Currently enrolled students, as well as people who stopped out or never attended a higher ed institution, are sharing what will keep them enrolled, re-enroll, or enroll for the first time, in addition to what could make them leave, not come back, or never attempt to enroll at all. In the second half of his two-part podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton continues his conversation with Dr. Courtney Brown of the Lumina Foundation about the Foundation’s State of Higher Ed 2023 study that was conducted over ...
Jun 20, 2023•37 min
Higher ed leaders can learn what 6,000 current students, 3,000 people who stopped out, and 3,000 more who never enrolled in a U.S. college or university say their barriers have been to finishing their education over three years. The results come from a study by the Lumina Foundation called “The State of Higher Ed” in partnership with Gallup. In the first of a two-part podcast episode, Dr. Drumm McNaughton talks with one of The State of Higher Ed’s leading architects, VP of Impact and Planning Dr...
Jun 13, 2023•26 min•Ep. 159
A lot has been happening up on the Hill that affects higher education. In his latest podcast episode, Dr. Drumm McNaughton catches up on the latest news with Tom Netting, president of TEN Government Strategies, who advocates before Congress, federal agencies, and state governments on behalf of private institutions of higher education and post-secondary education companies. Tom discusses the parts of the infamous debt ceiling bill that are important to the higher ed community, the two-year cap on...
Jun 07, 2023•39 min•Ep. 158
A new study on what campus leaders can do to help their graduates move into good jobs by age 30 found that the most effective ways for young adults to succeed in the workforce generally involve attaining post-secondary education degrees. The Georgetown Center for Education in the Workforce (CEW)’s “What Works: 10 Education, Training, and Work-Based Pathway Changes that Lead to Good Jobs” determines how much the likelihood of young adults getting a good job can be improved by some specific change...
May 31, 2023•38 min•Ep. 157
The liberal arts are currently under fire in higher education, with Marymount University in Virginia recently eliminating nine such undergraduate degrees. But should most colleges and universities follow suit, it would harm democracy in America, according to Jeff Scheuer, author of Inside the Liberal Arts: Critical Thinking and Citizenship. “ There’s no way a democracy can function based on people who only have technical knowledge and no citizenship skills.” In this podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton...
May 23, 2023•29 min•Ep. 156
Villanova University is creating career-ready graduates despite the current negative perception of higher ed that is partly fueled by students having difficulties finding jobs upon graduation. Part of this comes from approximately 94% of Villanova students being accepted into internships. Anyone can see these successes for themselves since the private Roman Catholic research institution shares what their alumni are actually saying and experiencing online. In his latest podcast episode, Dr. Drumm...
May 16, 2023•36 min•Ep. 155
Higher ed can be better positioned to meet, enroll, retain, and help future generations of students successfully maneuver the ever-changing business world by embracing micro-credentials appropriately and programmatically. Micro-credentials are also money-making opportunities for colleges and universities that can help address deficits and fund other pursuits. Additionally, with digital credential platforms such as Credly reporting the issuance of industry and workforce credentials being up 83% s...
May 09, 2023•37 min•Ep. 154
College and university leaders can recover from the drop in international enrollment brought on by the pandemic and federal policies by establishing cost-effective overseas branch campuses in the Middle East and other areas. Although many other countries compete in this market, an increasing number of international students who can’t travel to the US would like to attend the same prestigious institutions at home. In his latest podcast episode, Dr. Drumm McNaughton talks with Dr. Olgun Cicek abou...
May 02, 2023•35 min•Ep. 153
Higher ed leaders looking to not only expand their student population to include underrepresented communities but to ensure they succeed can actually replicate a comprehensive program from the University of Cambridge’s Lucy Cavendish College in the UK. Part of the larger Cambridge system that once depended largely on legacy admissions from private schools for decades, Lucy Cavendish now admits 90% of its freshmen class from 180 public high schools across the country. In this podcast, Dr. Drumm M...
Apr 25, 2023•38 min•Ep. 152
Presidents and other higher ed leaders that want their institution to grow and sustain that growth can easily replicate Southeastern University (SEU)’s success. SEU grew from 2,200 to over 10,000 students and expanded to more than 200 campuses worldwide despite having no president for two years, resulting in a drop in enrollment that almost bankrupted the university. In this podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with SEU’s president, Dr. Kent Ingle, about how using “Framework Leadership,” a holis...
