Policy & Advocacy Episodes

Welcome back to America‘s leading higher education podcast! In this fantastic episode, sponsored by Element451, we talk with Dr. Jenny Rickard, President & CEO, Common App! Jenny speaks with Joe and Liz about the Common App’s focus on access and equity by increasing their support to community colleges and scholarship opportunities. Jenny mentions some alarming stats on the impact that Covid has had on first generation college students, and talks about where she would like to take the Comm App in...

The EdUp Experience is America's Leading Higher Education Podcast. In this amazing episode, we welcome the President and CEO of NC-SARA, Dr. Lori Williams. The focus of NC-SARA is communication and education programming - Lori speaks to the evolution of online learning where nearly every state has committed to making access to online education easier. Lori helps us answer a burning question: Why is California not a member state of SARA? Later in the episode, Lori talks about a key mission of acc...

Welcome back to America‘s leading higher education podcast! In this fantastic episode, sponsored by The Evolllution, we talk with Dr. Lenore Rodicio, Senior Fellow, The Aspen Institute! Elizabeth Leiba, joined by special guest host Holly Owens, host of EdUp EdTech, talk with Lenore about a range of topics including how to get more women in leadership, the need for community colleges to be the hub of their surrounding community, and why community college leaders need training to provide their tea...

Welcome back to America‘s leading higher education podcast! In this fantastic episode of EdUp Embedded, sponsored by The Evolllution, we talk with Tom Woolf, Founder & CEO, EdAid! Joe and Tom go one-on-one discussing student debt, the perception of American higher education globally, and the increased competitiveness for eligible students. This is a wide-ranging discussion on the current and future state of higher education and you'll hear about the amazing work Tom and team EdAid are doing to h...

Welcome back to America's leading higher education podcast! In this fantastic episode of The EdUp Experience, sponsored by The Evolllution, we talk with Christopher Rinkus, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Education, U.S. Department of Education! Chris talks to us about a variety of topics mostly in the K-12 space. He talks about funding, parent involvement, academic preparation and much more. Listen to learn what’s going on with K-12 education!


Chris helped transform the District of Colu...

Welcome back to America's leading higher education podcast! In this fantastic episode of The EdUp Experience, sponsored by The Evolllution, we talk with James A. DeMeo, CEO, Venue Risk Management! As the world adjusts to a world post-corona virus world and begins to repopulate venues for sports and entertainment, risk assessment and security measures are of critical importance. James talks to us about the necessity for institutions of higher education to protect students, university personnel, a...

Welcome back to America's leading higher education podcast! In this fantastic episode of The EdUp Experience, sponsored by Element 451, we talk with Dr. Bridget Burns, Executive Director of the University Innovation Alliance. Helping low-income, first-generation, and students of color is not something universities have typically been good at. The University Alliance is focused on completion - who is completing and who is not. Higher education was never designed around students; the entire tradit...

Welcome back to America's leading higher education podcast! In this EdUp Embedded episode, sponsored by FRANK., Joe talks one-on-one with the President and CEO of the Association of Governing Boards (AGB), Henry Stoever. Henry gives an absolute masterclass regarding higher education governing boards. He discusses the three main components of effective board operations - composition, mindset, and action. The macro roles of an effective board are to hire, motivate, and incentivize the President of...

In this fantastic episode of The EdUp Experience, sponsored by Element 451, we talk with Charlie Javice, Founder & CEO, Frank. This episode is action-packed. We discuss the simplification of the FAFSA. It's so much easier now, right? Hear Charlie talk about why completing the FAFSA, even amongst the recent governmental simplification, isn't so simple. Colleges and universities don't measure FAFSA completion times against yield rates, but should. Charlie also talks about loan forgiveness, loan in...

In this fantastic episode of The EdUp Experience, sponsored by Element 451, we talk with Dr. Angel Perez, CEO of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC). NACAC has over 16,000 members across the world focused on admissions counseling for college and university campuses. Angel discusses the tectonic shifts in college admissions advising - from varsity blues to recent changes in recruiting guidelines handed down by the feds. Policy changes and test-optional (and test bli...

In this amazing episode of The EdUp Experience, sponsored by MDT Marketing, we have the honor of speaking with Josh Moody, Education Reporter at U.S. News! Josh talks to us about a variety of topics, including which country most students are interested in visiting during their gap year, the non-appeal of online programs for high school students and the importance of private public partnerships. He also talks about how more colleges should start or increase their workforce partnerships with compa...

In this amazing episode of The EdUp Experience, sponsored by MDT Marketing, we have the honor of speaking with Allan Golston, President of US Programs, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation! Allan speaks very plainly about what must be done within higher education and society to eliminate race, ethnicity, and income as predictors of success for students. The Gates Foundation looks at creating tangible results economically disadvantaged populations, particularly in the black and latino communities, hav...

