Higher education’s reputation is being shaped by a familiar set of headlines: rising costs, political pressure, campus conflict, layoffs, and closures. It’s the story we keep hearing, and it’s loud.But in this episode, we ask: is that the story most people actually believe?In the first episode of this five-part Pulse Check series, host Day Kibilds is joined by Doug Edwards, Chief Strategy Officer at Ologie, and Dr. Cassie Dutton, Research Director at Ologie, to introduce The Reputation Rethink, Ologie’s national study on public perception of higher education.Together, they define what “reputation” really means in this research, explain who was included and why, and share the study’s most encouraging (and challenging) insight: people believe colleges and universities contribute real value to society beyond educating students, but they struggle to see that impact in their everyday lives. This episode sets the foundation for the five specific areas institutions can address to close that gap and reconnect with the public.