Catalytic Conversations

Dr. Wynn Rosser and Dr. Gerardo de los Santo join Dr. Mark Milliron for a much-needed conversation on how educators, especially in the wake of COVID-19, are simultaneously addressing digital learning and support infrastructures while acknowledging the staggering gaps in our collective ability to use it well -- and in our students’ ability to access it. The dialogue we need is not about the Digital Divide, but rather Digital Equity and how to confront persistent equity issues about digital technology with digital technology

In this podcast episode, Dr. Angela Kersenbrock, Community College Baccalaureate Association President, discusses the imperative of building innovative and diverse pathways to better serve students today. Strategies include improving the transfer experience, designing streamlined journeys and systems, building co-located campuses or industry partnerships, and creating structural incentives for students to finish what they start. It’s all on the table and part of the important conversation to help more students graduate and into income-producing careers.

Achieving the Dream leaders Dr. Karen Stout and Laurie Heacock connect with Mark Milliron on how higher ed leaders can best navigate the “wicked” domain of student success. According to David Epstein, wicked domains like education aren’t linear or predictable. Leadership in this field requires both breadth and depth in multiple dimensions. The road ahead necessitates better data, student-centered design thinking and deep domain expertise.

Throughout her career in higher education, Barabara Gellman-Danley has led organizations, colleges and universities through change and transformation. Her collaborative approach asks 1) what is in the best interest of the student and 2) do our current standards address the future? Today she leads the Higher Learning Commission to ensure that accreditation delivers an infrastructure for transformation and innovation. And, when this work is anchored in transparency and openness, we’re emboldened to take chances on how to better serve our students today and in the future.

It’s no secret: the majority of today’s students are no longer "traditional." More students than ever are balancing work, families, and basic-needs issues while they are working their way through colleges and universities. Learning is not their only priority. Nonetheless, education and training represent the path to unlock new opportunities and navigate changes in the workforce. To help our students today, we need to meet them where they are to help them reach their dreams -- and that no longer means just offering night courses or online courses. In this podcast Marie Cini from the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning reflects on the new breakthrough practices that colleges and universities are trying, testing and fine-tuning to serve adult learners today.

Leaders at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) have accomplished something rare. They’ve tackled the structural and cultural challenges to developing, scaling, and measuring a co-curricular program -- while ensuring faculty buy-in. UCO President Emeritus Don Betz and UCO’s Student Transformative Learning Record (STLR) Executive Director, Jeff King, reflect on how their curricular and co-curricular approach to the student journey is expanding perspectives, deepening agency, and improving employability for UCO students. It’s a shift from course content mastery to an institution-wide focus on transformative learning, and the result is infectious.

The data show that one of the biggest barriers to higher ed completion is mathematics -- yet until recently and according to Karon Klipple of Carnegie Math Pathways, it was treated with a Sputnik-era mentality. Now innovation in college-level math isn’t about fixing math dev ed, but rather ensuring that students are on the right pathway, taking the right math courses for their degree or program, and making sure they have the support they need to be successful. According to Klipple and Dr. Richard Rhodes, Austin Community College President/CEO, the solution to this mult-faceted problem requires a radically more holistic view and collaborative approach.

What does competency-based education mean for today’s students and higher ed leaders? How can institutions define outcomes and assess learning while ensuring the personalization and flexibility that students need? It’s not easy work, but Marni Baker Stein, Provost and Chief Academic Officer for Western Governors University(WGU), discusses how her team is tackling this critical challenge. Today, WGU is growing rapidly -- and successfully delivering on the promise of life-long learning and competency-based education.

Lorain County Community College has unlocked impressive results in their work with Achieving The Dream, Completion By Design, Guided Pathways, and a number of other student success initiatives. Their president, Marcia Ballinger, reflects on their journey of transformation and the roadmap (data) that helped them become student ready. She shares what they learned along the way and how they became more focused than ever on what matters most for students inside and outside of the classroom. Today, they’re designing a student experience with the end in mind -- and their outcomes prove it.

