The Mortarboard: Recent Episodes
Daniel Barwick
The majority of college students now meet one or more of the characteristics of a nontraditional student, and yet the college experience is still built around the traditional student. Nicole Lynn Lewis of Generation Hope describes the specific challenges that face the millions of college students who are also parents.
Remedial college coursework has survived evidence of ineffectiveness, charges of racial inequity, and legislation that effectively abolishes it. Host Daniel Barwick interviews one of the country's leading experts on remediation, Dr. Katie Hearn of the California Acceleration Project.
"The End of Burnout" author Jonathan Malesic explains how the pandemic has worsened the habits students need to find success in school.
Literature professor Elisabeth Gruner and science professor Heather Miceli describe their practice of "ungrading," a feedback tool that has drawn attention and increasing support.
Researcher Komi Frey of The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education explains why the last five years have seen a dramatic increase in attempts to censor and punish scholars for expressing their views.
Is tech-ed the future, or a dystopia? Host Daniel Barwick interviews "Ted-Ed's Cassandra" and Hack Education blogger Audrey Watters.
New York Times Opinion writer Peter Coy explains to host Daniel Barwick why congress gave elite colleges an anti-trust exemption, and the class-action lawsuit that has emerged as a result.
Dr. Yolanda Watson Spiva, CEO of Complete College America, explains to Daniel Barwick how the organization is working to improve startlingly low college completion rates.
Kallie Clark of Temple University's Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice describes research that encourages students to use more of the tools for success that a college offers them.
UNC-Chapel Hill professor Molly Worthen explains to host Daniel Barwick that the resistance to tenure is really a battle over more fundamental forces in higher education.
Liz McMillen, longtime editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education, explains how a substantial body of evidence suggests that female academics, who were already disproportionately burdened, have been hit especially hard by the pandemic.
Host Daniel Barwick interviews Inside Higher Ed's founder and editor Doug Lederman, who explains new data that shows the acceleration in college closings and why that's not always a bad thing.
Kevin Carey explains to host Daniel Barwick why some graduate degrees from prestigious universities are among the biggest scams in higher education.
Teresa Manning, Policy Director for the National Association of Scholars, argues that the qualified immunity that public college administrators enjoy when making decisions about student constitutional freedoms has resulted in a culture that lacks accountability and has caused taxpayers needless expense.
Host Daniel Barwick interviews authors Laura Hamilton and Kelly Nielsen, who argue that California has made decisions about UC that have impoverished campuses in a number of ways, limited access, and created segregation.
Inside Higher Ed and Chicago Times columnist and author John Warner explains why tenure is at best a sort of guild, and at worst is an illusion.
The 4th season of the Mortarboard begins with a bang...Dr. Daniel Barwick discusses the recent proposals for free community college, and examines a never-before-used threat to tenure at John Carroll University, in an interview with Inside Higher Ed faculty reporter Colleen Flaherty.
Emma Whitford from Inside Higher Ed describes to host Daniel Barwick how specific states are approaching their higher ed funding for the upcoming year.
Join Higher Ed Dive's Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, as he explains how the pandemic and enrollment drops have accelerated college digital recruiting strategies.
According to Lumina Foundation, with enrollment dropping steadily and the majority of costs fixed, colleges and universities are currently spending $50B a year on space, services, and personnel they don't need, says Lumina CFO Brad Kelsheimer.
The Hechinger Report researcher Jon Marcus discusses the full extent of the transfer of public money to private contractors in American higher education.
Student services expert Eric Stoller explains that the way colleges serve students has changed quickly during the pandemic and why those changes are just the beginning.
UNC-Chapel Hill's history professor Jay Smith talks to host Daniel Barwick about how the university mismanaged its original COVID planning, and then mismanaged its responses to the resulting outbreaks.
Online education expert Joe Sallustio explains to host Daniel Barwick that the pandemic will only accelerate the demolition of the theoretical, psychological, and practical barriers to online education.
Professor and game designer Ian Bogost explains to host Daniel Barwick that worries about the fate of higher ed are misguided, because prominent critics mistake college’s secondary purpose, education, for its primary one, collegiate life.
In this two-guest episode, Dan talks to Nancy Reasland of Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, about how the college has been so successful fighting the spread of Covid-19, and Jeff Selingo explains how the college admissions process is built to serve the needs of colleges, not students.
Eddy Conroy of Temple University's Hope Center explains how the Center collects data about the plight of students both prior to and during the pandemic, and offers next steps for helping students meet the challenges they face.
Higher education requires students to sign COVID-19 waivers, behavior codes, and pledges, and then expels them when they break the rules. Behavioral specialist Jennifer Howell of the University of California - Merced explains why the push to blame students ignores context and best practices.
