Today's Students, Tomorrow's Talent

There is a staffing crisis in healthcare - a crisis that is so bad, that some are calling it a national emergency. To meet today's and tomorrow's labor demand, leaders need to provide clear and supported career pathways to adults already in the workforce. In this episode, Dr. Jill Buban of EdAssist joins us to talk about their work developing new career pathways, and describes what it takes to make a talent-focused partnership work. Dory Manner of Yale New Haven Health and Gerard Camacho of Atrium Advocate Health discuss the important steps healthcare employers need to take to attract, develop, and retain talent in critical areas.

A new report from NASPA and Uwill sheds light on the growing need and urgency to provide mental health services on college campuses. In this episode, we discuss the findings from this national survey, discuss a state-wide initiative in Texas to improve mental health and wellbeing, and hear from two campus-based practitioners.

Guests include:

• David Arnold, NASPA
• Michael London, Uwill
• Jenny Achilles, Trellis Foundation
• Leilani Lamb, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute
• Dr. Nina Enriquez, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley
• Allexa Zwinck, Panhandle Community Partnership

Show Notes:

• NASPA's and Uwill's College Mental Report
• Trellis Foundation's Mental Health and Wellbeing Cohort

Listen in as state and federal policy experts weigh in on the major themes from 2022 and expectations for 2023. Julie Peller from Higher Learning Advocates walks through the major movements at the federal level, and Paola Santana from Lumina Foundation discusses state-level priorities for the upcoming year. Catch up with state leaders from Arkansas, California, Kentucky, and Michigan as they reflect on key ideas from a late 2022 state policy retreat.

Guests include:

• Julie Peller, Higher Learning Advocates
• Paola Santana, Lumina Foundation
• Aaron Thompson, President, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
• Lande Ajose, Vice President & Senior Fellow, Public Policy Institute of California
• Maria Markham, Director, Arkansas Division of Higher Education
• Ryan Fewins-Bliss, Executive Director, Michigan College Access Network

Show Notes:

• Higher Learning Advocates Widen the Path Campaign
• Lumina's Stronger Nation Report

Mainstream media and industry news shapes, reinforces, and redresses commonly held narratives - those underlying beliefs and attitudes that drive human behavior - about higher education and the workforce. Dr. Rita Parhad and Emily Keane from Protagonist discuss the major narratives and counter narratives that exist in America today, what drives them, and the implications these narratives have on individual and institutional behavior.

Show Links:

• Economic Opportunity and Social Mobility Landscape Report

Institutions and non-profits across the country are providing new kinds of services and redesigning policies and practices to support more adults in higher education. In part 2, we talk with Malik Brown and Sena Owereko from Graduate Philadelphia, and from Dr. Ed Mills and Kaley Martin at Sacramento State University about how they are changing outcomes for adult learners.

Millions of adults in the US have some college credit but never finished their degree. The path back into school a second time is much harder to navigate. We begin a two-part series by talking with adult students and their coaches to learn about what it takes to return to school. Listen as Juquilla Henry, her coach April Mesa, and Jamar Izzard share their stories of returning to higher education.

Show Links:

• Veering Off-Track: 'Some college, no degree' numbers spike to 39 million
• Learn more about FutureMakers Navigator support in southwest Florida.

A new study conducted by Gallup and Lumina Foundation found that three-fourths of students in bachelor's programs and two-thirds of adults seeking associate degrees have considered taking a break from college due to emotional stress. Dr. Zainab Okolo of Lumina discusses the growing mental health crisis across the country and explores how it is having a great impact on adults and students of color. Dr. Jo Blondin, president of Clark State College, discusses how they are supporting students, staff, and faculty through a culture of care.

Show Links:

• Pandemic Exacerbates Mental Health Issues for Black Students - Diverse Education
• 14-year-old earns associates degree from Clark State College
• Gallup and Lumina Foundation Report
• Get Help Today

Aligning the work of state agencies, colleges, universities, community organizations, and philanthropy towards common goals takes trust, a neutral intermediary, and a focus on what is best for students. State-level networks across the country are leading efforts to make their state's education and workforce systems better. Ryan Fewins-Bliss of the Michigan College Access Network, Chandra Scott of Alabama Possible, and Laura Winter of the Missouri College and Career Attainment Network discuss the ways their networks build trust, advance postsecondary policy and practice, and improve equitable outcomes for students in their home states.

States across the country are re-examining higher education laws, policies, and regulations to better serve the needs of Today's Students. Scott Jenkins, Lumina Foundation's strategy director for state policy, talks about Lumina's state policy agenda, the flaws with current state funding for higher education, and how he and his colleagues are supporting policymakers around the country. Commissioner Carlos Santiago of the Massachuettes Department of Higher Education shares how his agency designed and implemented an Equity Agenda - a multi-pronged approach to addressing racial equity in higher education. Santiago gives specific examples of policies that have been updated after a state-wide "equity audit" and shares what he has learned about higher education leadership over his 30+ year career.

Join us as we wrap up the major higher ed news from 2021 with Danielle Douglas-Gabriel of the Washington Post, Elissa Nadworny of NPR, and Katherine Wheatle of Lumina Foundation. Together, we talk about the important and sometimes strange stories inside higher education, and consider themes to watch for in 2022.