{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Signals","title":"AI, Power Skills, and the New Digital Learner: Rethinking Higher Ed with Westcliff University","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2037,"description":"In this episode, host Kelsey Peterson sits down with Dr. Ying Iverson, Chief Academic Officer at Westcliff University, to explore how higher education is evolving for today’s global, digital-first learners. Dr. Iverson shares what she’s seeing across Westcliff’s worldwide student population from rising expectations for flexibility and mobile learning to the growing influence of AI on study habits, assessment, and faculty roles.The conversation digs into why power skills like communication, critical thinking, and collaboration matter more than ever and how universities can embed them authentically into online and hybrid environments. Dr. Iverson also unpacks how stackable credentials, transfer-friendly pathways, and microlearning can support working adults while still preserving the deep value of a degree.Whether you're rethinking curriculum design, exploring AI’s impact on learning, or imagining a more student-centered future, this episode offers a grounded, forward-looking view of what higher ed can become.Key Moments01:17 What today’s digital learners expect flexibility, accessibility, and bite-sized content03:54 AI as a “jetpack” and a crutch helping students use it ethically and effectively09:57 How AI is used for research, reading expansion, and formative assessment11:20 How faculty roles are shifting from “knowledge keepers” to facilitators and co-creators19:13 Building critical thinking through multi-AI analysis assignments20:50 Communication, group work, and collaboration in digital learning environments24:11 The core competencies remain the same even as context changes24:57 Stackable credentials, transfer credit, and meeting adult learners where they are28:20 Rethinking pathways: designing flexible, modular systems for real student needs32:28 Recognizing experience, validating prior learning, and building student-centered systemsWhy You’ll Love This EpisodeIf you care about the future of higher education especially for working adults and global learners...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/ZQBLNu5bL6QDsMZngU8O-GefGMV_EVDwumeP7DuoUGE/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS82ZGUy/MzhiODgyYTdhYWJm/MjI1MGZkY2Y2OGQ5/YTMxYy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}