Advertise on podcast: MindMaxing: Conversations on Higher Ed

As Associate Vice Provost for the Division of Professional and Continuing Studies at the University of Delaware, George Irvine, PhD, is keenly aware that students today ask themselves, "Why do I need to go to college?" Traditional pathways to higher education are expensive and time-consuming, and even employers are beginning to question the value of a four-year degree.  In the latest episode of our MindMaxing Podcast series, "Adolescence to Adulthood," Dr. Irvine notes that a more affordable and flexible education model is needed. The pandemic provided a catalyst for change.  According to Dr. Irvine, university leaders are starting to discuss "alternative credentials, stackable badges, digital badges, certificates, and the like. All this nomenclature is basically saying, 'You don't need a four-year period of time. You can make [higher education] shorter, accessible, stackable, and digital.'"

As Research Professor and Director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, Dr. Anthony Carnevale knows the journey adolescents take to adulthood has changed drastically over the last 40 years.  Decades ago, a high school education was enough to help a young adult land a job with a living wage. Today, college—if not a secondary degree—is a requirement.  In a new episode of our MindMaxing podcast series, “Adolescence to Adulthood,” Dr. Carnevale outlines the political, economic, and social shifts that have made obtaining a college education a necessity—and a challenge—for many students, especially those from lower-income families.  He warns, “We’re getting better and better at education and connecting it to labor markets, but it’s being done for the most advantaged kids.” Listen to this fascinating and insightful episode. 

Rick Dalton, CEO and President of CFES Brilliant Pathways, is committed to helping students overcome obstacles, access educational opportunities, and achieve success in their lives.    While today’s higher education landscape is complex and changing rapidly, Rick notes that students can still take control of their academic destinies.    In the second episode of our MindMaxing podcast series, Adolescence to Adulthood, Rick outlines three crucial steps for ambitious students. His advice is clear: “Get a mentor, think about developing essential skills, and think also about pathways and what it’s going to take to move down your pathway.” 

Andy Chan, VP of Innovation and Career Development at Wake Forest University, knows that being a student in 2022 is a uniquely complicated experience. There are more educational and professional options than ever before. There's also immense societal and cultural pressure to pick the perfect path and flawlessly transition from high school to college to a career.   In episode 19 of MindMaxing—the first in the podcast’s second season—Andy urges students to consider education not as a means to an end but as a way to foster the desire to learn and grow over one's lifetime. He says the advice educators, mentors, and parents should give students "is not 'follow your passions'—it's 'follow your interests to discover your passions.'"

Harvard Kennedy School Senior Associate Dean for Executive Education Debra Iles believes that the pandemic has “created the opportunity for us to think differently, to embrace some things that we were perhaps postponing.” Debra and I met virtually for episode 18 of MindMaxing, the final episode in the podcast’s first season, where she reflected on the unique perspective she and her colleagues had throughout the pandemic. Listen to the full episode wherever you find your podcasts or watch it above.

Harvard University Dean of Division of Continuing Education and University Extension Nancy Coleman, Ed.D., believes creating space for reflection is important, especially in higher education. “If we're truly going to figure out ‘how do we create value for our students?’ … there needs to be some thinking in that. And I found one of the best ways to do that is through connection with my peers, whether it be through UPCEA, or other associations, or other meetings,” Nancy said during our conversation for episode 17 of MindMaxing, our second to last episode of our first season. Listen to the full episode wherever you find your podcasts or watch it above via YouTube.

Excelsior College Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs John Caron can see a difference in how colleges and universities are networking since the start of the pandemic. One of the things that Excelsior is doing that John finds interesting is exploring partnership opportunities with other schools, exploring pathways from their non-credit courses and certificates to an Excelsior degree program. “There's an openness maybe as a result of this experience we all went through in 2020 to collaborate and to partner rather than compete with each other,” John said in episode 16 of MindMaxing. Listen to the full episode wherever you find your podcasts or watch it above to hear John’s thoughts on growth opportunities in the face of COVID-19. 

Southern Methodist University Managing Director of Global, Online, and Continuing Education Kim Rutigliano is hopeful that the positive shifts colleges and universities went through to make classes accessible due to the pandemic will continue to bring about positive change in the future. “I think, at its best, if we continue on this trajectory, the place that we're leading to is to address issues of access and equity to widen the net of who can attend a college,” Kim said in episode 15 of MindMaxing. Listen to the full episode for her take on what other lessons were learned in the last year.

Stony Brook University Associate Vice President for Professional Education and Assistant Provost for Engaged Learning Patricia Malone joined us for an episode of MindMaxing where she discussed the ways Stony Brook adjusted to COVID-19. From pulling together an army of experts who, virtually overnight, launched dozens of workshops for K-12 teachers to learn best practices in teaching remotely, to developing support systems for students and faculty, Stony Brook worked to support large communities across its campus and the globe as we all adjusted to our new normal. Listen to the full episode above or wherever you get your podcasts.

Before her retirement earlier this year, former Brown University Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Dean of the School of Professional Studies Karen Sibley joined MindMax CEO Lee Maxey for episode 13 of MindMaxing. Karen dove into topics like the “crash course” that faculty had to go through to learn the pedagogy for teaching online courses, and her outlook for higher education in the future. She believes that in the next six months, institutions will move away from the idea that there is only one way to do things and that “there will be an embracing of technology in order to do more and serve more effectively in the educational setting.” 

Unity College President Melik Peter Khoury, D.B.A., expects to see significant changes in higher education post-pandemic in the forms of more closures, more mergers, and more overall transformations. “We at Unity College are trying to transform our model to be one that does not talk about innovation, but one that innovates, to design pedagogy and curriculum and pricing specifically for each different type of student, instead of a one-size-fits-all,” Melik said. “That's the exciting thing about the future, is we don't know [how] it's going to end up.” Listen to MindMax CEO Lee Maxey’s conversation with Melik in episode 12 of MindMaxing wherever you find your podcasts.

After examining the way Southern Methodist University adapted to the pandemic, Assistant Provost for Global, Online, and Continuing Education Michael Robertson believes a willingness to do two tough things will ensure continued growth in higher education in the long run.  “We have to be willing to fail and we have to be willing to be uncomfortable at times, that's just the nature of change,” Michael said during our conversation in episode 11 of MindMaxing, which puts a spotlight on leadership in higher education.