Apr 18, 2023•37 min•Ep. 151
College and university leaders who understand and implement the customer lifecycle model into their processes and procedures can boost enrollment numbers at their institutions despite the ongoing trend in higher education. In his latest podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton explores how higher ed leaders can follow the seven steps of this particular business model with Modern Campus’ Senior Director of Strategic Insights Amrit Ahluwalia, who also serves as editor-in-chief of The EvoLLLution , an online ...
Apr 11, 2023•42 min•Ep. 150
A recent Dear Colleague letter that addresses the Department of Education’s upcoming expansion of a third-party service regulation will likely impact nearly all higher ed institutions that contract with a vendor to use their services and programs. The original rule was designed to monitor contracted companies that provide colleges and universities with services to manage various aspects of Federal Student Aid. In his latest podcast episode, Dr. Drumm McNaughton discusses the recent Dear Colleagu...
Apr 04, 2023•35 min•Ep. 149
In stark contrast to prevailing trends in higher education, colleges and universities have or are boosting their enrollment, retention, and graduation rates by improving their students’ sense of belonging, student support services, student-faculty relationships, and career readiness programs. In this podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton explores how higher ed leaders can follow these actionable steps with CEO Elliot Felix of Brightspot Strategy, a consultancy focusing on attracting and retaining studen...
Mar 28, 2023•31 min•Ep. 148
Rural-serving institutions (RSIs) face many more unique challenges than most urban schools and persist, comprising more than 25% of all U.S. colleges and universities. Although inherently different, every higher ed institution can learn from the innovative best practices RSIs have been forced to adopt to help positively impact their enrollment and more. To understand what RSIs can teach higher ed as a whole, Dr. Drumm McNaughton discusses the misconceptions and essential roles these institutions...
Mar 21, 2023•43 min•Ep. 147
Aside from the obvious importance of wanting to improve diversity and inclusiveness in higher ed, the benefits that businesses experience after promoting or hiring more women into leadership positions and the data that proves the positive impact female faculty have on teaching and learning should be enough to convince college and university leaders on how women can transform their campuses for the better. Businesses note a boost in problem-solving, improved business decisions, and impressive ris...
Mar 14, 2023•36 min•Ep. 146
With the endless stories about ChatGPT in the news and theories on it could negatively affect teaching and learning in higher ed, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are becoming increasingly topical among college and university leaders. However, few headlines highlight how machine learning and AI can benefit Higher Ed. To help higher ed decision-makers avoid getting too caught up in the negative hype, Dr. Drumm McNaughton discusses these technologies with Michael Feldstein , ...
Mar 01, 2023•36 min•Ep. 145
Institutional accreditation is in dire need of change, even though it provides institutions with more external recognition, improves the likelihood of gaining more resources, and boosts the respect of staff and faculty. And with an increasingly high number of professional accrediting bodies now touching and impacting many colleges and universities, now is the time for higher ed leaders to strive to support and understand how accreditation can improve overall to strengthen post-secondary educatio...
Feb 28, 2023•31 min•Ep. 144
Now more than ever, accreditation is essential in higher education. An increasingly high number of professional accrediting bodies touch and impact colleges and universities to the point where accreditors have the potential to lead or even stifle change in higher ed. This is especially true given that accreditation is the gatekeeper for over $150 billion in federal financial aid. In the first of this two-part series, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Ralph Wolff, the founder and former president ...
Feb 21, 2023•31 min•Ep. 143
In today's multi-generational and borderless world, study abroad programs are critical for introducing students to the world outside their university and even their country. They make up an integral part of the curriculum and the student undergraduate experience, and generally, students look back with very fond memories of their time abroad on their colleagues with whom they experienced these trips. Unfortunately, despite all the “glamour shots” and publicity surrounding these trips, there is a ...
Feb 14, 2023•31 min•Ep. 142
In this podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Steve Katsouros of Come to Believe Foundation and Network , which works with colleges and universities to replicate a successful DEI, enrollment, and graduation model. Dr. Katsouros was the founder of Arrupe College, a two-year institution that is part of Loyola University Chicago. Arrupe has an amazing track record for completion and having students graduate with little or no debt. Fifty percent (50%) of students complete their degree in two...
