Today's Students, Tomorrow's Talent

Pop culture permeates our lives—whether it's music blaring from car windows, billboards we see or watching Netflix in the evening. Professors can use the information their students are exposed to as a way to meet students where they are and make learning relevant. I'm joined by Dr. Katherine Wheatle, Lumina's strategy officer for finance and federal policy, and Bridget Yuhas, director of student affairs assessment and planning at Butler University. Bridget studies the use of pop culture in higher education and helps extend Katherine's episode 3 segment "Pop Ed". Liz Dozier, founder and CEO of Chicago Beyond, also joins us to talk about their new guidebook called "Why Am I Always Being Researched." The guidebook gives practical advice for community organizations, researchers and funders to try to create a level playing field for non-profits, researchers and funders.

On the job training is a billion-dollar industry, yet many employer-based training programs fail to deliver results. This episode features employers that have designed effective programs that serve the individual, the company, and society. We begin with Jon Kaplan, former Chief Learning Officer of Discover Financial, who describes national trends of employer supported learning. Rob Lauber, Senior Vice President and Chief Learning Officer at McDonald's Corporation, shares that McDonald's wants to be a person's "best, first job", and discusses their Archway's to Opportunity program designed to propel employee's success. Linda Carpenter runs Cigna's Education Reimbursement Program, which does much more than reimburse employees for tuition. Throughout the show, Lumina's own Haley Gloverjoins the conversation, bringing resources, ROI studies, and her professional insight into the world of employer support learning.

37 percent of today's college students are 25 or older. Nearly two thirds of college students work. Half of today's students are on their own financially with many supporting family members and children of their own. Helping today's students requires a different kind of college experience then what we see in movies; one that supports more than academic needs. We feature two successful programs working to provide comprehensive support to community college students. Nadine Browne, Director of Accelerated Study in Associate Programs, or ASAP, at Bronx Community College talks about her experience implementing the successful program in New York. Paige Ponder and Veronica Herrero also join us to share preliminary results from the Chicago-based One Million Degrees program.

In this second part of our series, we explore college closures from the perspective of those in the industry. Laura De Veau talks about her recent blog and experience closing Mt. Ida college. Jamienne Studley, president of WSCUC, discusses her role as an accreditor and how their role must shift to better support their members. And Brad Kelsheimer, Vice President and CFO of Lumina Foundation, explains how the business model of higher education is broken, and describes three drivers of college closures.

Hundreds of colleges have closed or consolidated in recent years, including public and private, nonprofit and for-profit schools across the country. These closures impact students, faculty, staff, communities, and our nation, especially when poorly managed. In part one of our two-part series, we explore how one college closure left Unique Johnson with debt and no prospects of continuing her education where she left off. Scott Jaschik, editor at Inside Higher Ed, discusses the reasons many colleges are facing closure and what we might expect from the future. Finally, Senator J.D. Ford of Indiana discusses his ideas for how Indiana can support students impacted by college closures. Also, if you have been impacted by a college closure, we want to hear from you. Take a short video of yourself telling your story and send it to [email protected].

Our guests Scott Jenkins and Jesse O'Connell give a coast-to-coast roundup on politics and postsecondary policy. Join us as we discuss which federal and state leaders to keep an eye on, how political party shifts may impact legislation and regulation, and what to expect from the 2020 election. Scott Jenkins is Strategy Director for State Policy at Lumina Foundation. Jesse O'Connell is Strategy Director for Federal Policy at Lumina Foundation.

As of 2016, the Latino population in the United States has reached nearly 58 million people. Latinos now account for 18% of the population and are the second-largest racial or ethnic group in the United States. We have dedicated today's show to talk about those colleges and universities that are serving Hispanic students. Known as Hispanic Serving Institutions, we explore what they are, how they are working, and what more they can be doing to live up to their mission. Our first guest today is Beatriz Ceja-Williams, Division Director at the U.S. Department of Education, who leads the Department's Division focused on Hispanic Serving Institutions. We are also joined by Dr. Gina Garcia, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh, who studies equity and diversity within higher education. Finally, Deborah Santiago, co-founder, and CEO of Excelencia in Education, joins us to discuss her organization's efforts to accelerate Latino student success in higher education.

The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world with more than 2 million Americans incarcerated at any point in time.

Each year, our prison system releases nearly 600,000 individuals back to their families and communities. Our guests today are focused on ensuring that all those impacted by incarceration – the individual, family, community, and America broadly – have the support and opportunities inside and outside of prison to lead a successful life.

We begin with Dr. Danette Howard and Haley Glover from Lumina Foundation who provide a national perspective on this work and describe Lumina's emerging efforts to better serve those impacted by incarceration.

Michael Mendoza from the Anti-Recidivism Coalition joins us to talk about his efforts in California before we conclude with Syrita Steib-Martin from Operation Restoration in New Orleans who is providing direct support to women and girls impacted by incarceration and leading "Ban the Box" initiatives around the United States.

Across the country, leaders in education are working to make college accessible and affordable—not only for traditional students but for adults who want to go back to school to complete the degrees that in many cases they started years ago.

Join us as we talk with Dr. Shanna Jackson, president of Nashville State Community College, Dr. Rachelle Sharpe, deputy director of the Washington Student Achievement Council, and Ben Cannon, executive director of the Oregon Higher Education Commission, about their plans to support adults' postsecondary plans.

For many, the speed of change in academia is too slow, and the process too exclusionary. Students themselves are often left out of these important conversations - that is until they insert themselves through organizing and advocacy to make sure their voices are heard. Our guests today are no strangers to inserting student voice into important policy and practice decisions.

Through their efforts, they are making sure students are heard and accounted for in education reform. Join us as Lauren Schandevel talks about her student-led activism to better support low-income students at the University of Michigan, followed by a conversation with Rachel Fleischer, the executive director of Young Invincibles, who leads national campaigns to elevate student voice in important policy decisions.

Our episode closes with a new segment called Pop Ed, where we explore the growing and eccentric overlap between higher education and pop culture with Lumina's own Dr. Katherine Wheatle.