Send us Fan Mail Three million calls a month is not a marketing flex. It’s a signal that higher education is moving into a new operating model, where AI can expand student support without pushing humans out of the picture. I sit down with Ruben Harris and Timor Maester, co-founders of Outrival (and previously Career Karma), to unpack what they mean by a “digital workforce” and why outbound AI agents are becoming a real tool for admissions, advising, retention, and re-enrollment. We get...

Send us Fan Mail AI in higher education is everywhere right now, but most of what schools hear is theory, hype, or another vendor promise. We wanted something more concrete, so I sat down with Ruben Harris and Timur Meyster, co-founders of Outrival (and previously Career Karma), to talk about what it looks like to deploy a real “digital workforce” that supports students at scale without pushing humans out of the loop. We get specific about outbound AI agents that call and text proactively ac...

Send us Fan Mail Most 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...

Send 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 ...

Send 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...

Send us Fan Mail Accreditation 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 ne...

Send us Fan Mail The 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...

Send us Fan Mail Higher 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...

Send us Fan Mail Eloy 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...

Send us Fan Mail Host 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 co...