Mark Milliron chats with Chris Hester, Civitas Learning’s new CEO, to discuss the valuable experience Chris brings to Civitas Learning, his successful application of analytics within the healthcare sector, and how that success translates into education.

Angela Baldasare, Sr. Strategic Consultant, sits down with Mark Milliron for a conversation about the rise of the completion agenda and how institutions of every size are using analytics to deliver and scale personalized, high-touch student care and support. They explore realities in change management and the real need for a comprehensive, collaborative data strategy to empower teams and improve student outcomes.

Julianna Frisch, Monroe Community College, and Barbara A. Bichelmeyer, University of Missouri-Kansas City, join Mark Milliron for a conversation on what's working for students at their institutions. They unpack what they learned -- and what they're doing about it now -- to increase their impact on student outcomes and institutional return on investment.

In this podcast, USF President, Judy Genshaft, and VP of Student Success, Paul Dosal, discuss their university's journey to radically improve their student success outcomes by embracing a culture of care. They also unpack how they leveraged Civitas Learning's analytics platform to break through persistence plateaus and help record numbers of students reach their goals, not to mention help the university reach preeminent status in the state of FL!

Pete Smith, Chief Analytics Officer at The University of Texas - Arlington, reflects on the challenges and opportunities in moving from a data culture that focuses first on performance reporting to one that is obsessed with using data to inform, inspire, impact and ultimately, improve student outcomes.

Mark Milliron sits down with Bridget Burns, Executive Director for University Innovation Alliance (UIA), to share how UIA is working with institutions on challenges they face as they are navigating through large-scale transformation. She also walks us through how institutions can illuminate new opportunities that will support their goals while also eliminating gaps on campuses for next level growth.

Dr. Sara Goldrick - Rab, Professor at Temple University & Founder of the Wisconsin HOPE Lab, and recently announced, next-generation Hope Center for College, Community and Justice, follows-up with Mark Milliron to talk about the #RealCollege movement that Sara, and the team at the Hope Center, are championing to bring more voices to the forefront. They explore the energy and urgency behind this initiative and invite the listeners and their institutions to join the cause.

Listen to a Summit recap with Mark Milliron and Jeff Selingo, Editor-At-Large for The Chronicle of Higher Education where they shed light on opportunities to best support students. Jeff and Mark discuss how higher education can ensure lifelong learning and long-term success for our students.

Dr. Sara Goldrick - Rab, Professor at Temple University & Founder of the Wisconsin HOPE Lab, joins Mark Milliron during a Summit 2018 Keynote presentation. In this conversation, they discuss the challenges students experience with food and housing insecurities. Sara also provides suggestions on how institutions can support these students so they can learn well and finish strong.

Maria Harper-Marinick, Edward Leach, Mark Milliron and Gerardo de los Santos reflect on their own journeys as first-generation students and share opportunities to help today's students better navigate their academic path.

Civitas Learning's Senior Vice President of Outcomes and Strategy Laura Malcolm reflects on the shift from transactional to transformational student outreach and how it impacts higher ed outcomes.

Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at Syracuse University and Civitas Learning National Advisory Board Member, Vince Tinto,talked to Mark Milliron about debunking dogma in higher education.

In this episode, Mark Milliron speaks with Cathy Casserly, VP of Learning Networks with EdCast, a Stanford StartX company, about microcredentials and more trends around personalization across higher education institutions.

Millenial Entrepreneurs with Robert Strazzarino and College Scheduler.

Gerardo de los Santos, formerly The League for Innovation by Mark Milliron I Civitas Learning

Mark and SVP of Outcomes & Strategy Laura Malcolm share trends around high GPA students leaving institutions, the types of LMS activities that are most predictive of success, and the predictive value of incoming student data.

Introducing the “Catalytic Conversations” podcast hosted by Mark Milliron. Listen to the first episode on the topic of pathways with guest Davis Jenkins from the Community College Research Center.