There’s no shortage of news about the U.S. Department of Education these days—from an executive order proposing to eliminate the agency, to new proposals on Capitol Hill that could reshape federal aid programs, to upcoming regulatory changes. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators’ Karen McCarthy joins NACUBO’s Liz Clark and Bryan Dickson to explore what these developments mean for higher education institutions and staff working in financial aid and business offices. Th...
May 19, 2025•25 min•Season 9Ep. 13
April 30 marked the first 100 days President Trump’s second term in the White House. Executive orders and federal agency upheavals have created new challenges and much uncertainty for colleges and universities. On Capitol Hill, House budget and tax proposals include a number of policy ideas that are adding to concerns. NACUBO’s Liz Clark and Ashley Jackson discuss these issues and advocacy efforts NACUBO has taken on behalf of its members. Additional Resources: Read the latest NACUBO news Regist...
May 05, 2025•27 min•Season 9Ep. 12
The fifth edition of the National Profile of Higher Education Chief Business Officers, released last year, offers crucial insights into the career paths, responsibilities, and aspirations of CBOs across the country. In this special crossover episode between CBO Speaks and NACUBO in Brief, host Donna Schiele and NACUBO's Bryan Dickson explore the Profile's findings with Nicole Long, chief financial officer and vice president of finance and administration at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia...
Feb 21, 2025•37 min•Season 9Ep. 11
Executive orders and memos issued during President Trump’s first weeks back in the White House have elevated risk and uncertainty for colleges and universities. A leaked list of House budget and tax proposals includes a number of alarming policy ideas, and it is unclear how, or if, the Congress will be able to fund the federal government after March 14. NACUBO’s Liz Clark and Ashley Jackson discuss these issues and advocacy efforts NACUBO has taken on behalf of its members. Links & Notes NAC...
Feb 10, 2025•22 min•Season 9Ep. 10
Dr. Ruth Johnston, vice president of NACUBO Consulting joins Liz Clark to talk about NACUBO Consulting. Ruth talks about the expertise, experience, and leadership abilities NACUBO consultants bring to each engagement. She also discusses some of the top issues for which institutions are seeking solutions. Ruth also explains how NACUBO Consultants are integrating tools available from NACUBO such as the Student Success Hub, resources developed by NACUBO’s analytics team, and more. Links & Notes...
Jan 27, 2025•25 min•Season 9Ep. 9
La Toya Hart, Ph.D., assistant vice president, institutional research, planning and effectiveness, at Jackson State University and Lindsay Wayt, Ph.D., senior director, analytics, at NACUBO join Liz Clark to talk about the new Change With Analytics Playbook, a comprehensive resource designed to support institutions in creating a culture and capacity for strategic data use. The free resource contains 16 “plays” for data leaders to follow in order to make significant progress on their institution’...
Jan 13, 2025•26 min•Season 9Ep. 8
Demographic and economic swings are a reality for colleges and universities, but thoughtful campus leaders can create proactive, rather than reactive, approaches to program development and connect those with employers’ workforce needs. Ivy Tech Community College’s Dominick Chase, senior vice president and chief financial officer, and Molly Dodge, senior vice president of workforce and careers sit down with NACUBO’s Bryan Dickson, director of student financial services and educational programs, t...
Dec 02, 2024•17 min•Season 9Ep. 7
Student retention is a top priority for every campus and is affected by numerous factors. Everything from accessibility to payment instructions, course registration and billing due dates, payment methods and options could influence student retention. Join Becky Copper-Glenz, Fitchburg State University’s dean for the school of graduate, online, and continuing education, and Bryan Dickson, NACUBO’s director of student financial services and educational programs as they discuss research findings fr...
Nov 18, 2024•18 min•Season 9Ep. 6
Anne Ollen, Managing Director at the TIAA Institute, a think-tank within TIAA, develops and executes the TIAA Institute's higher education program. In conversation with NACUBO’s vice president for policy and research, Liz Clark, Anne shares highlights from a recent TIAA Institute research initiative to deepen understanding of potential and current employees' job choices and what people expect to gain in return for the work they do at colleges and universities. She describes a tool institutional ...
Nov 04, 2024•29 min•Season 9Ep. 5
Brent O’Guin, artificial intelligence strategist and architect at the Georgia Institute of Technology speaks with Neil Gavigan, policy and advocacy manager at NACUBO about his work leading generative AI integration across the institution. Stating “you don’t have to wait to start getting value from AI,” Brent shares his experiences helping staff build a working understanding of readily available tools while applying them to various administrative functions. Links & Notes Read about Georgia Te...
