MindMaxing: Conversations on Higher Ed

Harvard University Dean of Division of Continuing Education and University Extension Nancy Coleman, Ed.D., believes creating space for reflection is important, especially in higher education. “If we're truly going to figure out ‘how do we create value for our students?’ … there needs to be some thinking in that. And I found one of the best ways to do that is through connection with my peers, whether it be through UPCEA, or other associations, or other meetings,” Nancy said during our conversation for episode 17 of MindMaxing, our second to last episode of our first season. Listen to the full episode wherever you find your podcasts or watch it above via YouTube.

Excelsior College Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs John Caron can see a difference in how colleges and universities are networking since the start of the pandemic. One of the things that Excelsior is doing that John finds interesting is exploring partnership opportunities with other schools, exploring pathways from their non-credit courses and certificates to an Excelsior degree program. “There's an openness maybe as a result of this experience we all went through in 2020 to collaborate and to partner rather than compete with each other,” John said in episode 16 of MindMaxing. Listen to the full episode wherever you find your podcasts or watch it above to hear John’s thoughts on growth opportunities in the face of COVID-19. 

Southern Methodist University Managing Director of Global, Online, and Continuing Education Kim Rutigliano is hopeful that the positive shifts colleges and universities went through to make classes accessible due to the pandemic will continue to bring about positive change in the future. “I think, at its best, if we continue on this trajectory, the place that we're leading to is to address issues of access and equity to widen the net of who can attend a college,” Kim said in episode 15 of MindMaxing. Listen to the full episode for her take on what other lessons were learned in the last year.

Stony Brook University Associate Vice President for Professional Education and Assistant Provost for Engaged Learning Patricia Malone joined us for an episode of MindMaxing where she discussed the ways Stony Brook adjusted to COVID-19. From pulling together an army of experts who, virtually overnight, launched dozens of workshops for K-12 teachers to learn best practices in teaching remotely, to developing support systems for students and faculty, Stony Brook worked to support large communities across its campus and the globe as we all adjusted to our new normal. Listen to the full episode above or wherever you get your podcasts.

Before her retirement earlier this year, former Brown University Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Dean of the School of Professional Studies Karen Sibley joined MindMax CEO Lee Maxey for episode 13 of MindMaxing. Karen dove into topics like the “crash course” that faculty had to go through to learn the pedagogy for teaching online courses, and her outlook for higher education in the future. She believes that in the next six months, institutions will move away from the idea that there is only one way to do things and that “there will be an embracing of technology in order to do more and serve more effectively in the educational setting.” 

Unity College President Melik Peter Khoury, D.B.A., expects to see significant changes in higher education post-pandemic in the forms of more closures, more mergers, and more overall transformations. “We at Unity College are trying to transform our model to be one that does not talk about innovation, but one that innovates, to design pedagogy and curriculum and pricing specifically for each different type of student, instead of a one-size-fits-all,” Melik said. “That's the exciting thing about the future, is we don't know [how] it's going to end up.” Listen to MindMax CEO Lee Maxey’s conversation with Melik in episode 12 of MindMaxing wherever you find your podcasts.

After examining the way Southern Methodist University adapted to the pandemic, Assistant Provost for Global, Online, and Continuing Education Michael Robertson believes a willingness to do two tough things will ensure continued growth in higher education in the long run.  “We have to be willing to fail and we have to be willing to be uncomfortable at times, that's just the nature of change,” Michael said during our conversation in episode 11 of MindMaxing, which puts a spotlight on leadership in higher education. 

In the new, post-COVID-19 world, Brandeis University Rabb School of Continuing Studies Vice President Lynne Rosansky, Ph.D., believes innovation will continue to take shape on and beyond Brandeis University’s campus in terms of its tools and its people. In episode 10 of MindMaxing, Lynne chats with MindMax CEO Lee Maxey and discusses how she envisions the faculty evolving to meet the needs of the students after the pandemic. “I think we will see some really exciting innovation from dedicated faculty [in the long term] who really do want to provide, and know the value of providing, a very amazingly robust and rigorous learning experience to their students,” Lynne said during the conversation. Listen to the full episode wherever you find your podcasts, or watch it above. 

For Excelsior College President David Schejbal, Ph.D., the COVID-19 pandemic reminded him just how important the academic experience is and helped him reflect on how it has changed over the years. “I think in many ways, higher education in this country has lost its way over the past couple of decades,” Schejbal said, “because we've gone from talking about the social value and the benefit of higher education and how we help improve people's lives and how we help support the country broadly…And we've reduced a lot of higher education to just a conversation about job training. And in my view, that just isn't what it's about.” Listen to episode nine of MindMaxing to hear how David believes colleges and universities can truly focus on students’ needs as they look ahead to the future.

Fisher College Vice President of Enrollment Management Robert “Bob” Melaragni and MindMax CEO Lee Maxey got together (on Zoom) to discuss how COVID-19 has impacted Fisher students, faculty, and staff. As a pioneer in the online learning space, Fisher was well poised to pivot to an online-only model during the pandemic. It also utilized social media platforms and other tools to effectively reach students and their families, and meet their communication expectations. “This prior year has been a good one, a challenging one,” Bob said, “but a good one here at Fisher.” Hear more about how Fisher adapted over the last year and what it plans to do in the coming year in episode 8 of MindMaxing, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts.