The Rant Podcast

Eloy Ortiz Oakley
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A bi-weekly podcast focused on pulling back the curtain on the American higher education system and breaking down the people, the policies and the politics. The podcast host, Eloy Ortiz Oakley, is a known innovator and leader in higher education. The podcast will not pull any punches as it delves into tough questions about the culture, politics and policies of our higher education system. 

  1. 1D AGO

    Embracing Innovation with Anne Kress

    Send us Fan Mail The fastest changes in higher education are hitting the students with the least margin for error and community colleges are the ones standing in the middle of it. I sit down with Dr Anne Kress, President of Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), to get specific about what student success looks like when you serve 76,000 learners across six campuses, including thousands of high school dual enrollment students and working adults balancing jobs, childcare, and long commutes. We dig into the hard question families keep asking: is college worth it? Anne explains how community colleges can earn trust through higher education accountability, clear return on investment (ROI), and transparent outcomes like transfer savings and wage gains. We also unpack the confusing credential economy and what “market value credentials” should actually mean: industry-recognized credentials tied to real hiring demand, tracked results, and stackable pathways that turn short-term training into college credit so there is no wrong door. Then we move into generative AI in education and the AI-powered economy growing around Northern Virginia’s data centers. Anne makes the case that students do not always need an AI degree, but they do need AI skill sets inside programs like healthcare, cybersecurity, skilled trades, and IT. On the operations side, we talk about using data and AI to deliver a more personalized learning experience, from smarter transcript evaluation to coaching and career support that helps students stay on track and finish. If you care about community college leadership, workforce credentials, transfer pathways, and AI for student success, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share the episode with a colleague, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. eloy@4leggedmedia.com

    37 min

  2. APR 7

    Hurtling Toward Change

    Send us Fan Mail Higher education feels like it’s moving on fast forward and the last year has been proof. We’re taking a moment to say thank you to everyone who’s watched, listened, subscribed, and helped grow The Rant Podcast across nearly 80 episodes, and then we pivot to what’s coming next as the education marketplace gets reshaped in real time. Conference season is here, and whether you’re headed to the ASU GSV Summit, Ellucian Live, or any gathering in the higher ed universe, one topic keeps taking over every hallway conversation: AI in higher education. I talk through why artificial intelligence is showing up everywhere from student experience and institutional data strategy to day to day fears about what happens to jobs. We also dig into the real opportunity if we get this right: using AI to lower the cost of providing education, reach more learners, and create more personal learning experiences for working adults, military learners, and students balancing life and school. I also share what we’re wrestling with in philanthropy and workforce development, and why state leaders are now treating AI and postsecondary attainment as economic strategy. A new report we’re publishing with Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce will spotlight the economic impact of not reaching more working learners in California and what that signal could mean for the rest of the country. If you care about college access, affordability, economic mobility, and practical ways technology can strengthen learning across a lifetime, hit play. Subscribe, share the show with a colleague, and leave a review so more people can find these conversations. eloy@4leggedmedia.com

    8 min

  3. MAR 30

    Leveraging AI & Data with Laura Ipsen

    Send us Fan Mail Eloy Ortiz Oakley hosts The Rant podcast and welcomes back Laura Ipsen, CEO of Ellucian, to discuss how higher education is navigating intensified pressures around accountability, affordability, enrollment, staffing constraints, and workforce alignment. Ipsen explains that better data transparency is essential to building trust and improving outcomes, and describes Ellucian’s work helping institutions modernize from on-prem to SaaS, clean and connect siloed data, and adopt AI and agentic capabilities to streamline workflows and support decision-making while keeping humans central. She highlights rising AI adoption across higher education, new governance efforts, and Ellucian’s platform direction, including Ellucian Student, skills-to-jobs tools, and a partnership bringing Ariana Huffington’s Thrive wellbeing resources into the student experience. They also preview priorities for the upcoming Ellucian Live event and Ipsen’s vision for broader modernization over the next 3–5 years. www.ellucian.com eloy@4leggedmedia.com

