P O D C A S T
Access & Equity in Student Success
Unsurprisingly, the pandemic created some challenges for accessible and equitable services for students. But today’s guest also demonstrates how it heightened some existing challenges. Karl Smith is the Vice President of Student Affairs at Tacoma Community College, and he is passionate about helping students navigate the process of higher education. How has he found success in helping students overcome these challenges? It’s more than collecting and analyzing data.
In this episode, Karl shares the strategies used at Tacoma Community College to ensure that every student is allowed to thrive. By using a holistic approach and outreach strategy, students are connected with the resources they need, whether that be reliable internet service, tutoring, or even childcare options. The truth is that higher education was designed for a specific age range, but now students of all ages and races are pursuing higher learning. How can we be sure to provide access and equity to all students in an ever-changing society and economy?
Overcoming Educational Racism in the Community College by The Key with Inside Higher Ed: Creating Higher Ed Experiences That Transform Lives
As belief in the value of higher education has steadily declined in recent years, most of the attention for turning that around has been on improving the career readiness of graduates and making college more affordable.
But an emergent group of college leaders believes the real key may be to ensure that all learners, regardless of background, have experiences in college that help them develop identity, agency and purpose with the goal of improving their well-being 30 years down the road.
This episode of The Key features a conversation with Richard K. Miller, president emeritus of Olin College of Engineering and a driving force behind the Coalition for Life Transformative Education. In our interview, he discusses how the coalition’s diverse group of members are using data-informed experiments to rework their curriculums and scale the use of project-based experiences to build a sense of belonging and a growth mindset for all of their students.