Oct 21, 2024•20 min•Season 9Ep. 4
With 30 years of experience in higher education administration, Mark Hampton, executive education advisor at Amazon Web Services (AWS), is deeply familiar with the changing needs of institutions and necessary steps to meet the challenge. In conversation with NACUBO’s vice president, policy and research, Liz Clark, Mark shares insights about change management as well as the importance of proper data stewardship. Likening an institution’s data to its financial resources, Mark challenges administra...
Oct 07, 2024•21 min•Season 9Ep. 3
Andrea Young, vice president for finance and administration at DePauw University, and Curtis Wiseley, executive director of MINDful College Connections, speak with Neil Gavigan, policy and advocacy manager at NACUBO, about their innovative approach to better meet the mental health needs of students at Depauw University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and St. Mary of the Woods College. With a shared vision and support from the Lilly Endowment, these three institutions created a flexible and...
Sep 23, 2024•20 min•Season 9Ep. 2
In 2021, human resources leaders at the University of California, Irvine leveraged changing ideas about the nature of work to introduce “Work Reimagined,” a program designed to retain the institution’s culture and community and deliver on its mission while building a human-centric work experience that allows for increased flexibility where and when employees work. In this episode, UC Irvine’s Ramona Agrela, chief human resources officer, vice chancellor, and Michele Quint, executive director hea...
Sep 09, 2024•20 min•Season 9Ep. 1
Pete Zuraw, vice president of market strategy and development at Gordian, joins Neil Gavigan, policy and advocacy manager at NACUBO to discuss the latest in higher education facilities management. The conversation centers around the 11th edition of Gordian’s State of Facilities in Higher Education study, released earlier this year. Pete and Neil focus on the various human elements that provide a foundation for higher education facilities: an aging facilities workforce, changing demographics in h...
Jul 15, 2024•25 min•Season 8Ep. 15
In this episode, NACUBO’s senior director, research and policy analysis, Ken Redd joins vice president, policy and research, Liz Clark to dig into the inputs and impacts of NACUBO’s research projects. Beginning with the 2023 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments, a report that marks the 50th anniversary of NACUBO’s endowment study, they walk through the evolving research process and changing policy considerations of this flagship report on college and university endowments. Next they discuss res...
Jul 01, 2024•26 min•Season 8Ep. 14
During the 2024 NACUBO Annual Meeting, NACUBO will unveil a new Student Success Hub, a toolkit designed to offer pragmatic approaches to evaluate and sustain student equity and student success initiatives. The Hub is the result of work from NACUBO that has been supported by three 3-year grants to produce a bank of resources to strengthen schools’ ability to analyze financial and student outcomes-related data. In this episode, NACUBO’s vice president for policy and research, Liz Clark speaks with...
Jun 03, 2024•27 min•Season 8Ep. 13
Sharon Butler is deeply familiar with the “uneasiness and concerns” that international students face when it comes to paying tuition and other expenses. As Executive Vice President of Global Education at Flywire, a global payments enablement company that partners with institutions across the world, she is looking for solutions to these problems. In a conversation with NACUBO’s Bryan Dickson, director, student financial services and educational programs, Sharon shares findings from a recent a sur...
Apr 22, 2024•24 min•Season 8Ep. 12
On the heels of a recent fly-in advocacy day on Capitol Hill, NACUBO’s director, government affairs, Ashley Jackson speaks with policy and advocacy manager Neil Gavigan about the state of play in Congress. The conversation touches on highlights from that fly-in and examines how fallout from the protracted FY24 appropriations process, along with upcoming elections, may affect the legislative calendar for months to come. Links & Notes Visit NACUBO’s Advocacy Issues Page Watch NACUBO's Advocacy...
Apr 08, 2024•23 min•Season 8Ep. 11
Every year, students and families rely on federal student aid to make decisions about higher education. As the Department of Education has struggled to implement a streamlined version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), pressure has steadily increased on students, families, and the institutions that serve them. In this episode, Justin Draeger, president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) joins NACUBO’s Bryan Dickson, director...
Mar 25, 2024•19 min•Season 8Ep. 10
In this special episode, Kara Freeman, NACUBO’s president and CEO, interviews two familiar higher education colleagues about their recent book, The Resilient University: How Purpose and Inclusion Drive Student Success. Throughout the conversation, Freeman Hrabowski III, president emeritus, and Lynne Schaefer, vice president emerita for finance and administration at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), share insights earned through careers in together in higher education leadershi...
