CONGRESS RECAP: The following panel discussion was taken from the “Building Momentum for Innovative Dual Enrollment Pathways Policies” seminar, recorded during the 2025 ACCT Leadership Congress in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Dr. Claire Brady, President of Glass Half Full Consulting, answers lingering questions about the role of artificial intelligence in higher education. She explains how trustees can use AI to make their jobs more effective, while keeping students and staff at the forefront of the tech revolution.

*This podcast episode was recorded live during the Regional Awards Luncheon at the 2025 ACCT Leadership Congress in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 24, 2025.

In this second installment of ACCT’s dual enrollment/dual credit series, consultant Amy-Elle-Duke Benfield sits down with higher ed leaders from Texas and California to compare state programs and policies, and strategize ways to make systems more effective for students.

Honoring the past while empowering the future…

America’s tribal colleges and universities provide a culturally rooted educational experience that prepares students for jobs in their local communities and beyond!

In this episode, you'll hear from three tribal college alumni whose alma maters have laid the foundation for their professional journeys, inspiring impactful careers that are strengthening the local economies of their native lands.

For more information about the importance of TCUs, check out the 2025 American Indian Higher Education Consortium Economic Impact Report!

Honoring the past while empowering the future…

America’s tribal colleges and universities are reimagining what higher education looks like through the lens of culturally rooted curriculum that pays tribute to Indigenous heritage and tradition.

In this episode, you'll hear from three tribal college alumni whose alma maters have laid the foundation for their professional journeys, inspiring impactful careers that are strengthening the local economies of their native lands.

Learn more about the importance of TCUs in The American Indian Higher Education Consortium's 2025 Economic Impact Report!

Student success…

The term is used all the time in higher ed spaces, but what does it truly mean?

Over the last two decades , community colleges have been making a conscious effort to “meet students where they’re at”, addressing basic needs issues like hunger, childcare for student parents, veterans benefits and disability resources.

But one of the most prominent issues leading to student stop out is still without a real solution...

New America's Senior Policy Manager for Higher Education Policy, Edward Conroy, unveils details of a new study revealing just how big an impact housing insecurity is having on student retention on community college campuses.

AI is the future… and for a lot of people, that can seem a little scary. But it doesn’t have to be!

In less than 30 days, community college trustees and administrators from around the country will be swarming the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana for the annual ACCT Leadership Congress. In this episode, one of our Congress sponsors, Element451, is giving our members a sneak preview of their conference session!

They’ll tell us how community colleges can streamline processes while taking a load off their academic advisors and student services workers through the use of innovative artificial intelligence software.

Learn more about Element451 by visiting their website: www.element451.com

Register for the 2025 ACCT Leadership Congress: https://acct.org/events/acct-leadership-congress

Dually enrolled students are becoming one of the fastest growing populations at community colleges! Earlier this year, ACCT launched a new project exploring innovative state strategies for community college funding and dual enrollment in the states of Texas and California. In this episode, consultant and guest host, Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield, sits down with leaders from two Texas community colleges who were influential in the rollout of House Bill 8, which aims to increase the number of Texans with credentials of value.

In celebration of Student Parent Month, ACCT's Kids on Campus Director, Miya Simpson, sits down with the founder and CEO of Generation Hope, to discuss barriers to student parent success on college campuses. In this season premiere episode, Nicole Lynn Lewis details her journey through college as a single mother, highlighting the roadblocks she faced in securing adequate childcare, and the two-generation approach her organization is taking to drive systemic change nationwide.

The American people have spoken, and the results are in. President-elect Donald J. Trump is preparing to take on a second term in the the White House with an all new agenda and a Republican controlled  Congress behind him. This shift in power could mean a sweep of changes will be coming to the public education sector. ACCT’s Vice President of Public Policy, Carrie-Warick Smith, Director of Government Relations, Jose Miranda, and Senior Government Relations Associate, Genesis Santiago are here to analyze how community colleges could be affected by the election results.