Future U Podcast - The Pulse of Higher Ed

In a discussion with George Mason University president Dr. Gregory Washington, Jeff and Michael delve into a few ways to get to and through college: programs that allow students to more seamlessly move from community college to four-year college programs, the difficulties faced by transfer students, and the importance of presidential leadership to improve the situation. This episode is made possib...

At the recent National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) annual meeting, Debra Wilson, the incoming president of the NAIS, flips the script and interviews Jeff and Michael about key takeaways from the pandemic for schools and higher education, how mental health plays into students’ transition to college, and how colleges can encourage more students to enter the teaching profession. This ep...

It’s often a forgone conclusion that you should not only go to a four-year college, but also that the better the university’s ranking, the better you’ll do in life. On this episode, Jeff and Michael dig into the data behind these assumptions. Might the U.S. News and World Report college rankings even disappear? And do you still need to invest in a four-year degree in order to excel professionally...

With Florida politics and the current governor’s recent moves in higher ed attracting so much attention, we caught up with former Florida Governor Jeb Bush to add context to the current debates. Bush reflected on his own experiences, successes, and regrets when it comes to the higher ed policies he championed. This episode is made possible with support from Ascendium Education Group, the Bill & Me...

As Chat GPT and other AI tools have garnered immense interest in the last few months, people have begun to wonder how these tools will impact higher ed: Will it represent the end of writing? Will we see a rampant rise in cheating? Or maybe these tools herald a new age of an improved quality of student work? Jeff and Michael pose these questions and more to computer science experts Charles Isbell o...

The role of Online Program Managers (OPMs) in the recruitment of students for online university programs has been a controversial issue, and one that is still up for debate. Michael and Jeff delve into OPMs, as well the federal government’s guidance on third party services, like OPMs, over the last few administrations. Relevant Links What's the OPM Episode? The Credential Cluster

The digital economy has been driving job growth across the country for much of the last decade-plus. But nearly all of those jobs, no matter the industry, were created in major metropolitan areas. Michael and Jeff look at how one town and one university in Ohio can serve as a national blueprint for growing the rural economy. This episode made possible with support from Ascendium Education Group. L...

As the Supreme Court prepares to rule on affirmative action yet again, the president of James Madison University, who played a key role as a lawyer in the University of Michigan's Supreme Court cases 20 years earlier, joins the show to offer historical perspective and an explanation of how the Court's decision could impact far more than just higher education admissions. This episode is made possib...

New CDC data show that more than half of teenaged girls in the U.S. felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021, but it's not just girls who are struggling. Lisa Damour, author of The Emotional Lives of Teenagers, breaks down the struggles of teenagers and the implications for colleges and universities from admissions to graduation and beyond. This episode is made possible with support from Ascendiu...

The pandemic didn’t bring the wave of mergers and acquisitions that many in higher ed expected. Michael and Jeff talk with the head of Northeastern U’s M&A committee and an expert on M&A in health care and education about what’s next. This episode is made possible with support from Ascendium Education Group, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Course Hero. Listen to the March 2022 Future U ep...

Historically, rapid technological change sidelines unskilled or under-skilled workers.  Michael and Jeff talk to the leaders of Merit America and the Marcy Lab School, two institutions providing an on-ramp to working adults who either never enrolled or dropped out of college. This episode is made possible with support from Ascendium Education Group. View More episodes on our website: www. FutureUP...

Back by popular demand: Reporters' Roundtable. Pam Kelley on how a motivational speaker and businessman turned around High Point University; Emma Pettit on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's efforts to overhaul higher ed; and Paul Fain on the future of the bachelor degree. This episode made possible with sponsorship from Ascendium Education Group, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Course Hero.  Re...

A record 50.5 million Americans quit their jobs in 2022. Most left for offers of higher pay or the ability to work remotely. Higher Ed isn’t immune. Michael and Jeff talk with a former university human resource officer and a professor who studies how colleges manage their talent. This episode is made possible with sponsorship from Course Hero and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Relevant Links...

Three years after the start of the pandemic, professors still report a disconcerting level of disconnection among students even as campuses return to “normal.” Michael and Jeff talk with MIT's former head of digital learning initiatives about what the science tells us on how to reach and teach students. This episode made possible with sponsorship from Course Hero. Relevant Links https://openlearni...

We have come to accept there is no cure for rising costs in higher ed, so we treat the symptoms with measures like loan forgiveness. What are the root causes and what to do about them? Michael and Jeff ask two veterans of the college cost debate on this episode, made possible with support from Ascendium Education Group and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.   

Some 1.5 million people are in state and federal prisons in the United States, but for more than two decades they haven’t been eligible for federal Pell Grants. That’s about to change on July 1, 2023, offering an opportunity for incarcerated people and colleges alike. Michael and Jeff talk with a scholar in prison education and a formerly incarcerated student who went on to earn his degree about p...

Elite law schools are ditching the U.S. News rankings but what does it mean for the undergrad rankings? Also, Georgetown is making a bet on an online undergrad degree with Coursera. Plus, Michael asks about Jeff's piece for New York Magazine on the SATs. Send us your questions!    This episode made possible with support from Course Hero, Ascendium Education Group, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foun...

About 91% of colleges understate or don't include the net price in their financial-aid offers to would-be students, the U.S. Government Accountability Office has found in a new report. We go into the archives for a 2019 episode when Rachel Fishman from New America joined us to discuss her research. With support from Ascendium Education Group and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Relevant Links:...

On the latest stop of Future U.'s campus tour, hosts Michael Horn and Jeff Selingo visit Bowie State University to speak with President Aminta Breaux, as well as faculty and administrators at the Maryland institution about increased enrollment at HBCUs, partnerships with employers, and student engagement. With support from Salesforce.org.

In a special episode recorded at The Chronicle of Higher Education Festival, Jeff Selingo and guest co-host Bridget Burns talk with three students about what has worked (and what hasn't) in their college experiences. With support from Ascendium Education Group, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Course Hero.

Penn State’s new president Neeli Bendapudi sits down with Jeff and Michael to talk about not only her personal leadership journey, but also shifting demographics, clear pullback in public financing of higher ed, college athletics, and more. With support from Course Hero and Ascendium Education Group.

In the second half of their conversation with Victoria Jackson and Matt Brown, Michael and Jeff dive into "Name Image Likeness," paying student athletes, and what shifting professional pathways to sports can mean for rethinking college athletics overall. This episode made possible with sponsorship from Course Hero and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

So many headlines to parse this week: What the NYU brouhaha says about how we educate top students; how the coverage of ACT scores missed the real headline; and is it better to serve in the U.S. Senate or as a university president. Michael and Jeff break it all down.  This episode made possible with support from Course Hero, Ascendium Education Group, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Relev...

It's not often a university president talks about how degrees are being devalued and how higher education must align with workforce needs, but that's exactly what new Temple University president, Jason Wingard, does when he joins Jeff and Michael to discuss his book, “The College Devaluation Crisis," and what's next for Temple.  This episode made possible with sponsorship from Ascendium Education...

With all the talk about the metaverse, Michael and Jeff examine where the latest bright shiny objects in edtech--augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR)--really stand when it to comes to transforming teaching and learning. This episode made possible with sponsorship from Course Hero. Follow Future U on Twitter • LinkedIn