Friday 5 Live: Higher Education Podcast

As the spring semester wrapped up, faculty and staff expressed concern about disengaged students. Looking to the new school year, what are strategies institutions can use to create opportunities for students to feel heard and valued? How can we foster campus connections leading to student engagement and success? Dr. Dan Maxwell, Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Services - UH System, shares with us unique ways that he is creating connections with students like his Donuts with Dr. Dan initiative.

College enrollments hit a record low in the fall semester. Coupled with that, new data released in early May shows that FAFSA applications are down almost nine percent compared to last year - a concerning trend that suggests another year of downward college enrollment. How can institutions work to address enrollment challenges? What are strategies colleges and universities might take to encourage growth in applications but also examine student success? Join as Aaron Basko, enrollment growth specialist and author, shares his insights into the challenges institutions are facing with enrollment and strategies to consider for institutional growth and health!

As we wrap up this school year and our conversations on leadership in honor of our colleague Dr. Denise Swett, Kate Mueller reflects on this year: things learned, surprises found, and how this year of continued pandemic learning will inform the upcoming academic year. Kate shares her recommendations for how we can lead from where we are and resources for our own growth and renewal.

As we emerge from pandemic learning, students are struggling to find their footing and to be successful in their classes. Listserve discussions for organizations like the POD Network, FYE, and LRNASST are ripe with faculty and staff expressing their concern about failing students and their surprise that as instruction has returned to in-person there has not necessarily been a correlation to fewer grades of D, F, and W. Jessica Tinklenberg, Program Director for the Center for Teaching and Learning at Claremont Colleges, shares her insights into how we can better understand the learning environment from a student perspective while sharing ways we can provide the support they need NOW.

The pandemic has spotlighted a concerning enrollment trend in higher education: a decrease in Black male students at U.S. colleges and universities. Dr. Reginald Stroble, coordinator of the Black Male Initiative at Anne Arundel Community College continues our conversation from the fall semester on recruiting and retaining Black male students. Reggie, and his former student Juwon, shared their insights and critical considerations for our work with male students. This promises to be an informative conversation you won’t want to miss!

Join us for this next discussion in our Don't Sweat It: The Denise Sweat Conversations on Leadership Series! Dr. Celia Esposito-Noy, Ed.D, the Superintendent/President, Solano Community College District, shares insights from her extensive career in higher education. Celia provides insights on crafting strong and diverse teams as well as sound advice on how to create stystemic change at our institutions to better address equity and access.

Declines in enrollment and FAFSA applications from students of color and low-income families are a concerning trend we've seen dominate higher education headlines this academic year. As a result, institutions are grappling with how to best support students from these populations, often the very ones identified for participation in TRIO programs. Listen in as Dr. Pinkey Stewart shares with us strategies and techniques for supporting TRIO students and under-resourced students. Dr. Stewart draws from her extensive career in higher education to understand the challenges facing under-resourced students and their families and best practices in enrolling and retaining this important student population.

As we begin the fall semester, many institutions are examining how they can become student-ready. Join us as Dr. John Donnelly shares his insights into what makes a college or university student-ready and how institutions can do this important work to focus their efforts on student success. Drawing from his career as a community college administrator and faculty member, John has recently been appointed to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Commission on Student Success which works to improve student success outcomes for community college students.