157 episodes

Jeff Selingo and Michael Horn discuss what’s next for higher education and talk with the newsmakers you want to hear from most. Find the latest news and insights into the current trends in higher ed on the Future U. Podcast.

Future U Podcast - The Pulse of Higher Ed Jeff Selingo, Michael Horn

    • Education
    • 4.8 • 117 Ratings

Jeff Selingo and Michael Horn discuss what’s next for higher education and talk with the newsmakers you want to hear from most. Find the latest news and insights into the current trends in higher ed on the Future U. Podcast.

    Apprenticeship in America: Rethinking the Role of Community Colleges

    Apprenticeship in America: Rethinking the Role of Community Colleges

    More and more business leaders, policy makers, and educators are looking to apprenticeships to prepare the American workforce for in-demand careers. The US system leans on its community colleges to facilitate these programs, but they have not always been the most effective quarterbacks.

    On this episode, we hear from two innovators helping community colleges better play their lead role in growing apprenticeship in America. We spoke with Mitchell Harp, Dean of Apprenticeship Programs at Trident Technical College, about the keys to his school’s thriving program. We also sat down with Pierre Dubuc, CEO of OpenClassrooms, about how community colleges are leveraging his company’s expertise and online learning platform to level up their apprenticeship programs. This episode is sponsored by Ascendium Education Group.

    • 30 min
    The Simplified FAFSA’s Complicated Rollout

    The Simplified FAFSA’s Complicated Rollout

    Michael and Jeff go deep on the revised FAFSA and the challenges encountered in its rollout. They sat down with Andrew LaCasse, who helped develop the simplified FAFSA in his former role as a senior education policy advisor on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, to learn about the back-story behind the legislation and its underlying policy goals. They also spoke with John Marshall, President of Colorado Mesa University, about how they are supporting students through the delay and confusion caused by the FAFSA’s rocky rollout. The episode is sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

    • 33 min
    Testing, Athlete Labor & the FAFSA

    Testing, Athlete Labor & the FAFSA

    Jeff and Michael dive into the higher ed acronyms that have been in the headlines these past few weeks: SAT/ACT, NLRB, and FAFSA. What's next for test-optional after announcements from Dartmouth and Yale; what does it mean that the Dartmouth men's basketball team is trying to unionize; and what will the impact be of the difficult FAFSA rollout. This episode is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Ascendium Education Group.

    • 31 min
    The Future of the Ph.D.

    The Future of the Ph.D.

    Hosts Jeff and Michael are joined by Len Cassuto, an author and professor at Fordham University, and focus their conversation on the role of Ph.D. students and what the challenges in that part of academia might mean for higher ed. They dive into the subjects that Len explores in his new book, The New PhD: How to Build a Better Graduate Education, such as the changes that should be made to better prepare Ph.D. students for their careers, and how universities might be exploiting free labor from students under the guise of an academic apprenticeship. The episode is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Ascendium Education Group.

    • 42 min
    “College Unbound” from the Traditional Model

    “College Unbound” from the Traditional Model

    Last season, Jeff and Michael explored the reinstatement of the Pell Grant for incarcerated learners. The question now is what’s next for these learners and where can they actually get to use their federal funds? In this episode, Jeff and Michael look at the innovative College Unbound model with co-founder and president Adam Bush and Jose Rodriguez, the assistant vice president for community and belonging. College Unbound is an accredited college with a single degree and a model that allows learning to happen wherever it happens, in kitchens or even in prisons. The episode is sponsored by Ascendium Education Group.

    • 30 min
    Reporters Roundtable: Enrollment, Loan Forgiveness, & FAFSA Simplified

    Reporters Roundtable: Enrollment, Loan Forgiveness, & FAFSA Simplified

    The Hechinger Report’s Jon Marcus and Chris Quintana of USA Today join hosts Jeff and Michael for a roundtable discussion to talk about recent headlines in higher ed. Jon discusses the impact of lower birth rates in Japan on university enrollment, while Chris dives into the current state of the Biden Administration’s student loan debt repayment plans. Other topics include efforts by universities to articulate the value of higher ed, the rollout of the simplified FAFSA, and culture wars on campus. The episode is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Ascendium Education Group.

    • 29 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
117 Ratings

117 Ratings

The Vampire Squid Chronicles ,

Great Podcast

Welcome back! Always enjoy the podcast while quite disenchanted with the ossified debacle that is Higher Ed in the US. Is an antiquated “4 year residential experience” really worth a roughly 300k pretax (or 600k+ post tax) “investment” per child? Are colleges public goods to serve the public interest or are they simply hedge fund arms of a select, few cadre of elite institutions? Are they places to train professional or Olympian athletes in lesser sports? We have gone far astray from the purpose of college as institutions of higher education affordable to all. Given few signs of innovation and cost controls, the future looks bleak.

S Paloma ,

Great resource for higher ed innovators!

I look forward to each episode. Jeff and Michael bring in leading thinkers and doers, and ask great questions. Love this podcast.

RKS1967 ,

My “Go To” resource for all things Higher Ed

Michael and Jeff have excellent knowledge, depth and reach in higher-Ed and is a must listen to resource for anyone interested in the future of education. They are particularly adept at identifying trends in Ed-Tech. Their pivot during Covid-19 has been highly useful. As a College of Charleston Foundation Board Treasurer, I find myself sharing almost every episode with my fellow board members and executive staff. The podcast informs us in particular about the issues and challenges of our supported organization vastly improving our ability to communicate and collaborate.

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