    31 min

  4. MAR 11

    A New American Talent Strategy with Margaret Spellings

    Send us Fan Mail Host Eloy Ortiz Oakley welcomes former U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, now leading the Bipartisan Policy Center, to discuss BPC’s Commission on the American Workforce and its report, “A Nation at Risk to A Nation at Work.” They outline the need for a national talent strategy that breaks down federal silos across agencies and better aligns education, workforce systems, employers, and support services like childcare and transportation. Spellings describes the commission’s structure, why urgency is growing amid post-pandemic disruption and AI-driven workforce change, and recommends creating a national-level American Talent Council, improving data and transparency, and focusing policy on workers and learners. They also discuss bipartisanship, the federal role in civil rights and accountability, and BPC’s broader work on housing, energy, fiscal policy, and election governance. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/event/americas-workforce-blueprint-national-talent-strategy/ bipartisanpolicy.org eloy@4leggedmedia.com

    33 min

  5. FEB 17

    How University Of Phoenix Is Redefining Online Learning For Working Learners

    Send us Fan Mail Forget the clichés about online college. We take a clear-eyed look at the University of Phoenix with CIO Jamie Smith and unpack how how the university is rebuilding around a simple rule: design for working learners by assuming school is the third priority after family and work. That shift changes everything—from the reliability of the tech stack to the tone of a nudge—and it’s driving a wave of practical innovation that blends human care with AI “bionics.” Jamie shares how Phoenix differentiates through a clean, multi-petabyte data foundation, long-honed risk models, and a relentless focus on reducing friction outside the classroom. We explore why generic AI often fails without trustworthy data, how to set legal and ethical guardrails in a regulated space, and what it means to “build it in, not bolt it on.” You’ll hear concrete examples, from celebratory confetti that actually boosts motivation to skills-mapped coursework that flags when a learner is job-ready—then points to local openings. Culture is the other headline. Phoenix carved out weekly “AI leverage time” so engineers could experiment, document, and demo progress, while also opening safe on-ramps for non-technical teams to build useful tools without creating security headaches. Looking ahead, Jamie sketches a near future of zero-UI experiences and personal GPT copilots that know a student’s goals and rhythms, escalating to human advisors when nuance matters. We close with pragmatic advice for traditional universities under enrollment pressure: strengthen data, clarify ambitions, avoid vendor sprawl, and move IT from back-office to strategic co-leadership. If this conversation reshaped how you see online learning, subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a review to tell us what you want explored next. https://www.phoenix.edu/ eloy@4leggedmedia.com

    37 min

  6. JAN 27

    From Classroom Hours To Competencies: How WGU And Calbright Build Value For Working Learners

    Send us Fan Mail Skills without progress are just potential. We sat down with WGU Provost Courtney Hills McBeth and Calbright College President and CEO Ajita Talwalker Menon to break down how competency-based education turns learning into jobs, promotions, and lasting economic value for working adults. No hype—just practical models that measure what you can do, not how long you sat in class. We dig into two complementary approaches: WGU’s course-based CBE that maps to the credit hour, and Calbright’s direct assessment for short-term, skills-forward credentials. Both start from the same promise: meet learners where they are, honor prior knowledge, and personalize the path using AI, data dashboards, and one-to-one mentorship. You’ll hear how faculty roles are redesigned around proactive support, how pacing flexes with life and work, and how durable skills like problem solving and communication anchor technical training to outlast industry shifts. Economic mobility runs through every choice. WGU won’t launch programs without strong regional job demand and tracks factored graduate return to keep tuition low and value high. Calbright broadens the definition of outcomes to include wage gains, career pivots, benefits, and flexibility—because security is more than a paycheck. We also spotlight embedded work-based learning at scale: simulations, micro-internships, clinicals, and teacher apprenticeships at WGU, plus Calbright’s Career Bridge projects with partners like Riipen and HubSpot that produce real portfolio artifacts and references. Accreditation is changing, too. Our guests outline why quality assurance must recognize multiple pathways to outcomes, support speed to market for workforce-aligned programs, and evaluate direct assessment with clear standards. Finally, we talk partnerships—WGU and Calbright are building seamless pathways from short-term credentials to degrees, while employers and rural communities signal where talent is needed most. If you care about adult learners, ROI, and making education count at work, this conversation is your playbook. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review to help more people find the show. WGU.edu Calbright.edu eloy@4leggedmedia.com

