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PSC at ASU-GSV 2023

The Postsecondary Commission was in San Diego for ASU-GSV 2023, and hosted a number of dynamic panels. We’d like to thank not only the panelists and moderators who made these sessions very popular, but also GSV and the Charles Koch Foundation for creating the space for us. Summaries of a few of our sessions follow.

Do We Need a New College Movement?

On the big stage, PSC President Stig Leschly discussed the need for a new college movement with Leila Makarechi (Merit America), Shai Reshef (University of the People), Pano Kanelos (University of Austin), and Scott Pulsipher (WGU). Watch the session here.

  • There are so many rules and regulations that effectively sustain the status quo. Why create all these rules when the fundamental question should be about value, rather than [asking if new colleges] look like everything we’ve done for the last century? — Scott Pulsipher

  • How open is the system, really, to look at different modalities and check for outcomes not process? Accreditation is about process not outcomes. — Shai Reshef

  • The funding mechanisms are input-based not outcome-based. [Consumers] need access to post-graduate earnings data – they need to know what wages they can expect from going to any institution. — Leila Makarechi

  • The barriers to entry in higher education are extraordinarily high. In the state of Texas, we are the first new private university since 1963. — Pano Kanelos

Innovations in College Design

Henry Hipps (Owl) facilitated a lively conversation about innovations in college design with Paul LeBlanc (SNHU), Michael Horn (Author/Guild), and Marni Baker Stein (Coursera).

  • Knowledge is no longer scarce or valued. Knowledge is just a prompt away. [And] the regulatory frameworks are not ready for this [future]. – Paul LeBlanc

  • Velocity of curiosity and velocity of learning [are both] getting faster. – Marni Baker Stein

  • [There is an] obsession with regulators in managing inputs versus monitoring outcomes. – Michael Horn

Accountability in US Higher Education

Michael Itzkowitz (HEA) moderated a conversation about accountability in higher education with Ruth Watkins (STRADA), Tim Knowles (Carnegie Foundation), and Tess Michaels (Stride).

  • The need for accountability is as keen as it’s ever been, [because] measuring alone will not do it. – Ruth Watkins

  • Closure has to be on the table for colleges with persistently low outcomes. – Tim Knowles

  • [There is] still so much opaqueness about what value looks like across programs. – Tess Michaels