Feb 07, 2023•38 min•Ep. 141
Higher education is currently forcing many adult learners to jump through hoops to complete their degrees. Although many of these nontraditional students can be successful, colleges and universities should still meet adult learners where they are, as higher ed faces dwindling enrollment and a workforce that is relying less on employees with four-year degrees. Higher ed institutions can start the process of change themselves, but much of the work still requires support from Congress. To help unde...
Jan 31, 2023•36 min•Ep. 140
Successfully reinventing a college or university into a truly innovative school after cutting a major portion of programs sounds near impossible, but the experiences at National Louis University (NLU), a four-campus private institution in Chicago, proves that presidents and other decision-makers can achieve the same without having to rebuild trust in faculty and staff. NLU is also the poster child of a university that successfully shakes the status quo. It provides no-cost tuition and grant-cove...
Jan 24, 2023•41 min•Ep. 139
Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews Dr. Lucie Lapovsky of Lapovsky Consulting about higher education finances, including how low enrollment is forcing smaller, non-elite colleges and universities to shift cost functionality, drop majors, consolidate, reset their tuition, price-match the competition, embrace online learning and micro-credentials and retain students. Podcast Highlights Operating online provides campuses with great economies of scale, such as increased amounts of sharing between differ...
Jan 17, 2023•34 min•Ep. 138
Podcast Summary Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews CFO Tom Netting of TEN Government Strategies about the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan, the Omnibus Appropriations Bill, delays in upcoming regulations, and the effects that changes in Congress will have on higher education. Podcast Highlights Chief Justice Amy Coney Barrett reviewed and dismissed two of the six filed suits against Biden’s Student Debt Cancellation Plan Two other pieces of litigation will receive oral arguments...
Jan 10, 2023•41 min•Ep. 137
Dr. Drumm McNaughton, CEO and Higher Education Consultant at The Change Leader and Deb Maue, Senior Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing at Aurora University, discuss what has happened in 2022 and predict trends in higher education for 2023. Read the summary at https://changinghighered.com/2023-higher-education-predictions-2022-year-in-review...
Jan 03, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 136
Dr. Drumm McNaughton , in conversation with Danny King , co-founder and CEO of the global digital credentialing platform Accredible, about this new—and now mainstream—technology that is transforming the hiring industry and higher ed’s approach to credentialing. Podcast Highlights In the last decade or so, digital credentialing has become mainstream, with most organizations around the world—including many universities—using it. Institutions, as well as individual students, would benefit if higher...
Dec 27, 2022•41 min
Podcast Summary Dr. Drumm McNaughton , in conversation with Dr. Nathan Long , President at Saybrook University, about how Saybrook has managed to more than double enrollment over the course of eight years. Podcast Highlights To connect with prospective students, update the university’s mission every four to five years using data obtained from market research. Allocating a high percentage of the overall budget to marketing can not only increase but diversify enrollment. The benefits of and ways t...
Dec 20, 2022•39 min•Ep. 134
In the conclusion of this two-part series, Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Dr. Belle Wheelan , president of the Southern Association of Colleges Commission on Colleges , discuss the tsunami of issues facing higher ed and accreditation today, including several hot-button issues, how she responds to criticisms of accreditation, recent SACSCOC standards, and what’s ahead for accreditation. Podcast Highlights Student learning outcomes continue to be “a big deal.” The desire for micro-credentialing by sourc...
Dec 13, 2022•26 min•Ep. 134
In the first of this two-part interview, Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews Dr. Belle Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) , about the tsunami of issues facing higher ed and accreditation today, including three recent examples of undue political influence on governing boards. Podcast Highlights The current misunderstanding of accreditation likely stems from the larger issue of the overall decline of public support for higher ed in general. Gove...
Dec 06, 2022•34 min•Ep. 132
Host, Dr. Drumm McNaughton is joined by Dr. Jana Mathews in discussion about the changing role of faculty in student mental health – how helicopter parents, social media, and the pandemic lockdowns shaped today’s undergraduate students, along with three tips for faculty as they navigate this unprecedented landscape, and how Higher Ed Administration can support Faculty in this transformational role. Podcast Highlights It’s important to remember that incoming college students are still maturing ph...
Nov 29, 2022•36 min•Ep. 131