Researcher Dr. Mitch Lingo explains to host Dr. Daniel Barwick how colleges, college towns, and even students are all cannibalizing themselves in responding to the coronavirus.
What are the long-term effects of the pandemic on collegiate sports? Daniel Barwick interviews Doshia Woods, Heach Coach of the University of Denver's women's basketball team, and Kiyoshi Harris, of Netflix's "Last Chance U" fame and Head Coach of the Independence Community College football team.
Host Dr. Daniel Barwick interviews five college students about their experiences and frustrations so far, and their expectations and hopes for the fall semester.
Harvard University Student Body President James Mathew explains to Daniel Barwick why he believes Harvard's fall plan hits the sweet spot between safety and campus experience.
Can a thousand teachers at a single school be wrong? Penn State professors Esther Prins and John Champagne explain to host Daniel Barwick why the faculty oppose in-person teaching for the fall.
Professor, author, and journal editor Claire Potter defends her New York Times op-ed that national free college tuition would cure many ills both inside and outside of academia.
University of Colorado Law Professor Paul Campos describes to Daniel Barwick how the rapid rise in endowment value has reversed the relationship between universities and their foundations.
Award-winning journalist Eleanor Bader of Kingsborough Community College tells Dr. Barwick about her research into the course-content demands that wealthy donors attach to their gifts.
Inside Higher Ed reporter Emma Whitford reveals the long-term truth: public funding for higher education has decreased substantially over the last three decades. She shares with Dr. Barwick that if the pattern holds, the coming coronavirus recession will create further reductions that will never be restored, and that in many states, the public is no longer the major stakeholder in public higher ed.
Dr. Barwick interviews teacher, author, and columnist John Warner, who describes his view that higher education is at a crossroads: the pandemic is either the latest blow in higher education funding, or an opportunity to fix the system.
One of the nation's top education reporters, Chris Quintana of USA Today, tells listeners what he's seeing on the front lines of his work on the coronavirus and higher ed, and makes his predictions to Dr. Barwick about what the fall semester holds.
What does it look like for a college to transition to online instruction in two weeks? Dr. Barwick interviews two veteran teachers on the front lines of the transition.
Matthew M. Chingos is vice president for education data and policy at the Urban Institute. Dr. Barwick discusses Dr. Chingos's advocacy for a nationally-coordinated approach to free college.
In this special edition of The Mortarboard, Dr. Barwick interviews Medical Epidemiologist Dr. Kristina Angelo of the CDC. Dr. Angelo is a specialist on student medical issues and study abroad policies.
CDC Guidance for higher ed administrators: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-ihe-response.html
CDC Guidance for study abroad programs: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/student-foreign-travel.html
Federal Reserve Bank Analyst Ana Kent explains how her research suggests that college and postgraduate education may be failing some recent graduates as a financial investment.
You can read her study here.
Andy Smarick, former President of the Maryland State Board of Education and former deputy assistant secretary of the U.S.Department of Education, discusses why he thinks the K-12 charter school model might provide a useful enhancement for U.S. higher education.
Matt Reed, blogger for InsideHigherEd.com and CAO at Brookdale Community College, explains what happens to the student and employee cultures as traditional courses are replaced by online courses.
Hostos Community College assistant professor of English Sean Gerrity shares his strategies for creating a sense of community among students, at a school where everyone is a commuter.
The data is clear: an increasing number of students and taxpayers say that college isn't worth it. Critics say that higher education is too expensive, too ideological, doesn't lead to employment for many, and is too slow to respond to workforce needs. Dr. Daniel Barwick gives his take on the challenges higher ed faces.
Most entrepreneurship program internships are indistinguishable from business program internships. How can colleges gain a competitive advantage by distinguishing their entrepreneurship programs using impactful internships? Dr. Daniel Barwick discusses the research and a flexible approach.
There are forces that act on small college libraries that prevent them from changing to meet student needs, and some of the changes that do happen just seem to muddy the mission of the library. Dr. Daniel Barwick describes the problem and offers Part 1 of a series of solutions.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are talking about criminal justice reform - what does this mean for the prohibition against prisoners receiving financial aid for college?
In the previous episode, Dr. Daniel Barwick examines a rarely-discussed factor in the success of presidencies in small communities. In this week's episode, he responds to the many questions and comments he received about his original podcast.
Why are some college presidencies successes and some are not? Dr. Daniel Barwick examines a rarely-discussed factor in the success of presidencies in small communities.
One of the most significant missed recruiting and credentialing opportunities for higher ed is ongoing entrepreneurial activity by students. Dr. Barwick explains the opportunity for colleges to take advantage of a means to recruit excellent students, award credit, generate revenue, and provide students with a genuine and distinctive credential.
