The Key with Inside Higher Ed

Ep. 42: Making Room for Adult Students

Adult students are key to meeting the postsecondary attainment goals in many states and the U.S., given the projected enrollment declines in traditional college-age Americans. Yet adults remain underrepresented in higher education, and they’ve been disproportionately hurt by the pandemic and ensuring recession.

 

This episode of The Key explores the landscape of current and prospective adult learners, examining why they often struggle to find their way to and through college, the institutional practices and government policies that can hamper them, and possible approaches to eliminating those obstacles.  We talk with Su Jin Jez, executive director of California Competes, whose recent report looks at the state’s nearly 7 million adults who could be “prospective graduates,” and provide a national perspective from Lisa Soricone, senior research director at Jobs for the Future.

 

Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman

Ep. 41: The Pandemic’s Impact on Open Educational Resources (OER)

Use of free, openly licensed textbooks and other curricular materials have been on the rise amid growing concerns about college affordability. But uptake stalled last year as professors and students struggled with the transition to digital learning and the tumult of their lives, a new annual report on usage of OER finds.

This week’s episode of The Key examines the state of open educational resources and other affordable textbook options with Jeff Seaman, co-director of Bay View Analytics and the author of the OER report; Robbie Melton, a professor of educational administration at Tennessee State University and an advocate for OER use at historically black colleges; and Jorgo Gushi, a student at Quinsigamond Community College in Massachusetts. A key question: will the widespread shift to virtual learning and continued pressure on colleges to improve affordability and access for underrepresented students create opportunity for OER – or strengthen the hand of low-cost alternatives from publishers?

Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman

Ep. 40: Higher Ed’s New Digital Divide

Inequality in digital access is not a new problem in higher education – but COVID-19 has spotlighted just how much some students struggle to stay connected to their colleges and universities because they lack adequate technology, sufficient internet access or safe, quiet places to study. This week’s episode of The Key delves into topics such as digital inequity, broadband access for online education, and digital literacy with Lindsay McKenzie, Inside Higher Ed’s technology reporter and author of our new report, “Bridging the Digital Divide: Lessons from COVID-19;” Lori Williams, president and CEO of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements; and Reggie Smith III, CEO of the U.S. Distance Learning Association. Plus we hear from a university student about her experiences staying connected during COVID.

Ep. 39: Introducing "Student Voice"

This episode explores Inside Higher Ed's news hub featuring student polling data, news and analysis to ensure that the perspective of college students is heard on the issues that matter in higher education.

Student Voice's editor, Melissa Ezarik, discusses the goals of the new collaboration between Inside Higher Ed, College Pulse and Kaplan, and shares the findings of the first survey, which examines whether students feel "heard" in their classrooms and on their campuses. And Matthew To, a senior at Cal Poly Pomona, shares his thought on how campuses can create environments that not only invite students to speak out but make them feel listened to.

Ep. 38: Combatting Cheating in the COVID Era

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.

Ep. 37: Assessing Last Fall’s Instruction, From the Faculty Perspective

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. 

Ep. 36: The Fall Enrollment Picture and Peril for Post-Traditional Students

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.

Ep. 35: The Year in Review

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.

Ep. 34: Serving Working Students With Innovation and Agility

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.

Ep. 33: Expanding Online Through Partnerships

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.