The Key with Inside Higher Ed

Sara Custer, editor in chief at Inside Higher Ed, speaks with Andrew Delbanco, the Alexander Hamilton Professor of American Studies at Columbia University and the president of the Teagle Foundation, about how humanities-based general education courses can provide short and long-term benefits to students – from ethical questions on the job to deeper self-reflection throughout life. He also argues t...

In this episode of The Key, Inside Higher Ed’s news and analysis podcast, IHE’s student success reporter Joshua Bay joins editor in chief Sara Custer. They discuss the trends in student success that have caught Joshua’s eye including libraries and AI literacy, workforce readiness and tackling loneliness. He shares case studies from programs that are making a difference for students in and outside...

Inside Higher Ed’s editor in chief Sara Custer is in the studio with news editor Katherine Knott and federal policy reporter Jessica Blake to hear the latest about movements on The Hill and in the White House affecting higher ed. On the agenda:  the interagency agreements between the Department of Education and agencies across the federal government are the latest efforts by officials to close the...

Sonya Christian is chancellor of California Community Colleges, the largest higher ed system in the country with 116 institutions and 2.2 million students. The sheer size of the system makes every initiative an exercise in scale. In this episode of The Key, Sonya speaks with Inside Higher Ed’s editor in chief Sara Custer about the governor’s proposed $15 billion investment in the system as well as...

Last month the Congressional Budget Office projected an $11.5 billion shortfall in Pell funding by fiscal year 2027. The program provides need-based federal financial aid for more than 30 percent of American college students. Part of the funding problem is that Congress made getting aid easier without appropriating more money to cover the increase in students gaining access. Finding a solution req...

Robert Zemsky is a pioneer in market analysis of higher education and served as the founding director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Research on Higher Education, one of the country's leading public policy centers specializing in educational research and analysis. In this episode of The Key, Zemsky speaks with Inside Higher Ed's editor in chief Sara Custer about his biggest proj...

News editor Katherine Knott joins editor in chief Sara Custer for an IHE newsroom updated on federal policy. Katherine shares what she expects will be on the agenda in the negotiated rule making for accreditation and how the department will run the process. At the time of recording the government was shut down, but Katherine explains how the budget bill awaiting passage in the House is far more ge...

Best-selling author, Inside Higher Ed columnist and educator John Warner joins IHE’s editor in chief Sara Custer to discuss how institutions can continue to help students learn and grow when AI threatens to do everything for them. Read John’s IHE column “ Just Visiting ” Check out John’s latest book More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI

Collecting and analyzing student data and then acting on any findings to support student success is a struggle for many institutions. Often data is in the wrong format, inaccessible to the right teams or there are so many analytics colleges don’t know where to start. Many administrators also lack the data literacy needed to make accurate, data-informed decisions. In this episode, we’re sharing a d...

In the final Key episode of 2025, IHE’s news editor Katherine Knott and federal policy reporter Jessica Blake join editor in chief Sara Custer to discuss the three stories that encapsulate the year in state and federal policy.

In her final episode of Voices of Student Success, Inside Higher Ed reporter Ashley Mowreader walks through some of the latest trends in student success in higher education including generative artificial intelligence tools, mental health resources for students, affordability in higher education and internship requirements for students. Later, hear from Joshua Bay , Inside Higher Ed’s new Student...

This series of Voices of Student Success focuses on the use of generative artificial intelligence in higher education and how technology can support student success goals.  Central New Mexico Community College is deploying a new AI-powered predictive analytics tool,  CampusLens , part of CampusWorks, to improve data visibility in student retention, early alerts and career outcomes.   In the latest...

This series of Voices of Student Success focuses on the use of generative artificial intelligence in higher education and how technology can support student success goals.  Since 2022, there’s been a surge in the number and types of applications using generative AI, but not all tools are the same. So how can faculty, staff and students learn to identify the differences and determine when it’s appr...

In this episode, Katherine Knott, Inside Higher Ed’s news editor, is back to help us unpack the latest higher ed news out of Washington. She speaks with editor in chief Sara Custer about the Trump administration’s higher ed compact—who’s said no, who’s said yes please and who’s artfully dodging the question. We’ll give you the latest on the current round of negotiated rule making. Plus: the TRIO f...

This series of Voices of Student Success focuses on the use of generative artificial intelligence in higher education and how technology can support student success goals.  A 2025 Inside Higher Ed survey of college provosts found that nearly 30 percent of respondents have reviewed curriculum to ensure that it will prepare students for AI in the workplace, and an additional 63 percent say they have...

Public scholarship is about more than just getting published. It’s about joining the public conversation at a time when expertise matters more than ever. In this episode of The Key, Philip Gray, Op-Ed Editor at The Los Angeles Times, and Susan D'Agostino, mathematician-turned-writer and columnist behind The Public Scholar at Inside Higher Ed join IHE’s editor in chief Sara Custer to pull back the...

This series of Voices of Student Success focuses on the use of generative artificial intelligence in higher education and how technology can support student success goals.   While AI tools have proliferated in education and workplace settings, not all tools are free or accessible to students and staff, which can create equity gaps regarding who is able to participate and learn new skills. To addre...

In this episode of The Key, we're diving deep into what’s happening on Capitol Hill and inside the White House—and how it’s all affecting higher ed. Joining Sara Custer, IHE's editor in chief, is news editor Katherine Knott to unpack everything: the funding cuts hitting Minority Serving Institutions, restrictive policies upending life for international students and scholars, the latest twists in n...

This series of Voices of Student Success focuses on the use of generative artificial intelligence in higher education and how technology can support student success goals.   Upward transfer is viewed as a mechanism to provide college students with an accessible and affordable onramp to higher education through two-year colleges, but breakdowns in the credit transfer process can hinder progress tow...

Beverly Daniel Tatum—two-time college president, New York Times bestselling author, and one of the country’s most influential voices on race and education – joins Inside Higher Ed’s editor in chief Sara Custer to discuss her latest book, College Leadership in Turbulent Times: Peril and Promise. Tatum shares lessons from her own leadership journey serving as president at Spelman College and serving...

This series of Voices of Student Success focuses on uses of generative artificial intelligence in higher education and how technology can support student success goals.   As generative AI tools become more common, a growing number of young people turn first to chatbots when they have questions. A survey by the Associated Press found that among AI users, 70 percent of young Americans use the tools...

For more than 20 years, StoryCorps has been documenting conversations between Americans and broadcasting them on public radio. In 2017, StoryCorps launched One Small Step, a new project that pairs strangers on opposing sides of the political divide for one-on-one conversations. The organization is now bringing its initiative to college campuses. Dave Isay, the founder of StoryCorps, speaks with Sa...

This series of Voices of Student Success focuses on adult learners in higher education, the various challenges they face as well as the successful support mechanisms employed to aid their retention and completion.   Approximately 65 percent of the 1.2 million active duty service members of the U.S. Armed Forces have less than an associate degree-level of education, according to 2023 data; many of...

In this episode of The Key, Jenny Billings, the program chair of Associate in Arts and division chair of English and study skills at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College in North Carolina tells IHE editor in chief Sara Custer about going through the stages of AI grief –from freaking out, to begrudging acceptance, to working with colleagues to figure out how to respond to eventually creating an institu...

This series of Voices of Student Success focuses on adult learners in higher education, the various challenges they face as well as the successful support mechanisms employed to aid their retention and completion.   Continuing education programs are one way for colleges and universities to provide targeted offerings and credentialing opportunities for alumni, adults in the region lacking postsecon...