Mar 04, 2024•40 min•Season 8Ep. 9
NACUBO’s Liz Clark, vice president, policy and research, speaks with Emily Brock from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) about what’s expected from Washington policymakers this year. Emily is director of GFOA’s Federal Liaison Center and shares her thoughts on what legislative and regulatory actions may impact financings (bonds) and talks about the patience needed as we await additional guidance from the federal government on several fronts. Links & Notes About GFOA GFOA Best...
Jan 08, 2024•26 min•Season 8Ep. 8
In a conversation based around their NACUBO 2023 Annual Meeting session, Lou Mayer, chief finance officer, vice president of finance and treasurer and Tej Patel, vice president for information technology and chief information officer at Stevens Institute of Technology talk with Neil Gavigan, policy and advocacy manager at NACUBO about cyberattacks and higher education. Throughout the conversation, Lou and Tej illustrate why higher education is a prime target for cybercrime and share lessons lear...
Nov 27, 2023•23 min•Season 8Ep. 7
On this all-NACUBO episode of the podcast, Liz Clark, vice president, policy and research speaks with Kelli Rainey, senior director, grant programs about Kelli’s ongoing work to help institutions strategically finance equitable student outcomes. Supported by a series of multi-year grants, this effort has partnered NACUBO with a diverse group of 26 institutions across the country to build understanding around how to improve student outcomes and provide higher education leaders with the tools and ...
Nov 13, 2023•22 min•Season 8Ep. 6
Chris Harder, senior fiscal operations manager for student affairs at Metropolitan State University of Denver joins NACUBO’s Bryan Dickson, director, student financial services and educational programs, for a conversation about MSU Denver’s decision to pay its lowest earners more than legally required. Referring to the move as an “investment in the institution and its students,” Chris shares background on the decision as well as challenges, anticipated and otherwise, implementing the plan. Links...
Oct 30, 2023•19 min•Season 8Ep. 5
NACUBO’s Liz Clark, vice president, policy and research speaks with Ann Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Mauve Group. Together, they discuss Ann’s early work as an educator and how Mauve Group has grown to offer a variety of global operations services in more than 100 countries “from Japan to Chile.” After realizing there were opportunities to offer new solutions to the higher education sector in 2012, Mauve Group now offers support to institutions that employ people outside the United States in res...
Oct 16, 2023•18 min•Season 8Ep. 4
Building on their institution’s legacy of serving disadvantaged students, Penny Evans-Plants, chief information officer and Zach Sherwin, director of enterprise analytics at Berry College join NACUBO’s Bryan Dickson, director of student financial services and educational programs to discuss their ongoing efforts to leverage existing data to better serve students. By focusing on “identifying students with excessive debt and intervening as soon as possible,” Penny and Zach are helping to produce p...
Oct 02, 2023•19 min•Season 8Ep. 3
With input from business officers at public and private colleges and universities across the country, NACUBO recently identified the most-pressing higher education business issues in 2023. NACUBO’s 2023 Rising Star Award recipient, Katie Walker, assistant vice president for finance at the University of Virginia, joins Liz Clark, vice president for policy and research at NACUBO, to discuss the challenges—and how colleges are strategizing to respond. Links & Notes NACUBO’s Top 5 Higher Educati...
Sep 18, 2023•34 min•Season 8Ep. 2
As we enter a new academic year and colleges and universities welcome new and returning students, NACUBO In Brief speaks with enrollment experts. In a conversation addressing different challenges facing enrollment officers, lessons learned from the pandemic, and more, Neil Gavigan, NACUBO’s policy and advocacy manager, sits down with Fabrizio D’Aloisio, associate vice provost for enrollment management and executive director of undergraduate admissions at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, a...
Sep 04, 2023•20 min•Season 8Ep. 1
NACUBO's new podcast Career Conversations, featuring insights and advice for business professionals new to higher education, starts airing biweekly on September 8th. Make sure to subscribe!
Aug 28, 2023•1 min
Discussing the latest release in NACUBO’s state of higher education series: More is Possible with Higher Education , NACUBO’s director, student financial services and educational programs, Bryan Dickson, speaks with senior director, analytics, Lindsay Wayt. Together, they examine some of the ways that higher education benefits students, communities, and society as well as areas where institutions may be able to do even more. Links & Notes More is Possible with Higher Education NACUBO's State...
Jul 10, 2023•23 min•Season 7Ep. 8
