Friday 5 Live: Higher Education Podcast Innovative Educators

According to data from the Community College Research Center (CCRC), two-year institutions lose about 45% of students within their first year. How can colleges reimagine students’ first year of college in a way that centers on students exploring and entering a program of study? Join us as Dr. Hana Lahr of CCRC shares her research on whole-college guided pathways reforms. We will learn about the Ask-Connect-Inspire-Plan framework and other initiatives to improve long-term outcomes like completion and transfer.

Seventy-four percent of college students today are considered nontraditional students. At the same time, more than 39 million Americans have some college but no degree, a number which has grown by 3 million students in 3 years. Dr. Anne Khademian has a term for these students: fluid learners. Join us as Dr. Khademian, the Executive Director of the Universities at Shady Grove, shares her insights into the shifts institutions must make to support and retain nontraditional students as we look to what the future holds for higher education and our workforce.

Today 1 out of 3 college students identify as a first-generation student, according to The Center for First-Generation Student Success. How can institutions at all levels support the success of first-generation students? Join us as Dr. Shantell Strickland-Davis shares her work on using a cultural strengths approach to create a learning environment that engages our first-generation students. Dr. Strickland-Davis will provide strategies for our classrooms and student services units to impact student success for this critical population of the students we serve.

How can we intentionally design content that is accessible for our students? How can we help faculty and staff know how to proactively build content that meets accessibility standards? Cliff Nelson, Director, Instructional Technologies and Academic Support at WSU Tech shares his approach to his students first philosophy and practical recommendations for how we can create accessible content for our students. Check out the Accessibility Summer Camp that Cliff and his team coordinate each year for faculty and staff from across the country and other resources for building accessible content below:
WSU Tech’s Accessibility Summer Camp (June 18): https://www.accessibilityict.org/
WSU Tech’s Faculty Training: https://www.itas-innovationcafe.com/accessibility-training Ally (an online tool that assess accessibility - integrates with LMS platforms such as Blackboard and Canvas) https://www.blackboard.com/teaching-learning/accessibility-universal-design/blackboard-ally-lms

Professional Organizations:
OLC: https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/
Quality Matters: https://www.qualitymatters.org/
AHEAD: https://www.ahead.org/home
WebAIM: https://webaim.org/
Kansas Accessibility Resource Network: https://ksarn.org/

In our latest episode, we celebrate National Distance Learning Week (November 9-13) with a fantastic discussion with Dr. Tom Tobin, an internationally recognized expert on the topic of online learning. We examine how pandemic learning will shape online learning and the future of higher education “classrooms.”

Naomi Sigg, Director of Multicultural Affairs at Case Western University, shares her critical insights into how we can best support AAPI students, colleagues, and neighbors. Naomi is a nationally recognized speaker on topics of race, inclusion, and equity. May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and at Innovative Educators, we want to celebrate AAPI communities while also learning how we can be allies by educating ourselves, listening, amplifying AAPI voices, and being an upstander (sharing Naomi's terms). Join us for an opportunity for critical conversation and learning with Naomi Sigg.