    50 min

  7. JAN 13

    Public-Private Partnerships As A Path To Economic Mobility with Fernando Bleichmar

    Send us Fan Mail What if the ROI debate could be settled with simple math and clear outcomes? We open the year by pulling apart the “enrollment cliff” narrative and focusing on what actually moves learners forward: affordable, workforce-aligned online programs with measurable value. Our guest, Risepoint CEO Fernando Bleichmar, shares Ipsos data showing average tuition around $20,000, first-year salary gains near $13,000, and compounding earnings growth by year three—plus a surprising stat that more than half of surveyed graduates took no loans. We talk through how regional universities can compete with mega players by designing for the modern learner and linking tightly to local employers. That means building programs around real demand, offering flexible formats, and telling a sharper story to the community. We dig into practical services that make a difference—analytics to spot melt, PR to reach the right audiences, and student experience tools that support persistence—so presidents and deans can focus on teaching and outcomes. AI gets the “human in the loop” treatment here. Faculty can use generative tools to accelerate course design and free up time for high-impact interactions. Marketing adapts as search behavior changes and AI answers reshape discovery. And along the student journey, technology handles speed and personalization while people step in at moments that matter. We also unpack the policy landscape: long-standing federal clarity on public-private partnerships and emerging state frameworks that prioritize transparency and accountability. If you care about economic mobility, regional strength, and real outcomes for working adults, this conversation offers a grounded playbook: start with ROI, build programs for the learners you have, connect to employers, use AI wisely, and measure everything. Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs a fresh strategy, and leave a review to tell us what you want to hear next. https://risepoint.com/ https://risepoint.com/student-roi/ eloy@4leggedmedia.com

    43 min

  8. 12/16/2025

    Agentic AI and the Student Experience with Lev Gonick

    Send us Fan Mail What if AI actually made college more human—more supportive, more accessible, and more affordable? We sat down with Arizona State University CIO Lev Gonick to unpack how agentic AI, low-code tools, and faculty communities are transforming the student journey from recruitment to graduation. Lev takes us inside “Agentic AI and the Student Experience,” a standing-room-only event that drew 650+ attendees from 25 countries. The focus wasn’t jargon; it was outcomes. We talk about “Experience AI” as a design principle that keeps value visible: faster curriculum design with human-in-the-loop checks, assessment aligned to skills and competencies, and agents that scout resources, research, and opportunities while faculty sleep. You’ll hear how ASU empowers staff and instructors through CreateAI, a low-code platform that moves innovation closer to the work, and why the university is replacing data silos with “data rivers” that support learners end to end. We also dive deep on trust. Privacy, IP protection, and security aren’t footnotes; they’re the foundation. Lev explains how ASU differentiates its environment from consumer platforms, educates students and faculty on how AI engines operate, and uses principled innovation to set ethical guardrails. The result is a culture that scales experimentation without abandoning accountability. On the access front, we explore how agentic, multimodal recruiting tools help first-gen and low-income students discover pathways, compare programs, and get timely guidance that used to be out of reach. If you care about student success, equity, or the future of learning, this conversation offers a clear, usable playbook: build communities of practice, define your trust posture, pilot targeted use cases, and scale what proves value. Enjoy the episode, share it with a colleague, and if it resonates, subscribe and leave a review so more educators and leaders can find it. https://ai.asu.edu/ eloy@4leggedmedia.com

    31 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.2
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

A bi-weekly podcast focused on pulling back the curtain on the American higher education system and breaking down the people, the policies and the politics. The podcast host, Eloy Ortiz Oakley, is a known innovator and leader in higher education. The podcast will not pull any punches as it delves into tough questions about the culture, politics and policies of our higher education system. 

Information

  • Creator
    Eloy Ortiz Oakley
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    78
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Rant Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Rant Podcast

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