EdUp Insights EdUp Insights

Gordon Gee has drawn a lot of attention recently for his major overhaul of the University of West Virginia. But a closer look at his decades-long journey—some would say foray—through higher education reveals a dedication to evolving and improving the paradigm wherever he has served. Working from inside the traditional model, Gee has steadfastly done what he thinks is the right thing. On the other hand, John Sperling, founder of University of Phoenix, approached the traditional paradigm from the outside, introducing innovations that have altered the course of higher education in a number of ways. In this episode I’ll look at the similarities between these two controversial visionaries as they have altered the landscape of higher education with two distinct approaches to the traditional paradigm.

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network

If you have traveled anywhere in the world, you have experienced the hassle of dealing with monetary exchange rates. A universal common currency, although a pipedream, would be a real godsend. But it’s not likely.  On the other hand, there is—or should be--a common currency that influences and enhances the social order by providing a civil forum in which to pursue different perspectives and world views with the goal of expanding understanding and knowledge beyond the boundaries of individual experience. That would be education, and in particular higher education. This hifalutin vision once defined America’s higher ed community and gave it a venerated and valued position in society. But today higher education is just one of many arenas where political and social issues are played out in contentious conflicts marked by misinformation and effrontery rather than collegiality and cooperation.  In this episode I’ll look at how and why this has happened and how to counteract the effects of the current situation.

 

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network

What happens when state governments and higher ed operate in silos? In this episode I’ll look at the current situation in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and what it portends for similar circumstances as states and higher education systems struggle to align their missions and budgets to serve their constituents in turbulent times. In particular, I’ll look at how a lack of coordination and fiscal precision in defining the relationship of financial resources to specific initiatives may undercut the ability of states and higher education to fulfill their missions.

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network.

 

Academic freedom and tenure have long been hallmarks of higher education’s role as a dispassionate referee for society. These conventions intend to define and defend the rights of scholars to pursue knowledge and engage in open inquiry without undue external pressure. In this episode I’ll examine how these protections are faring in a society awash with discord around free speech, censorship and general civil unrest. In particular, I’ll look at how the accountability that has penetrated the walls of academia may soon relegate academic freedom and tenure to footnotes in the history of higher education. 

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast network

In the Dickens novella “A Christmas Carol” there is a message of hope for higher education. In this episode we’ll be visited by the Ghosts of Higher Ed Past, Present and Future.  I’ll discuss how we got from the “good old days” of higher education to where we are today, and what the future may hold, depending on the choices we make.  I’ll also look at some of the innovative initiatives both inside and outside the ivy-covered walls that may show us the way forward.

EdUp insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network

Higher education is a significant investment, up there with purchasing a home or a car. And as with all major investments, there are expectations about the anticipated return and about how that expected return will measure up against reality.  In this episode I’ll look at what influences student and graduate expectations and why the gap between expectations and reality exists.  I’ll also have a suggestion about closing that gap.  

 

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network.