Education Empowered

In this final episode of the season, we reflect on the future of higher education with Professor Stephen Parker. Over the last 30 years, Stephen has held a number of high-profile roles in the Australian education sector including the Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Canberra, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President of the Monash University and Director of Global, Development and Strategy at The Conversation. Most recently, Stephen worked as the Special Adviser at KPMG Australia. Stephen discusses the history of higher education, why and how funding structures are changing, and the integration of technology with the student experience. Future predictions, philosophic quotes, and more up next on today’s episode of Education Empowered. Key Takeaways: * Creatively Engaging with Alumni: Universities are finding creative ways to engage with their alumni, some even piloting free content or guest lecture webinars that relate to the degrees their alumni received. Universities have a large amount of information about each of their students which they could be synthesizing to create up-to-date profiles (information about new jobs and career shifts that person has experienced) 10+ years after graduation. Then you could leverage this data to market to the needs and possible future goals they already have. * A Shift in the Way Education is Funded: When education is prohibitively expensive and students aren’t able to appreciate the value of in-classroom learning, reform to the way that education is funded needs to happen. Education is starting to see more buy-in and funding from government and businesses who see the need to invest in the most valuable resource of all, human capital. * The Power of AI in Higher Education: As the abilities of artificial intelligence advance, their use in education reaches way beyond a conversation about HOW students are being taught, all the way down to WHAT students will be taught and get a degree for. The argument of practicality and applicable use of higher education versus the more academic, study for study’s sake continues. Certain highly educated fields may be rendered at least partially useless in the coming decades. --- If you enjoyed this episode, and want to explore these topics in greater detail, be sure to check out the second edition of Salesforce.org’s Connected Student Report. The survey includes insights from more than 2,000 students and staff across 10 countries about student and staff wellbeing, career readiness, flexible learning options, and so much more! You can find the report atsfdc.co/connectedstudentreport [http://sfdc.co/connectedstudentreport].

Welcome back to Education Empowered! Last season, we discussed student and faculty wellbeing. Today, we are going to revisit that conversation with a new guest who offers a different perspective. Joining the show is Dominique Thompson, an award-winning UK General Practitioner, young people's mental health expert, author, and educator. She has over 20 years of clinical experience caring for students, including as a police and expedition doctor, and most recently as Director of Service at the University of Bristol Students' Health Service. She was named Bristol Healthcare Professional of the Year 2017, and in 2019, she was nominated as one of the Top 100 West Women of the Year. If that’s not impressive enough, Dominique has also helped design apps and websites to support student mental health and writes books on the topic. Today, Dominique and Jason explore student wellbeing and mental health, and what schools and faculty can do to better support student wellness. Key Takeaways: * Toxic Perfectionism is Plaguing the Upcoming Generations: It’s important to communicate to students that not only should they go out and try new things, but that it’s okay to fail at those new things. Today’s generations face higher standards of perfection in life and are more prone to certain mental health issues including anxiety and depression related to this increase. * Mental Illness is Slowly Losing its Stigma: Creating awareness is the first step to solving a problem. Emphasis on mental health and wellbeing has long gone ignored, but thanks to student groups, progressive staff and faculty, and shifting cultural attitudes, awareness of these issues has increased over the years. As awareness increases, more solutions are found and students can be better supported. * Proactive Approach to Mental Health: Instead of waiting for a hotline call, a better way to nurture healthy mindsets is by creating early awareness of common struggles. This means recognizing early warning signs and helping students address their feelings proactively through appropriate therapies. --- If you enjoyed this episode, and want to explore these topics in greater detail, be sure to check out the second edition of Salesforce.org’s Connected Student Report. The survey includes insights from more than 2,000 students and staff across 10 countries about student and staff wellbeing, career readiness, flexible learning options, and so much more! You can find the report atsfdc.co/connectedstudentreport [http://sfdc.co/connectedstudentreport].

