MindMaxing: Conversations on Higher Ed

How can higher ed institutions teach students the value of persistence?

In the latest installment of our MindMaxing podcast series, “Adolescence to Adulthood,” Lynn University President Dr. Kevin Ross addresses the importance of making colleges and universities safe spaces for students to try, fail, and try again. 

Dr. Ross discusses how Lynn’s implementation of a block schedule—which enables students to practice skills like writing and public speaking repeatedly over a period of time—has helped create just this kind of safe space. He notes that restoring a strong campus community post-COVID is also a key part of this effort. 

“When our campus environments were taken away from us, the value of campus community was far more evident than I think it ever had been,” Dr. Ross says.

What is the goal of higher education? 

According to Will Patch, a Senior Enrollment Insights Leader at Niche.com, colleges and universities should prepare students to step into jobs that fulfill them as individuals and benefit their communities. But it’s not such a straightforward path for all students. 

In the latest episode of our MindMaxing Podcast series, “Adolescence to Adulthood,” Will discusses the existing barriers to higher education, such as standardized testing and expensive tuition, as well as the work Niche does to change the system.

Niche connects people to their future schools, neighborhoods, and workplaces, and Will champions any progress that removes obstacles between students and learning—because learning is the key to success.

Will shares, “To me, the biggest goal of education should be training people who can be lifelong learners to be inquisitive, to make an impact that is meaningful to them and meaningful to their community.”

The pandemic presented many barriers to higher education. But it also catalyzed demand for more accessible education. 

In the latest episode of our MindMaxing Podcast series, “Adolescence to Adulthood,” Lee Maxey speaks with Dr. Mariana Amatullo, Vice Provost for Global Executive Education and Online Strategic Initiatives at Parsons School of Design at The New School (https://execed.newschool.edu/).

The pandemic forced many educators to experiment with remote learning for the first time, and while that was challenging, it also sparked innovation. Now, there’s a continued desire for education that is more accessible, especially for learners with complex lives. 

Dr. Amatullo shares, “We’re seeing an appetite for the flexibility of learning on their own terms and their own time that a hybrid model allows.”  

What skills do graduates need to be able to go out into the world?

While some education leaders focus solely on getting students to graduate high school, Mike Flanagan, CEO of the Mastery Transcript Consortium, is focused on creating educational pathways that empower graduates even after they’ve collected their diplomas. 

In the latest episode of our MindMaxing Podcast series, “Adolescence to Adulthood,” Mike discusses how education—from curriculum to assessment to college admissions—is evolving to prepare young people to survive and thrive in a skills-based world. 

He notes that educators must adapt to teach an essential mix of 21st-century skills, including resilience, the ability to iterate, and how to fail forward. 

The exciting news is that most educators are up for the challenge.

Mike shares, “School has to be different. We have to change how we teach, what we teach, and most importantly, how we assess kids. And what is interesting is that innovation is there. There are literally tens of thousands of school leaders and teachers who are really interested in rethinking all these things.”

As Associate Vice Provost for the Division of Professional and Continuing Studies at the University of Delaware, George Irvine, PhD, is keenly aware that students today ask themselves, "Why do I need to go to college?"

Traditional pathways to higher education are expensive and time-consuming, and even employers are beginning to question the value of a four-year degree. 

In the latest episode of our MindMaxing Podcast series, "Adolescence to Adulthood," Dr. Irvine notes that a more affordable and flexible education model is needed. The pandemic provided a catalyst for change. 

According to Dr. Irvine, university leaders are starting to discuss "alternative credentials, stackable badges, digital badges, certificates, and the like. All this nomenclature is basically saying, 'You don't need a four-year period of time. You can make [higher education] shorter, accessible, stackable, and digital.'"

What is “traditional” higher education, and does it adequately set young adults up for career success?

These are the questions that Dr. Radhika Seshan, Associate Vice President of Career Relations and Strategic Partnerships at San Diego State University, discusses in the latest episode of our MindMaxing Podcast series, "Adolescence to Adulthood."

Dr. Seshan notes that today, higher education has an employer-oriented mindset. Parents wonder whether paying for their child's degree is worth it; Dr. Seshan observes that "the focus on return on investment has really sharpened the lens for career preparedness." 

She cautions that as currently designed, higher education only benefits those who are privileged to have a support system. Today, approximately 50% of college students also work 20 or more hours per week. Financial reasons cause many students to discontinue their education, which can have lasting effects.

Dr. Seshan shares, "If you're not in the [higher education] pipeline because you can't afford to be or you find yourself in personal circumstances where you can't be, not only are you at a higher risk of not continuing, but that also continues as a disadvantage throughout your career. You enter late; you learn less, you start at a lower level. . . you don't always have the resilience to reinvent your career."

As Research Professor and Director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, Dr. Anthony Carnevale knows the journey adolescents take to adulthood has changed drastically over the last 40 years. 

Decades ago, a high school education was enough to help a young adult land a job with a living wage. Today, college—if not a secondary degree—is a requirement. 

In a new episode of our MindMaxing podcast series, “Adolescence to Adulthood,” Dr. Carnevale outlines the political, economic, and social shifts that have made obtaining a college education a necessity—and a challenge—for many students, especially those from lower-income families. 

He warns, “We’re getting better and better at education and connecting it to labor markets, but it’s being done for the most advantaged kids.”

Listen to this fascinating and insightful episode. 

Rick Dalton, CEO and President of CFES Brilliant Pathways, is committed to helping students overcome obstacles, access educational opportunities, and achieve success in their lives. 
 
While today’s higher education landscape is complex and changing rapidly, Rick notes that students can still take control of their academic destinies. 
 
In the second episode of our MindMaxing podcast series, Adolescence to Adulthood, Rick outlines three crucial steps for ambitious students. His advice is clear: “Get a mentor, think about developing essential skills, and think also about pathways and what it’s going to take to move down your pathway.” 

Andy Chan, VP of Innovation and Career Development at Wake Forest University, knows that being a student in 2022 is a uniquely complicated experience. There are more educational and professional options than ever before. There's also immense societal and cultural pressure to pick the perfect path and flawlessly transition from high school to college to a career. 

 In episode 19 of MindMaxing—the first in the podcast’s second season—Andy urges students to consider education not as a means to an end but as a way to foster the desire to learn and grow over one's lifetime. He says the advice educators, mentors, and parents should give students "is not 'follow your passions'—it's 'follow your interests to discover your passions.'"

Harvard Kennedy School Senior Associate Dean for Executive Education Debra Iles believes that the pandemic has “created the opportunity for us to think differently, to embrace some things that we were perhaps postponing.” Debra and I met virtually for episode 18 of MindMaxing, the final episode in the podcast’s first season, where she reflected on the unique perspective she and her colleagues had throughout the pandemic. Listen to the full episode wherever you find your podcasts or watch it above.