Friday 5 Live: Higher Education Podcast

According to data from the Community College Research Center (CCRC), two-year institutions lose about 45% of students within their first year. How can colleges reimagine students’ first year of college in a way that centers on students exploring and entering a program of study? Join us as Dr. Hana Lahr of CCRC shares her research on whole-college guided pathways reforms. We will learn about the Ask-Connect-Inspire-Plan framework and other initiatives to improve long-term outcomes like completion and transfer.

Seventy-four percent of college students today are considered nontraditional students. At the same time, more than 39 million Americans have some college but no degree, a number which has grown by 3 million students in 3 years. Dr. Anne Khademian has a term for these students: fluid learners. Join us as Dr. Khademian, the Executive Director of the Universities at Shady Grove, shares her insights into the shifts institutions must make to support and retain nontraditional students as we look to what the future holds for higher education and our workforce.

As we begin the fall semester, many institutions are examining how they can become student-ready. Join us as Dr. John Donnelly shares his insights into what makes a college or university student-ready and how institutions can do this important work to focus their efforts on student success. Drawing from his career as a community college administrator and faculty member, John has recently been appointed to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Commission on Student Success...

As we emerge from pandemic learning, students are struggling to find their footing and to be successful in their classes. Listserve discussions for organizations like the POD Network, FYE, and LRNASST are ripe with faculty and staff expressing their concern about failing students and their surprise that as instruction has returned to in-person there has not necessarily been a correlation to fewer grades of D, F, and W. Jessica Tinklenberg, Program Director for the Center for Teaching and Learning at Claremont Colleges, shares her insights into how we can better understand the learning environment from a student perspective while sharing ways we can provide the support they need NOW.

As we wrap up this school year and our conversations on leadership in honor of our colleague Dr. Denise Swett, Kate Mueller reflects on this year: things learned, surprises found, and how this year of continued pandemic learning will inform the upcoming academic year. Kate shares her recommendations for how we can lead from where we are and resources for our own growth and renewal.