Higher Ed Spotlight

Millions of students worldwide go abroad for higher education every year, and U.S. colleges have long been their top choice – but that may be under threat. International education expert Rajika Bhandari says the country's immigration policies often ignore what these students bring to the table: bolstering college bottom lines, diversifying classrooms, and building the economy. Rajika spoke to Ben about her memoir, "America Calling," and how she'd like to improve the "troubled tango" between the United States and the international students who call it home.

Higher Ed Spotlight is a podcast, sponsored by Chegg's Center for Digital Learning, that aims to explore the future of higher education today.

Black and Latino student enrollment was hit particularly hard during the pandemic, and a lot of those students still haven't returned to campus. Angel Pérez, the CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, says an affirmative action ban would make it even harder for colleges to maintain racial diversity. He sat down with Ben to map out a different way forward, and to explain why we need diverse campuses now more than ever.

Higher Ed Spotlight is a podcast, sponsored by Chegg's Center for Digital Learning, that aims to explore the future of higher education today.

With the Supreme Court considering two cases that could spell the end of affirmative action, many are worried about what that might mean for campus diversity. Author Richard Kahlenberg has been pushing for a different kind of affirmative action for years. He sat down with Ben to explain why he thinks using a socioeconomic lens, rather than a race based one, could actually make higher ed more accessible – not less.

Higher Ed Spotlight is a new podcast, sponsored by Chegg's Center for Digital Learning, that aims to explore the future of higher education today.

The U.S. News and World Report college rankings have loomed large over American college choice for decades. And in that time they've been accused of being unreliable, skewing educational priorities, and perpetuating privilege. But in 2005, Washington Monthly introduced a different type of rankings. Ben sits down with editor in chief Paul Glastris to understand why he thinks the U.S. News rankings exacerbate inequality, how the Monthly's version is different, and whether we need to rank colleges at all.

Higher Ed Spotlight is a new podcast, sponsored by Chegg's Center for Digital Learning, that aims to explore the future of higher education today.

When Anant Agarwal founded edX, one of the world's most popular MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), he had a vision of making higher education accessible to everyone. Ten years later, Ben sits down with Anant to see just how far we've come, how new ideas like microcredentials fit into that vision, and whether or not Anant's decision to join forces with the for profit 2U was a threat to the MOOC ethos.

Higher Ed Spotlight is a new podcast, sponsored by Chegg's Center for Digital Learning, that aims to explore the future of higher education today.

There's been a lot of debate about President Biden's plans to erase a portion of the $1.7 trillion in student debt. But most analysts agree on one thing: high college costs aren't going away. And while we figure out how to make college more affordable, economist Sandy Baum wants to ask an even more fundamental question: is college the "great equalizer" we often think it is? Ben sat down with Sandy to look at why college has become so expensive, and whether higher ed can truly "level the playing field".

Higher Ed Spotlight is a new podcast, sponsored by Chegg's Center for Digital Learning, that aims to explore the future of higher education today.

Like a lot of things in 2022, campus speech issues are pretty divisive. Some think colleges are ruled by cancel culture mobs. Others see social justice values making universities more inclusive. Which means that the University of Austin – a new college centered around free-speech – was bound to get people talking.Its founding president, Pano Kanelos, sat down with Ben to explain how he plans on turning the rather controversial plan into a real bricks-and-mortar institution. And why he thinks a new college may just be the antidote to our increasingly polarized discourse.

When the pandemic hit, colleges and universities were thrust headfirst into the word of remote learning, sometimes with problematic results. But the Open University was more than ready – they'd been doing distance learning for more than 50 years. Ben sits down with Josie Fraser, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor at "the OU", to discuss how they've unlocked the full power of remote education.

Higher Ed Spotlight is a new podcast, sponsored by Chegg's Center for Digital Learning, that aims to explore the future of higher education today.

Falling enrollment may be the most existential challenge faced by American colleges and universities today. There are nearly 10% fewer undergraduates than there were in 2010, and higher ed leaders are striving to reverse that trend. When Daniel Greenstein took over as chancellor of Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education he inherited one of the most underfunded systems in the country – and one of the most expensive for learners. He sits down with Ben to talk about why enrollment has fallen, and what he's doing to try and bring it back up.

Higher Ed Spotlight is a new podcast, sponsored by Chegg's Center for Digital Learning, that aims to explore the future of higher education today.

Christine Cruzvergara is the Chief Education Strategy Officer at Handshake, an online platform that connects recent graduates to prospective employers. She sits down with Ben to discuss why the college to career pipeline is broken – and, more importantly, how to fix it. They look at why so many students feel lost after graduation, why traditional career centers aren't always up to the task of finding students jobs, and how technology can make hiring more equitable.

Higher Ed Spotlight is a new podcast, sponsored by Chegg's Center for Digital Learning, that aims to explore the future of higher education today.