In this amazing episode of The EdUp Experience, sponsored by MDT Marketing, we have the honor of speaking with Dr. Jason Altmire, CEO, Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU)! Beginning his tenure as CEO and President of CECU on December 1st, 2020, Jason believes he can serve the career college sector well with his "Dead Center" voting record as evidence of his ability to work both sides of the aisle. With access to robust data and a clear ROI to the taxpayer, career colleges have neve...

In this amazing episode of The EdUp Experience, sponsored by MDT Marketing, we have the honor of speaking with Dr. Lynn M. Gangone, President & CEO, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE)! Teachers are leaving their profession at an alarming rate - which isn't good for your kids. According to Lynn, no one wants to be a teacher but she is hopeful the pandemic will help us think differently. There may be opportunities in remote learning, how we "think" about the school day,...

In this amazing episode of The EdUp Experience, sponsored by MDT Marketing, we have the honor of speaking with Emma Kerr, Paying for College Reporter, U.S. News! Emma talks to us about the importance of including the Liberal Arts whenever the discussion of college ROI is highlighted. She also mentions a report by Georgetown that covers which colleges are providing the best ROI and the findings will surprise you!


Emma Kerr is the paying for college reporter at U.S. News & World Report. Prior t...

In this amazing episode of The EdUp Experience, we have the honor of speaking with Dr. Jean Norris, Chairman of the Board, Association for the Advancement of the College Admissions Profession (AACAP) and Managing Partner of Norton Norris, Inc. Jean talks to us about how the student consumer is defining the future of the college admissions process - and why it's necessary to provide admissions professionals with a credential that communicates ethics, knowledge, and care. Learn why she started AAC...

In this amazing episode of The EdUp Experience, we have the honor of speaking with Dr. Marybeth Gasman, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education & Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University. Diversity, equity, and inclusion - Dr. Gasman is a leading advocate for equality and social justice. She speaks plainly about how her personal experiences enhance her passion for helping the BIPOC communities evolve into one of equality amidst today's social constructs.


Marybeth Gasman, Ph.D., ...

In this amazing episode of The EdUp Experience, our first release in 2021, we have the honor of speaking with Robert Franek, Editor-in-Chief, The Princeton Review. Admissions has changed as a result of the pandemic, and it will continue to change post-pandemic. The SAT/ACT tests are required by some schools, but now we have test-optional, test-blind, and for some, no testing at all. What is this doing to the future college search for "traditional" students? Rob also talks to us about his percept...

In this amazing episode of The EdUp Experience, we have the honor of speaking with Dr. Chris McCaghren, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Higher Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education. Over the last year, ED has worked very hard to get funds out to higher ed institutions amidst disruptions. Chris's team works to distribute CARES Act funds; though higher ed has been challenged, he says we shouldn't be so surprised as institutions overcome adversity. Chris says it like it is - he discusses ...

In this episode of The EdUp Experience, our guest is Dr. Rusty Monhollan, President & Executive Director at South Carolina Commission on Higher Education. We talk with Rusty about a host of topics in higher education including CV-19's effect on institutions in South Carolina, what the outlook is considering possible institutional closures/mergers, the overall value of higher education, and SCCHE's commitment to workforce readiness in the state.

Rusty Monhollon is President and Executive Directo...

In this BONUS The EdUp Experience episode, Elizabeth Leiba talks one-on-one with Dr. A.D. Carson, Assistant Professor of Hip-Hop, Department of Music, University of Virginia.

A.D. talks about his super interesting origin story. He and Liz also discuss the need for higher education to provide more diverse course offerings and the story behind A.D.’s dissertation, which is unlike any other!

A.D. Carson is an award-winning performance artist and educator from Decatur, Ill. His work focuses on rac...

In this episode of The EdUp Experience, we talk Dr. Mayen B. Udoetuk, Director, Program and Partner Development at UCSC Silicon Valley Extension. Mayen literally job crafted her role to be involved with diversity, equity, and inclusion in her work of extending UCSC SVE in the credit and non-credit space. She champions the role of professional and continuing education for adult learners by designing relevant curriculum and through extending diversity in advisory boards so those that are informing...

In this episode of The EdUp Experience, we talk with Senior Vice President of Everfi, Rob Buelow. Rob talks to us about how today's students demand more from their campus experience, evaluating institutions on their commitments to safety, health and wellness, and inclusion. Rob enlightens us about Everfi's Social Impact Index ranking and why there is a necessity to look at emerging factors which are key indicators for the future of higher education's relevance.

Rob Buelow is the Senior Vice Pre...

In this episode of The EdUp Experience, Joe and Liz talk with Robert Morse, Chief Data Strategist with US News & World Report. Bob talks to us about the data, data analysis, indicators, strategy, and reasons for the rankings and why it can be used as a decision point for parents and students looking to make a higher ed decision. However, rankings are not without controversy - so we ask questions about debt, inclusion, online education, and return-on-investment. Bob gives us his take on the contr...