The Post 2024 Election Rant

Unlock the key to higher education's future as we dissect the post-2024 election landscape with me, Eloy Ortiz-Oakley, on the Rant Podcast. This episode promises to unravel the pressing demand for transparency and career alignment within the education sector, highlighting the vital shifts needed to match academic offerings with the economic ambitions of today's students. We'll explore the electorate's clear message: economic mobility and opportunity are paramount, and educational institutions must evolve to meet these expectations.

Join our discussion on the essential role of work-based learning and how employers are becoming pivotal players in educational transformation. With voters demanding accountability, especially for first-generation learners, we examine the transformative strategies that could redefine the relationship between academia and the workforce. Discover how these changes can pave the way for a more prosperous society by ensuring that education is a true stepping stone to career success and economic stability for individuals and their families.

https://www.4leggedmedia.com/
eloy@4leggedmedia.com

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:10

Hi, this is Eloy Ortiz-Oakley and welcome back to the Rant Podcast, the podcast where we pull back the curtain and break down the people, the policies and the politics of our higher education system. And oh boy, do we now have some politics in our higher education system. And oh boy, do we now have some politics in our higher education system. So in this episode I will share some of my thoughts about the 2024 election and what this means going forward for higher education and specifically for the Rant podcast. But before I jump into my rant about the 2024 election, I want to take a moment to recognize our sponsors here at the Rant Podcast. With their support, we're able to continue to pull back the curtain on the higher education system, we're able to break down the people and the politics and we're able to bring you great guests with some really keen insights as to what's going on in America's higher education system. So let me thank Arizona State University Open Classrooms, reup Education, ellucian Alliant International University, southern New Hampshire University, education Strategy Group, rise Point College, futures Foundation and Brand Ed. These organizations are providing support for students and creating greater on-ramps to higher education, to a great post-secondary experience for learners throughout this country. So thank you to our sponsors. Now let's jump into the 2024 election. I know for some of you this may be too early. For some of you may still be recovering. Some of you may still be celebrating. For me, I'm more on the recovery mode. But first let's talk about what the voters said. I'm not going to get into the talking head recreation of the politics of the 2024 election. I'm going to let CNN and Fox News take up that airspace. I'm not going to drone on and on and on about the chaos and the crazy that we just elected into office just elected into office but I will talk about what I think this means to higher education, to higher education leaders, to our policymakers and to our states as we think about the road forward for the next four years.

Speaker 1: 2:36

Let's start with what the American people said in this election. In my view, american people spoke very clearly. They reminded us that it is about the economy stupid. It's about access to opportunity. It's about the changes in the economy that are taking place, the cost of living throughout America. It's about opportunity for our children, for our grandchildren. I know me here in California. It's about my children and their children being able to continue to live in California and be able to thrive.

Speaker 1: 3:10

People in this country want economic mobility and they want economic security and they look to higher education, to a post-secondary experience, as one way to get grounded in that economic mobility. And they've also said that they no longer trust. No longer trust what higher education leaders are putting in front of them. They're demanding more from all of us. Higher education leaders need to stop pretending. The students are coming to their institutions solely to become enlightened or to preach to. They're coming to our institutions to improve their lives. They see a post-secondary experience as a means to improve the pathway to economic success, to opportunity for themselves and for their families and for generations to come.

Speaker 1: 3:57

The voters, the American public, is looking for more transparency. They're looking for clearer connections to career pathways. They want to understand what they're paying for and why they're being asked to pay. They want to understand what the return on investment is. When they do pay, they want to have clarity about what they're getting and how long it's going to take them to pay back that investment. They also want better information, particularly for first-generation learners. They need better information. They want better information. They want better information about the choices they're making and why those choices are in front of them. They need to understand how they connect to the goal that they want for themselves and for their families. They want greater economic mobility. They want access to opportunity.

Speaker 1: 4:43

As we look forward into 2025 and beyond, I think you'll see a lot more discussion about things like work-based learning. Work-based learning is a key to bringing in the employer, getting them involved in the education process, giving the learner an opportunity to see themselves in the workplace and to see how their education, training and skills are connecting to the career of their choice. There's going to be a lot more employer connections. Employers are going to be asked to step up to the table and participate in the designing of regional and local workforce pathways. Employers have already done a lot of work to upskill and to reskill their own employees and they're going to be asked to do more and it's going to be in their best interest to do more to build that pipeline of talent that they're going to need to continue to thrive in states like mine here in California. We're also going to hear more talk about short-term Pell, how the federal government actually incentivizes this kind of upskilling and reskilling of the American workforce, which will be interesting, since there's a lot of talk about doing away with the Department of Education and there's going to be more focus on working learners out there in the workforce that didn't have a great post-secondary experience or never got a post-secondary experience, but need the skills necessary to be able to compete in today's economy and have a foothold in the workforce. And you'll see a lot more talk about personalized learning and personalized upskilling. With the push for generative AI in education technology, you're going to see a lot more opportunities to be able to reach demographics of learners that higher education hasn't been able to reach before and give them a personalized learning experience that allows them to continue to move forward in this economy. So that will be some of the things that I see coming in 2025. And we will jump into those conversations as we think about what Iran is going to be all about in the new year and you know what it's about time we talk about some of these issues. While I may disagree with how the country went in its presidential election, I do agree that it's time to talk about everyday working Americans, the opportunities that they're seeking and how post-secondary institutions lean into that ensure that they are paying attention to what learners want and designing their curriculum and their learning environment to reach them where they're at. Curriculum and their learning environment to reach them where they're at. So what does that mean for the RAND in 2025?

Speaker 1: 7:39

In 2025, we are working to launch a series solely focused on leading higher education over the next four years. We will talk about things like the Department of Education should it close and, if not, what should it look like going forward? We will discuss the impact on DACA students and immigrant learners and talk about how this important demographic for the workforce needs to be allowed to access opportunity, even with all the anti-immigrant sentiment that the new administration's rhetoric is all about. We'll also talk to leaders leaders who successfully led their institutions through the last Trump administration. And we'll also talk to leaders who fought back during the last Trump administration and stood up for the learners in their community. And we'll talk to new leaders new leaders that will be emerging through the next four years, that are listening to the people on the ground, working in their institutions to get them focused on the needs of learners, as well as leaders who are developing new models, whether it be in technology, new non-profits, new third-party intermediaries. We'll talk to leaders who will emerge in these next four years that help us bring greater focus, create more on-ramps to the middle class through a great post-secondary experience. So I hope you stay tuned. We still have a lot to cover in the rest of 2024, but as we turn the corner into 2025, those are some of the things that you can expect from the Rant Podcast team and we look forward to diving into these issues with you.

Speaker 1: 9:14

So thanks for continuing to follow us here on the Rant Podcast. Please take some time. Hit the subscribe button here on your YouTube channel. Ring the bell for notifications so that you never miss a rant podcast episode on YouTube. If you're listening to us on your favorite podcast platform, continue to follow us. Leave us your comments. You can always reach me at Eloy, at fourleggedmediacom. I'll put my email address in the comment sections. Please leave us your comments. Let us know how we're doing it, and if there's any other topics that you want us to tackle, leave them in the comments sections. Please leave us your comments, let us know how we're doing it, and if there's any other topics that you want us to tackle, leave them in the comments. So thanks for joining us everybody. Look forward to seeing you on the next episode of the Rant podcast and look forward to diving into some of the issues that we covered today. Take care everybody. Thank you.