Episode #25 | A Conversation with Will Patch, Niche

08/24/22 • 42 min

What is the goal of higher education?

According to Will Patch, a Senior Enrollment Insights Leader at Niche.com, colleges and universities should prepare students to step into jobs that fulfill them as individuals and benefit their communities. But it’s not such a straightforward path for all students.

In the latest episode of our MindMaxing Podcast series, “Adolescence to Adulthood,” Will discusses the existing barriers to higher education, such as standardized testing and expensive tuition, as well as the work Niche does to change the system.

Niche connects people to their future schools, neighborhoods, and workplaces, and Will champions any progress that removes obstacles between students and learning—because learning is the key to success.

Will shares, “To me, the biggest goal of education should be training people who can be lifelong learners to be inquisitive, to make an impact that is meaningful to them and meaningful to their community.”

What is the goal of higher education?

Previous Episode

Episode #24 | A Conversation with Dr. Mariana Amatullo, Parsons School of Design

The pandemic presented many barriers to higher education. But it also catalyzed demand for more accessible education.

In the latest episode of our MindMaxing Podcast series, “Adolescence to Adulthood,” Lee Maxey speaks with Dr. Mariana Amatullo, Vice Provost for Global Executive Education and Online Strategic Initiatives at Parsons School of Design at The New School (https://execed.newschool.edu/).

The pandemic forced many educators to experiment with remote learning for the first time, and while that was challenging, it also sparked innovation. Now, there’s a continued desire for education that is more accessible, especially for learners with complex lives.

Dr. Amatullo shares, “We’re seeing an appetite for the flexibility of learning on their own terms and their own time that a hybrid model allows.”

Next Episode

Episode #26 | A Conversation with Kevin Ross, Lynn University

How can higher ed institutions teach students the value of persistence?

In the latest installment of our MindMaxing podcast series, “Adolescence to Adulthood,” Lynn University President Dr. Kevin Ross addresses the importance of making colleges and universities safe spaces for students to try, fail, and try again.

Dr. Ross discusses how Lynn’s implementation of a block schedule—which enables students to practice skills like writing and public speaking repeatedly over a period of time—has helped create just this kind of safe space. He notes that restoring a strong campus community post-COVID is also a key part of this effort.

“When our campus environments were taken away from us, the value of campus community was far more evident than I think it ever had been,” Dr. Ross says.

MindMaxing: Conversations on Higher Ed - Episode #25 | A Conversation with Will Patch, Niche

Transcript

Lee: Hi, and welcome to another of MindMaxing Podcast Series. This series is adolescence to adulthood, the pathways, the journeys that people take and how education is helping or in some cases, hindering that journey or the pathway that people trudge. I'm glad to be here with Will Patch, who's the Senior Enrollment Insight Leader for Higher Ed, for a company called Niche. Niche takes a look at that journey from, I'll call it from the sidelines and has a very broad perspective. I got a chance t