Podcast
The Rant Podcast
Hosted by Eloy Ortiz Oakley · EN
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.
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Designing for the Anders at National University with Mark Milliron
2w ago00:36:42Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailMost higher ed systems still treat the “typical” student like someone with a wide-open schedule and a campus life built around them. That assumption falls apart the moment you meet a working parent, a service member with deployment orders, or a community college transfer juggling rent, kids, and a job while trying to move up. I’m joined by Dr. Mark Milliron, president of National University, to talk about what it looks like to design for those learners on purpose. Mark calls them “Anders” because they are students and employees, students and parents, students and deployed. We get into National University’s Navy-rooted history, why short four- and eight-week courses can lower cognitive load, and how program design, student support, and real-world experiences have to work together if we want adult learners to finish strong and see real economic mobility. We also dig into affordability and access: tuition strategy, scholarships, emergency aid, and a clear pathway for community college transfers, including how Pell-eligible ADT students can see tuition effectively covered. Then we go head-on at AI in higher education, including National’s cross-functional AI council, the “about, with, and beyond” learning framework, and Raise Five, a simple rubric that makes AI expectations clear for every assignment while pushing faculty to rethink what learning should look like now. If you care about working learners, military-connected students, and practical innovation that keeps humans at the center, you’ll take a lot from this conversation. Subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review with the one change you think colleges should make first.www.nu.edueloy@4leggedmedia.com
Transcribe →Raising Postsecondary Attainment Could Add $210,000 Per Worker
3w ago00:28:09Tap to summarizeSend us Fan Mail$4.4 trillion is a hard number to even picture, so we bring it down to earth. We’re unpacking new California economic impact research created with the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, focused on what happens if the state reaches 70% postsecondary attainment for working age adults with credentials that actually pay off in the labor market. Think certificates, associate degrees, and bachelor’s degrees that lead to higher wages, stronger careers, and real economic mobility.We talk through the stakes behind Governor Gavin Newsom’s 70% attainment goal, starting from where California sits today and why “average progress” is not enough if entire regions and demographic groups are left behind. You’ll hear how the analysis estimates $4.4 trillion in economic opportunity, how that benefit shows up for individuals and public budgets, and why the ripple effects can reshape communities over generations. We also face the cost question head on: what additional investment could be required, when returns can start to pay back, and why alignment between higher education and workforce demand is the difference between a credential and a cul-de-sac.Then we zoom out to the deeper point: if the pathway to college and training depends on random luck, the system is failing the very people it claims to serve. We connect the data to the lived reality of Californians who do not see the California dream as reachable, and we lay out what redesigned, flexible pathways for today’s learners could look like, especially for working adults.If you care about California higher education, workforce development, economic equity, and the future of opportunity, listen now, share it with someone who debates the value of college, and subscribe and leave a review so more people can find the conversation.
Transcribe →Raising Postsecondary Attainment Could Add $210,000 Per Working-Age Californian
4w ago00:28:01Tap to summarizeSend us Fan Mail$4.4 trillion. That’s the projected economic opportunity California could unlock if we hit a 70% postsecondary attainment rate and do it across every community, not just in the places that already have the most options. We dig into new work created with the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, and we ask the question underneath the headline: what changes when more working-age Californians earn credentials of value that the labor market actually rewards?We walk through the real mechanics behind the number with Georgetown’s Jeff Strohl: how lifetime earnings drive most of the gain, how tax revenue and public coffers benefit, and why ripple effects matter when wages rise and spending follows. We also face the investment side directly, including the estimate of roughly $198 billion in additional spending on top of what California already invests through UC, CSU, community colleges, Cal Grant, and workforce education and training.Then we widen the lens to the stakes that don’t fit neatly in a spreadsheet: economic mobility, attainment gaps by zip code and background, adult learners who need flexible pathways, and a state that can be both one of the richest places on earth and home to the nation’s highest poverty rate. If the California Dream is going to mean something again, we can’t keep designing education around a learner who no longer exists, and we can’t keep accepting luck as the default system.If this conversation hits home, subscribe, share the episode with someone who cares about California’s future, and leave a review with the one change you think would make the biggest difference.https://collegefutures.org/our-golden-ticket/eloy@4leggedmedia.com
Transcribe →Accreditation Under Fire with Mike Gavin
May 1200:36:22Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailAccreditation sounds like a backstage technicality until you realize it controls the front door to college for millions of students. If an institution loses accreditation, it can lose access to Title IV funding like Pell Grants, and that single lever can reshape who gets served, what gets taught, and what leaders feel safe saying out loud.<br><br>I’m joined by Mike Gavin, president of the Alliance for Higher Education, to unpack why accreditation has become the next big battleground in Washington, DC. We talk through negotiated rulemaking, the growing rhetoric that treats accreditation as a political tool, and the real-world stakes of proposals that could restrict practices many campuses rely on, like disaggregating student data by race or gender. Mike also explains why a federally imposed view of “intellectual diversity” could narrow curriculum and trigger a chilling effect on classrooms, syllabi, and campus decision-making.<br><br>We don’t let the current system off the hook. We also dig into the toughest critiques of accreditation: uneven accountability, limited competition among accreditors, and the slow pace of approving innovation like competency-based education. From community colleges to four-year universities, we explore what meaningful outcomes should look like, why ROI is not the whole story, and how higher education can prove value while still protecting institutional autonomy and academic freedom.<br><br>If you care about the future of higher education policy, student financial aid, and campus freedom, listen, share this conversation with a colleague, and leave a review so more leaders find it.https://allianceforhighered.org/resourceseloy@4leggedmedia.com
Transcribe →Embracing Innovation with Anne Kress
Apr 1400:37:13Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailThe 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
Transcribe →Hurtling Toward Change
Apr 700:07:49Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailHigher 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
Transcribe →Leveraging AI & Data with Laura Ipsen
Mar 3000:31:10Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailEloy 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.comeloy@4leggedmedia.com
Transcribe →A New American Talent Strategy with Margaret Spellings
Mar 1100:33:20Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailHost 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.orgeloy@4leggedmedia.com
Transcribe →How University Of Phoenix Is Redefining Online Learning For Working Learners
Feb 1700:36:45Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailForget 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
Transcribe →From Classroom Hours To Competencies: How WGU And Calbright Build Value For Working Learners
Jan 2700:49:55Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailSkills 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.eduCalbright.edueloy@4leggedmedia.com
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