Season 3 Finale

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The education landscape has transformed dramatically over the past six months, and we're only at the beginning of what promises to be a defining era for colleges and universities nationwide. As we wrap up Season 3 with our milestone 65th episode, we reflect on the seismic shifts reshaping higher education while looking ahead to even greater disruption in 2025 and beyond.

Throughout our journey, we've been fortunate to partner with forward-thinking sponsors who recognize the importance of having candid conversations about higher education's future. Organizations like Arizona State University, RisePoint, Open Classrooms, and others have enabled us to bring you insightful discussions with industry leaders who are navigating these challenging waters.

Season 4 promises to tackle the most pressing issues facing educational institutions today: the integration of artificial intelligence into learning environments, the policy impacts of the Trump administration, a new national accountability framework, and the fundamental reconsideration of higher education's value proposition. These aren't merely academic discussions—they represent existential challenges for institutions clinging to outdated models while students demand greater transparency and return on investment.

My final rant of the season addresses what's truly at stake: the future of higher education as a vehicle for economic mobility and societal advancement. From the new Workforce Pell Program to accountability frameworks centered on ROI, the message is clear—higher education must confront its shortcomings in affordability, accessibility, and demonstrated outcomes. Leaders who hide from these challenges, who abandon institutional missions in the face of political pressure, will find themselves on the wrong side of history. Instead, we need bold leadership that embraces change while maintaining an unwavering commitment to equity and student success.

Which kind of leader will you be? Join us for Season 4 as we continue to pull back the curtain on the people, policies, and politics shaping higher education's future. Subscribe now so you don't miss a single episode of what promises to be our most revealing season yet.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hi, this is Eloy Ortiz-Oakley and welcome back to
the Rant Podcast, the podcastwhere we pull back the curtain
and break down the people, thepolicies and the politics of our
higher education system ourhigher education system.
This episode marks the end ofSeason 3 and the celebration of
our 65th Rant podcast episode.

(00:35):
Over the last three seasons,higher education has gone
through significant changes,none more sweeping than in the
last six months.
2025 has already been ane-ticket ride, and the ride has
only just begun.
In season four, we'll have muchmore to say about the higher
education marketplace.
We will dive into artificialintelligence, the Trump

(00:56):
administration and the changesin the workforce to see how they
continue to disrupt the highereducation marketplace.
But first I want to highlightthat without our sponsors, we
could not have published all 65episodes, with some outstanding
guests.
I want to thank our sponsors,beginning with Arizona State

(01:20):
University.
Asu has been a partner andsponsor from day one.
Michael Crow has been atwo-time guest on this podcast.
Asu always leads with aninnovation mindset and is a
strong example of an elitepublic university that is
pushing to expand access topeople of all walks of life and

(01:43):
access to people of all walks oflife.
I also want to thank RisePoint,formerly Academic Partnerships,
who has also been a sponsorfrom day one.
Risepoint has been helping andsupporting colleges and
universities throughout thecountry gain access and deliver

(02:04):
high-quality online educationthat helps meet learners where
they're at.
Thank you, rice Point.
Another day one sponsor OpenClassrooms.
Pierre Dubuc and his team overat Open Classrooms have recently
received their accreditationfrom WASC and have been
delivering high-impactapprenticeship programs

(02:26):
throughout the US and the EU forseveral years now, and those
apprenticeship pathways arehelping transform the education
marketplace and to drive moreeconomic value into programs of
study.
I also want to thank Elluciananother day one sponsor.
Ellucian is one of the biggestnames in higher education

(02:49):
resource planning solutions and,as I said, it's been a
supporter from the verybeginning.
Ellucian is creating value fortheir higher education partners
by improving the efficiency andthe effectiveness of their data
and financial systems.
A big thank you also to AlliantInternational University Again,

(03:14):
another day, one sponsor.
Alliant continues to transformthe professional graduate
program landscape by creatingand delivering high-quality
programs in mental health,professional psychology and the
healthcare industry.
Thank you, alliantInternational University.

