases in reports of academic misconduct. In this episode, North Carolina State University’s Bradley Davis discusses a nearly three-fold increase in academic violations, what’s causing it, and how university officials are responding to it. And two national experts, David Rettinger and Kate McConnell, explore steps faculty members and administrators can take both to minimize cheating and to build a culture of academic integrity – with the goal of improving student learning at the same time.

Do professors believe their virtual teaching improved with more time to prepare? Did institutions step up their training and support for instructors? And did some students fare better than others in the online and blended classroom? This week’s episode explores those questions with Kristen Fox of Tyton Partners and Jessica Rowland Williams of Every Learner Everywhere – with answers both heartening and troubling. 

This episode features Doug Shapiro, executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, and Juana Sánchez, senior associate on the HCM Strategists postsecondary team. We analyze the national data on postsecondary enrollment, with a focus on the particularly damaging impact the pandemic and the recession have had on the most vulnerable students – those from underrepresented minority groups and low-income backgrounds, working learners and adults.

This episode looks back at 2020 and the podcast's eight months of discussions about the impact of the pandemic on higher education and vulnerable college students. Erin Hennessy, a vice president at TVP Communications, joined us to talk about what we learned during this unprecedented year. The episode also features portions of interviews from the previous 34 episodes, including discussions about the pivot to distance education, the difference between "toxic positivity" and trying to be hopeful, the enrollment hit felt to the industry (particularly community colleges) and how the pandemic exposed and exacerbated pre-existing problems in higher ed. Thanks for listening to The Key's inaugural season. Happy New Year.

This episode features leaders from Purdue Global University and Broward College in Florida, two institutions that are focused on offering credentials that work for under-served student groups, including students who hold down jobs while pursuing credentials. Gregory Adam Haile, Broward's president, talked about the college's work to add short-term credentials that are stackable and feature embedded professional certifications. He also talked about how the college travels into its community to help find students who may not be interested in pursuing a degree right now. We also spoke with Frank Dooley, chancellor of Purdue Global University, an online, public institution that enrolls roughly 36,000 students, 70 percent of whom are eligible to receive federal Pell Grants. Dooley talked about Purdue Global's philosophy on growth and how to be nimble to better meet the demands of students and employers. This episode is sponsored by TimelyMD, a telehealth provider whose mission is to improve the well-being of college students by making virtual medical and mental health care accessible anytime, anywhere. With immediate medical care, scheduled and on-demand counseling, psychiatry and health coaching services, TimelyMD partners with institutions to empower students to thrive in all aspects of their lives. Learn more at timely.md.

Many colleges and universities have partnered with ed tech companies to help expand their online offerings. This episode looks at two different approaches to partnering online. We spoke with Andrew Clark, the founder, president and CEO of Zovio, a publicly traded education technology services company that just closed on the sale of its online Ashford University to the University of Arizona. Clark talked about the partnership between Zovio and the new University of Arizona Global Campus as well as his take on emerging business models in online education. Also featured in this episode is Jill Buban, vice president of digital strategy and online education at Fairfield University. The private institution in Connecticut is looking to grow its online graduate and professional programs, and has added new online credentials and partnerships with intermediaries such as Guild. This episode is sponsored by TimelyMD, a telehealth provider whose mission is to improve the well-being of college students by making virtual medical and mental health care accessible anytime, anywhere. With immediate medical care, scheduled and on-demand counseling, psychiatry and health coaching services, TimelyMD partners with institutions to empower students to thrive in all aspects of their lives. Learn more at timely.md.

Many colleges and universities wrapped up their fall terms before Thanksgiving. We spoke with officials from two institutions -- Paul Quinn College and the University of Notre Dame -- about their efforts to protect the health and wellbeing of students this fall. Michael Sorrell, Paul Quinn's president, talked about how the work college sought to stay connected with students during an online term. He also described his take on how college leaders should look out for students' best interests. Christine Gebhardt, the University of Notre Dame's assistant vice president for student services, talked with us about how the university expanded the reach of its counseling and health services this fall. It was all hands on deck, she said. This episode is sponsored by TimelyMD, a telehealth provider whose mission is to improve the well-being of college students by making virtual medical and mental health care accessible anytime, anywhere. With immediate medical care, scheduled and on-demand counseling, psychiatry and health coaching services, TimelyMD partners with institutions to empower students to thrive in all aspects of their lives. Learn more at timely.md.

Joseph I. Castro, Fresno State's president, will become chancellor of the California State University System in January. The system is one of the nation's largest, enrolling roughly 500,000 students across 23 campuses. Castro talked about his top priorities as he steps into the new role, including to continue Cal State's push to improve student completion rates while cutting achievement gaps. He also discussed the need for state, federal and philanthropic investment to help Cal State students stay on track. Tim White, the system's current chancellor, joined us in May to discuss the system's early decision to stick with a largely online fall. Castro revisited that move and talked about how it may have contributed to record enrollment levels and improved student retention rates at Fresno State and across Cal State. Education drives economic mobility. Strategic Education, Inc. is dedicated to helping improve lives through education. Strategic Education’s institutions -- including Strayer and Capella Universities, the Jack Welch Management Institute, Hackbright Academy and Sophia Learning -- create innovative and relevant learning experiences that prepare our students for the workforce -- today and in the future. Learn more at strategiceducation.com.

This year has been filled with challenges for college athletics, as programs wrestle with safety protocols, COVID-19 outbreaks, game cancellations and the elimination of some team sports amid widespread financial pain. To help get a handle on where things stand -- and where they're headed -- we spoke with Amy Privette Perko, CEO of the Knight Commission, a nonprofit organization of college leaders focused on reforming athletics. Perko spoke about big-time college football's season so far, budget crises, revenue distribution and the commission's top priorities -- including changes to FBS football. This podcast is sponsored by Strategic Education, Inc. At Strategic Education, our mission is to help advance economic mobility for all. Strategic Education institutions -- including Strayer and Capella Universities, the Jack Welch Management Institute, Hackbright Academy and Sophia Learning -- innovate and infuse technology into higher education to provide a highly relevant and flexible education experience that results in economic mobility for working adults. Learn more at strategiceducation.com.

Some experts think competency-based learning could get a boost amid the pandemic, in part because of the flexibility CBE programs offer to students. To get the lay of the land, we spoke with Charla Long, executive director of the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN), a national consortium of colleges and systems. Long talked about the outlook for CBE and what might take it to the next level. We also spoke with Dick Senese, the president of Capella University. Senese described how Capella began focusing on competencies long ago and was among the first to offer direct assessment, which is untethered from the credit hour. This episode is sponsored by Capella University, a subsidiary of Strategic Education, Inc. Capella University’s online degree programs offer working adults the flexibility of a guided or self-paced learning model so learners can gain the relevant skills and qualifications they need to help advance in their jobs or to launch new careers. To learn more about our competency-based education, visit Capella University at https://www.capella.edu/capella-experience/competency-based-education/.