signals in higher ed

On this latest episode of Signals in Higher Ed, Phil Hill, founder of Phil Hill and Associates and publisher of On EdTech, joins Darin Francis, CEO of Harbinger Lane, to examine a hard truth facing higher education: AI did not create the crisis around academic integrity, assessment, and student learning. Instead, it is exposing weaknesses in a system that has increasingly prioritized credentials,...

In this episode of Signals in Higher Ed , Darin Francis sits down with Brandee Popaden-Smith, Senior Director in University College at Arizona State University, to explore a shift in how higher education thinks about student success: moving from time to completion to time to value. For Brandee, the question is no longer simply whether students eventually earn a degree, but whether they can recogni...

In this latest episode of Signals in Higher Ed , host Darin Francis, CEO of Harbinger Lane, sits down with Daryl Graham, Senior Vice President of HBCU and Engagement at Strada Education Foundation, to examine what higher education can learn from historically Black colleges and universities about student success, belonging, leadership development, and career preparation. Graham shares the story beh...

Innovation in EdTech is increasingly coming from focused, nimble companies rather than the industry’s largest incumbents. In this episode of Signals in Higher Ed , Harbinger Lane CEO Darin Francis sits down with Mark Miller, Managing Partner at Good Harbor Partners, to explore why smaller education companies are often better positioned to identify specific problems, work closely with institutions,...

Morgan State University has launched Maryland’s first Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence at a public university, and it did so on a timeline that would be nearly unthinkable for most new academic programs. In this episode of Signals in Higher Ed , host Darren Francis speaks with Dr. Paul Wang, Chair of Computer Science at Morgan State University, about how years of quietly transforming...

What if the most valuable curriculum for working adults already exists inside the organizations where they work? In this episode of Signals in Higher Ed , Darin Francis sits down with Andrew Salmon, co-founder of Intangled Learning, to explore the idea of work generated learning, an approach that treats the practices, decisions, relationships, and challenges inside an organization as the foundatio...

Higher education is under growing pressure to prove that a degree translates into meaningful career outcomes. Micro-credentials may be one way institutions can close that gap, but scaling them across entire university systems requires much more than simply giving students access to another online course. In this episode of Signals in Higher Ed , Darin Francis sits down with Dr. Kelvin Bentley, Dir...

As artificial intelligence becomes more accessible across higher education, Dr. Ngoc Cindy Pham argues that access alone should not be the goal. The more important question is whether students know how to use AI to solve real problems, exercise judgment, defend their decisions, and translate new technology into professional opportunities. In this episode of Signals in Higher Ed , Darin Francis spe...

The first year of college matters, but the experiences that shape student success extend far beyond a single academic year. In this panel discussion, host Darin Francis is joined by Brandee Popaden-Smith of ASU University College, Dr. T. Chase Hagood of the University of Utah, and Dr. Nicole Crevar of Podium Education to explore how institutions can create stronger pathways from students’ earliest...

For years, the decision to launch a new online program rested largely on instinct and institutional appetite. But as competition intensifies and budgets tighten, universities can no longer afford to guess. The programs that succeed are increasingly the ones backed by rigorous market analysis, conservative enrollment modeling, and a clear-eyed view of the costs involved. So when a department wants...

As artificial intelligence continues reshaping the workforce, higher education faces growing pressure to demonstrate its value beyond content mastery. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, employers expect 39% of workers’ core skills to change or become outdated by 2030, while 69% identify analytical thinking as the most essential workforce skill. As a result, employers ar...

Engineering has transformed nearly every part of modern life, from the phones in our pockets to the systems powering global industry. But the way engineers are educated has often moved far more slowly than the profession itself. Employers are asking for graduates who can navigate ambiguity, communicate across teams, and contribute meaningfully from the start. At the same time, AI is making it hard...

What students need from higher education is becoming harder to pin down than it once was. As higher education faces mounting pressure—from student disengagement to the rapid rise of artificial intelligence—institutions are being forced to rethink not just what students learn, but who they become. New research and industry signals suggest that technical knowledge alone is no longer enough; employer...

The traditional pathway from college to career is starting to break down—and both universities and employers are feeling the strain. Higher education is under mounting pressure to prove career outcomes as employers question graduate readiness and internships decline. In fact, many institutions are reporting shrinking internship pipelines even as employers continue to prioritize prior experience—cr...

Student disengagement, the rapid rise of AI, and shifting workforce expectations are pushing higher education to rethink how it prepares graduates. Engineering programs—long defined by rigor and technical depth—are now under pressure to stay relevant, improve retention, and produce graduates who can actually solve real-world problems, not just theoretical ones. And the numbers back that up: engine...

Skills-based learning has moved from buzzword to mandate as colleges face mounting pressure to connect credentials, employability, and measurable learner outcomes. Employers are increasingly using skills-based hiring practices, and NACE’s Job Outlook 2026 notes that students need to demonstrate concrete examples of skills in action during hiring processes. At the same time, higher education leader...

Higher education is under mounting pressure to prove its value. As student debt, shifting demographics, and employer expectations reshape the landscape, institutions are being forced to rethink how they prepare students for life after graduation. At the same time, new data shows a sharp rise in internship-to-full-time hiring, with recent cohorts converting at their highest rate in years—underscori...

The ground is shifting under higher education. AI is changing how people learn almost overnight—and at the same time, more than half of graduates are underemployed after finishing their degrees. That’s forcing a more uncomfortable question into the open: what is a college credential really worth today? As employers and governments shift their focus toward skills, experience, and job readiness, ins...

Hospitals across the country are feeling the strain—too many open roles, not enough trained professionals, and a growing gap between what students learn and what the job actually demands on day one. Training is getting more expensive , timelines are stretching, and healthcare leaders are being forced to rethink how new clinicians enter the field. Add in rapid changes like AI and increasingly compl...

Experiential learning has shifted from a differentiator to an expectation in higher education, especially as employers place more value on job-ready graduates who can adapt quickly to changing workplace demands. At the same time, AI is reshaping entry-level work, making durable skills like judgment, communication, and adaptability more important than routine task execution. In that environment, co...

The narrative around early-career work has become increasingly pessimistic, with headlines pointing to a shrinking pool of entry-level roles, fewer internship opportunities, and AI accelerating both trends. But beneath that narrative, a different tension is emerging—one that’s less about the disappearance of opportunity and more about how it’s being reshaped. Students are using AI to move faster,...

Teacher shortages aren’t exactly a new headline—but lately, they’ve started to feel a lot more urgent. In some places, schools have gone years without enough fully trained teachers in the classroom, exposing real flaws in how we prepare and retain educators. Add in the rising cost of becoming a teacher and training models that haven’t kept pace with the realities of the job, and it’s no surprise t...

Across the U.S., the conversation about the value of a college degree is increasingly tied to one central question: Does higher education actually prepare students for the workforce? As artificial intelligence reshapes how work gets done and employers rethink the skills they need, universities are under growing pressure to ensure graduates leave not just with knowledge, but with practical experien...

Higher education is under pressure. Over the past few years, public confidence in the value of a four-year degree has declined significantly, with fewer Americans expressing a strong belief that traditional higher education delivers a worthwhile return on investment. At the same time, employers consistently report that graduates lack job-ready skills—particularly the “durable skills” needed to thr...

Higher education is at an inflection point. Institutions are facing a demographic cliff in traditional-age enrollment, softening international pipelines, and increasing scrutiny around the return on investment of a degree. At the same time, the World Economic Forum reports that 59 out of every 100 workers globally are projected to require reskilling or upskilling by 2030 to meet changing skills de...