(03:35):
I also want to thank EducationStrategy Group.
Esg is a two-time sponsor ofthe Rant podcast and is
providing consulting expertiseto colleges, universities and
governments across the country,helping them place a renewed
focus on workforce solutions andguiding them to thrive in this

(03:56):
new education marketplace.
I also want to thank BrandEd, arecent podcast sponsor.
We featured the CEO of BrandEd,brandon Bastide, on one of our
recent podcast episodes.
They are partnering with someof the world's biggest name
brands, like Sotheby's and theNew York Times, to create

(04:20):
high-quality, high-impactwork-based learning
opportunities for studentsacross the country.
Those work-based learningopportunities are a great
example of how to create valuein programs of study that more
colleges and universities shouldthink about replicating.
And then finally, last but notleast, our in-kind sponsor,

(04:42):
college Futures Foundation.
Last but not least, our in-kindsponsor, college Futures
Foundation.
College Futures is a privatefoundation here in California
focused on improving economicmobility through post-secondary
education for low and moderateincome learners.
These sponsors allow the Rantpodcast to produce great content
and to attract tremendousguests that give our listeners

(05:06):
unique insights into what'sgoing on in the higher education
marketplace.
They also help us break downthe people, the policies and the
politics of our highereducation system.
So I look forward to more greatguests in Season 4.
Speaking of Season 4, we willdive into the continued changes

(05:29):
in the higher educationmarketplace.
We will dig into the evolvingartificial intelligence impact
on higher education, the chaosand the opportunities created by
the Trump administration.
The chaos and the opportunitiescreated by the Trump
administration, the evolvingnational accountability
framework that was recentlysigned into law, and the changes

(05:51):
in the narrative around highereducation value.
So I hope that you take amoment to subscribe to this
podcast.
If you're watching us onYouTube, hit subscribe and hit
the little bell the notificationbudget so you never miss a new
episode.
Please share your favoriteepisodes with your family and

(06:13):
your friends and your colleagues, and if you're listening to us
on your favorite audio podcastplatform, follow us and and
download all of the newestepisodes.
Thank you to all of oursubscribers, all of our

(06:35):
followers and all of ourlisteners here on the Rant
Podcast.
You are the reason that we keepcoming back and producing more
and more content.
Please send us your thoughtsand your comments, share with us
any ideas you might have ontopics or guests that you'd like
me to take on, and please sendus your thoughts on how we can
continue to improve the Rantpodcast.
Now, as we close out Season 3,let me give you one last rant

(07:01):
From the new Workforce PellProgram, to the new
Accountability Framework forReturn on Investment, to the
reigning in of graduate programeducational costs.
Times are changing for highereducation leaders and in many
ways it's about time.
Not that I'm fully on boardwith all of the discriminatory

(07:23):
policies and executive ordersthat the administration has
promulgated, but it is abouttime that the higher education
marketplace take accountabilityfor the spiraling cost of
attending college, the lack oftransparency and the decline in
confidence in our highereducation institutions.

(07:44):
Now is the time to lean intothe concerns that have been
raised for many years fromlearners and the public about
the value in higher education.
And I don't mean leaning intoall of the negative anti-DEI or
populist rhetoric that hascaptivated the nation right now.

(08:06):
I mean leaning in to thechallenge that learners have
faced for years, if not decades,in the American higher
education system.
Now is the time to reimaginethe traditional residential
college experience so that wecan create more value and more
transparency for our learners.

(08:26):
We need to open up more RONramps to a quality
post-secondary experience, notcontinue to restrict them.
Now is also the time for moretransparency in costs and return
on investment for the learnerreturn on investment for the

(08:48):
learner, as well as ensuringthat learners have more agency
and are aware of what theyshould expect.
Now it's also the time to pushback on our critics and clearly
demonstrate the economic valuethat's produced by a diverse
student body that represents thebackgrounds of all learners in
communities and states acrossthis country.
Far too many higher educationleaders today have run away,

(09:13):
have hidden, have buried theirheads in the sand.
They've abandoned theirprinciples and the mission that
their institutions wereestablished on.
Now is the time for thoseleaders that lean into the most
profound changes and challengesthat are before us in the higher
education marketplace, thoseleaders that lead with

(09:34):
conviction and a focus on equity.
Those are the leaders thathistory will remember as the
leaders that mattered.
Which kind of leader will yoube?
Thanks for joining me,everybody, and I look forward to
seeing you all in Season 4.
Thank you.