Dr. Dan Barwick discusses the pros and cons of the decision for a community college commuter campus to add a dorm.
Dr. Daniel Barwick discusses when new community college dorms make sense and when they are a waste of taxpayer money.
It's the 4th most binge-watched show on Netflix, and for good reason - Last Chance U is a compelling and authentic show about college football. ICC President Daniel Barwick fields the most-asked viewer questions about the show.
When you ask people what they think of when they hear the word “entrepreneur,” you’ll typically hear many different responses. Colleges have also failed to settle on what it means to be an entrepreneur. If the community college views entrepreneurship as the ability to solve the problems of its constituents, it will naturally be far more responsive to the community it serves.
Current student loan debt is a whopping $1.6 trillion, and the Democratic candidates are discussing plans to forgive that debt. Is this a good idea? Would it even work? What are the unintended consequences? Dr. Dan Barwick explains whether the proposed plans get at the real problem.
Dr. Dan is moving on - in this episode he reflects on his time at Independence Community College and responds to some listener questions.
Presidents spend a great deal of time fund-raising, and luckily, soliciting support from entrepreneurs is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the fund-raising role. Entrepreneurs are fun people to be around and work with – they tend to be independent thinkers, with a natural curiosity and a desire to help. After 15 years of working with entrepreneurs, Dr Daniel Barwick has found that specific approaches, for specific types of support, are more effective than others, and shares them in this podcast.
An accepted principle in college enrollment is that it's cheaper to retain a student than it is to recruit a new student. The same is true for donors, and yet colleges and universities do an overall poor job of retaining donors, effectively forfeiting the lifetime giving those donors may have made. Dr. Dan Barwick explains the most effective techniques for retaining first-time donors.
The William Inge Theatre Festival, the official State Theatre Festival of Kansas and hosted every year by Independence Community College, was created 38 years ago as the first festival to honor playwrights themselves. The craft of playwriting has changed over time, the audience for theatre has changed, and the Festival found itself in danger of becoming irrelevant. Producing Director Hannah Joyce-Hoven describes how the Festival has been reborn through embracing change while preserving the past.
The stakes for college and university strategic planning are high - accreditors expect it, colleges use it to engage and educate stakeholders, and a poor outcome or a poor process alienates people for years. Dr. Daniel Barwick describes Independence Community College's current process and how it is the result of lessons learned from previous campus efforts.
How many of you have been seen by a million people in the past year? Five million? Ten million? Fifty million? Authenticity is a useful and an overlooked trait no matter who you are. If you can be you with 50 million people watching, you can be you anytime. Dr. Daniel Barwick talks about how appearing on a popular Netflix series, Last Chance U, made him confront how authentic he was willing to be.
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A crisis can take many forms, but every college administrator wants them over as soon as possible. Dr. Daniel Barwick talks about the ways in which schools over-react to a crisis, and the ways in which schools over-estimate their capacity for dealing with a crisis once it starts.
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We're all familiar with the adage that every crisis is an opportunity, but what does that mean when it is combined with an entrepreneurial mindset? Dr. Dan Barwick talks about how that mindset works, and provide some real-world examples on his campus.
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Independence Community College is the #1 ranked community college in Kansas - how does it attract the best teaching talent? By asking new teachers what they want. In this episode, Dr. Barwick discusses how what new teachers want is sometimes at odds with what teacher unions are seeking for their members.
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With the possible exception of pensions, the greatest unfunded liability of colleges campuses is deferred maintenance, and the cost for this is increasing rapidly due to new construction. Why do campuses build new facilities so often and so willingly? Dan Barwick explores the problem.
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From being a small rural campus in rural Kansas to being the most famous community college in the world?? How did that happen?? Dr. Dan answers the most common questions he gets asked about being on Last Chance U, Netflix's fourth-most-binge-watched show.
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The only thing that is permanent about college student fees is that they change constantly. Despite changes in names, types, amounts, and scope, the changes in fees that colleges and universities charge actually make sense if you step back - way back.
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It may be the country's fastest-growing maker space - now you can find out the secrets behind FAB Lab ICC, in this interview with the lab's director and manager.
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Many colleges, communities, and school districts have plans to create a maker space, or have actually started to create one, and have found that the process can be very difficult. Dr. Dan Barwick offers his theory of why.
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There are literally hundreds of published college rankings. Which are valuable? Which should be trusted? Should a school use them for promotional purposes, and if so, how?
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In 2013, a new Kansas law required colleges to allow concealed carry of handguns on campus. Second amendment supporters cheered, and opponents predicted harm. So what happened? Dr. Dan Barwick, the campus president, talks about how events unfolded and lessons learned.
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