This week, we dive into the work Southern New Hampshire University is doing to better serve incoming students; from redesigning the admissions experience to rethinking which marketing strategies resonate best. SNHU recently won the Salesforce Excellence in Recruiting and Admissions Innovation Award, and here to talk about what changes SNHU has implemented and why is Senior Director of MarTech & Growth Marketing, Timothy Cerato. Tim is a growth marketer and technologist with 10 plus years of experience in B2B and B2C marketing. He started his career doing work-study at SNHU, left for a time to work at a startup, but found himself called back to education. When he came back to SNHU, they began the process of re-platforming the whole school to a tech stack geared towards online education that has the capacity to double, if not triple, their student body. In this episode, Tim walks us through some of his thought processes around how SNHU is working on shifting consumer behavior to further benefit their student and potential student body. Plus, Tim shares some of the ways he’s worked to improve the student experience by  engaging students in new, innovative ways on SNHU’s website. Key Takeaways: * Experimenting with ways to grow: SNHU made the move to revamp their admissions procedures, making the process quicker and all online for the first time. The timing of this move was paramount to their success as an organization and has opened the doors of educational opportunity to tens of thousands of new potential students. * Communicating in the ways that students need: There has been a lot of research around the quality of communication between students and their universities. Learning what students need - and don’t need - from a university’s website and making the process of enrolling easier have been game-changers for SNHU. * Working changes into the organization through experimentation: With Cerato’s help, SNHU has been running a series of smaller experiments that help them test what works and what doesn’t. These micro-experiments provide insights into what initiatives are most beneficial to students and should be expanded on or further invested in. --- If you enjoyed this episode, and want to explore these topics in greater detail, be sure to check out the second edition of Salesforce.org’s Connected Student Report. The survey includes insights from more than 2,000 students and staff across 10 countries about student and staff wellbeing, career readiness, flexible learning options, and so much more! You can find the report atsfdc.co/connectedstudentreport [http://sfdc.co/connectedstudentreport].

Welcome to Season 5 of Education Empowered! Kicking off the new season, we are joined by Chris Lowery and Jordan Skeen. Chris is the Senior Vice President of Workforce, Careers and Adult Strategy, at Ivy Tech Community College. And Jordan is an academic coach at Central New Mexico Community College. Both Chris and Jordan have a passion for helping students achieve their highest potential and the best, most-rewarding careers possible. Today, they share how they do just that at their respective schools. Looking outside of normal channels, and finding ways to stay connected with their students and communities were critical for their organizations to stay strong in the last year. Chris and Jordan tell us how they met students' needs in challenging times, and how those changes have helped them continue to nurture lifelong learners. Key Takeaways: * Intentionality Intensified: At both higher education school systems, the leadership has been forced to be intentional with reaching out to their students directly on a regular basis so they can continue to get the kind of feedback about what technological, educational and career support they need. Many of the virtual aspects of this community and communication will continue even as students come back to campus. * Quality Career Placement and Coaching: The graduates of community college systems around the US have always had a lot of competition when entering the workforce, but especially through this pandemic the schools have taken it upon themselves to be more pointed with the real-world tools they give to their students, enabling them to get the best jobs on the market. * Opening Up Opportunities to More Individuals: Some of the job placement opportunities, career programs and funding that have been available in the past were there for a smaller segment of the population to benefit from. During the pandemic the leaders of these organizations found the need to open up the requirements allowing even more educated and qualified individuals to participate in and benefit from the career-starting infrastructure they already had in place. --- If you enjoyed this episode, and want to explore these topics in greater detail, be sure to check out the second edition of Salesforce.org’s Connected Student Report. The survey includes insights from more than 2,000 students and staff across 10 countries about student and staff wellbeing, career readiness, flexible learning options, and so much more! You can find the report atsfdc.co/connectedstudentreport [http://sfdc.co/connectedstudentreport].

In 2020, institutions everywhere heard a cry for change. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed digital shortcomings, the ensuing economic devastation further highlighted the need for better college affordability, and social movements made it clear that access for all should never be an afterthought. In 2021, it’s time for higher education institutions to answer the call and address those challenges and more. Joining the show today is Dr. Adrian Haugabrook. Adrian is the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of the Horizon Group at Southern New Hampshire University, one of the largest nonprofit universities in the country. On this episode of Education Empowered, Jason and Adrian discuss what important conversations have been started over the last year, how the acceleration to virtual learning has changed education for the better, and the value of social and community-based partnerships. Plus, they dive into how digital environments can be used to enhance accessibility, affordability, and success. --- Join us on June 16th for Education Summit 2021, the virtual event for education Trailblazers from across the globe. Learn more at sfdc.co/educationempoweredsummit [http://bit.ly/3uuzfr0].