We’re diving into the world of higher education with Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab, a trailblazing scholar and advocate for college affordability. Known for founding the #RealCollege movement and The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice, Dr. Goldrick-Rab has reshaped how we think about student success by spotlighting issues like food and housing insecurity. Her groundbreaking book Paying the Price and her work with policymakers have driven real change, making her one of the most influential voices in education today. Get ready for an inspiring conversation about equity, access, and the future of college in America.

Amy Privette Perko is the CEO of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and a nationally recognized leader in shaping the future of college sports. A former student-athlete at Wake Forest, Amy brings a deep understanding of the collegiate experience to her work, championing reforms that align athletics with educational values. Under her leadership, the Knight Commission has advanced financial transparency, equity, and sustainability across NCAA divisions, with a particular focus on the evolving professional model in Division I. Her insights have influenced federal policy discussions and guided institutional leaders through complex challenges in governance and athlete compensation. Amy’s voice is one of clarity and conviction, making her a vital contributor to conversations about the future of intercollegiate athletics.

Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab is a trailblazing sociologist and scholar-activist whose work has reshaped the national conversation around college affordability and student well-being. As the founder of the #RealCollege movement and The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice, she has led groundbreaking research on food and housing insecurity among college students, turning data into policy that supports millions. Her award-winning book, Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream, exposes the systemic failures in higher education and offers bold solutions. Named one of Politico’s “Top 50 People Shaping American Politics,” Dr. Goldrick-Rab has advised both the Obama and Biden administrations, testified before Congress, and continues to teach sociology at the Community College of Philadelphia, championing equity and access from the classroom to Capitol Hill.

Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab is a sociologist transforming student struggles into systemic solutions.  Founder of the #RealCollege movement to support students’ basic needs, author of the best-selling book Paying the Price, College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream, leader of path-breaking research, and translator of that science into changes in how colleges support students, she has driven dozens of state and federal policies making higher education more humane and affordable. Her nonprofit, Believe in Students, works with faculty nationwide, and the American Federation of Teachers, to directly support students with emergency aid while also equipping faculty with the tools needed to improve working and learning conditions on campus.  Named by Politico “one of the top 50 people shaping American politics,” Dr. Goldrick-Rab is a Carnegie Scholar, a William T. Grant Faculty Scholar, and recipient of the Grawemeyer Award in Education. She currently advises college leaders and policymakers from Philadelphia, where she also teaches sociology at the only community college in the poorest large American city.

I spent a long time on the inside of the higher education ecosystem, beginning in the last century. But the environment today is quite different from when I first enlisted.  The role and import of the higher ed sector in society is undeniably in flux. The drivers of the education process have been increasingly external, and less academic, in nature. The view from the inside is very different now. In this episode I’ll discuss what has changed, what those changes portend, and what the view looks like today. Higher Education is at a tipping point.  I’ll stand on that point and look back and ahead.

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast network

Higher education has been dealing with a swarm of predicaments this year that has diverted it from its core mission to serve students. So what’s the problem here?  Is it DEI, or cultural postures, or a clash of political ideologies?  Or is it maybe the inability of higher education leadership to manage these issues while struggling with an outdated business model that is out of step with rest of the American economy? I don’t think any of these quandaries are the problem, and in this episode I’ll tell you why they are only symptoms of the larger problem.  And what could that be?

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast network.

One of the latest updates on the state of online education gave me a serious case of déjà vu. Once again, we have been brought up to date on who online students are and what we need to know in order to serve them. And once again, the only thing that has changed is the date on the report. In this episode I’ll review all the latest old news and astound listeners with higher education’s ability to repackage what we already know in new accoutrements.

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast network.

In the last exciting episode, I opined that higher education is not a spectator sport.  In America, it’s also not a team sport. Ben Franklin is credited with saying, “We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.” In this episode I’ll consider how this admonition to American revolutionaries applies to higher education today.  There are multiple political, cultural and financial pressures facing all of higher ed, yet we often see institutions struggling with these individually, rather than leveraging the considerable talent and resources of higher education as an integrated sector to present a united front to pursue resolution to the benefit of all.

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast network.

There is a lot of speculation about the future of higher education. In this episode I’ll suggest where we might look for the future. And it’s not inside the higher ed ecosystem. Perhaps the most impactful transformation of higher education to date came with the online revolution. But this disruption was not the result of a natural evolution of the traditional model. It came from higher education adopting technological advances that were driving change in the American economy. Following the development of virtual higher education, I’ll assess higher ed’s current interface with AI and what it portends for the future. Importantly, higher ed will need either to watch things happen or make them happen.

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast network.

In Greek mythology Cassandra was a Trojan princess who was bestowed the gift of prophecy by Apollo.  But after the two had a falling out, Apollo punished her with the curse that her prophecies would not be believed. In this episode I’ll look at several visionary innovations in higher education that were ignored, resisted and reviled for decades but eventually became widespread throughout the higher ed ecosystem. 

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast network.