1 00:00:01,620 --> 00:00:03,690 Welcome to Digication Scholars Conversations. 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:05,290 I'm your host, Jeff Yan. 3 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:09,940 In this episode, you will hear part two of my conversation with Sylvia Spears, 4 00:00:10,509 --> 00:00:15,199 Provost and Vice President for Lifelong Learning at College Unbound . More 5 00:00:15,199 --> 00:00:18,630 links and information about today's conversation can be found on Digication's 6 00:00:18,810 --> 00:00:19,900 Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 7 00:00:20,939 --> 00:00:24,130 For episodes of Digication Scholars Conversations, Can be found on 8 00:00:24,140 --> 00:00:25,999 YouTube or your favorite podcast app. 9 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:31,040 I want people to understand who are listening to this, right? 10 00:00:31,100 --> 00:00:32,259 To understand that. 11 00:00:35,150 --> 00:00:40,510 So, so what is in fact, you know, a gathering, a class, a meal? 12 00:00:40,519 --> 00:00:44,679 What, what is that at College Unbound comparing to other places? 13 00:00:44,679 --> 00:00:49,270 Because I think that people still have this idea that going to college looks 14 00:00:49,270 --> 00:00:56,050 a lot like there's some like massive lecture hall and this professor deliver. 15 00:00:58,860 --> 00:01:02,780 Really either, you know, if, if you're watching a movie, you know, 16 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:07,989 it's Sir Anthony Hopkins having delivered the greatest lecture, you 17 00:01:07,990 --> 00:01:12,700 know, or Morgan Freeman having done it, you know, or that it's something 18 00:01:12,700 --> 00:01:14,270 that's like, okay, super boring. 19 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:15,960 It's just a bunch of like PowerPoint slides. 20 00:01:16,009 --> 00:01:18,440 It's someone just reading through. 21 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:21,980 Um, I, I think that people. 22 00:01:22,549 --> 00:01:26,490 I wanted people to just paint a picture of what does that look like? 23 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:31,459 What's the, what, what is, what does it mean to come to a college unbound class? 24 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,860 How often do you come to this class and why is there a meal beforehand? 25 00:01:36,249 --> 00:01:38,370 And how do you structure all of that? 26 00:01:38,690 --> 00:01:40,070 Cause I know it's very different. 27 00:01:40,070 --> 00:01:44,300 I've been through all these and it's just, it completely changed my mind. 28 00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:48,440 It just blew my mind and changed my mind about higher education, you know? 29 00:01:48,450 --> 00:01:48,730 Yeah. 30 00:01:49,039 --> 00:01:49,439 Yeah. 31 00:01:50,780 --> 00:01:51,760 All students. 32 00:01:52,340 --> 00:01:56,130 As they come into College Unbound, come into a cohort, so a group 33 00:01:56,130 --> 00:01:57,560 of no more than 10 students. 34 00:01:58,289 --> 00:02:04,570 That class is called the Lab, World and Workplace Lab. 35 00:02:04,969 --> 00:02:08,730 And it is the place where students meet once a week. 36 00:02:09,550 --> 00:02:15,450 With a lab faculty member as a facilitator and a guide, and they, 37 00:02:15,500 --> 00:02:20,940 um, most, the vast majority of those classes happen face to face. 38 00:02:21,259 --> 00:02:25,559 So they come, um, we spend time together in community. 39 00:02:25,580 --> 00:02:29,400 There's announcements, there's brags, there's what's happening in the world. 40 00:02:29,770 --> 00:02:33,825 Occasionally a student will get up and Say I'd like to share something 41 00:02:33,825 --> 00:02:35,975 and they share a spoken word piece. 42 00:02:36,555 --> 00:02:37,985 They share a song. 43 00:02:38,435 --> 00:02:43,545 They share that they, their daughter just graduated from, from high school. 44 00:02:43,845 --> 00:02:46,165 Uh, so it's really community based time. 45 00:02:46,555 --> 00:02:50,265 And that breaking bread is not just, Oh, we have to feed people 46 00:02:50,265 --> 00:02:51,754 because they're coming from work. 47 00:02:52,174 --> 00:02:57,714 It's intentional because it sets the tone for a particular way of being together. 48 00:02:58,344 --> 00:03:02,755 It also means that people have a time to pause. 49 00:03:03,484 --> 00:03:08,145 before they transition into, um, into their lab class. 50 00:03:08,955 --> 00:03:14,335 And so people pause, um, and laugh and joke and, um, reconnect 51 00:03:14,335 --> 00:03:15,645 with one another after a week. 52 00:03:15,645 --> 00:03:17,935 And then they go into their, the lab. 53 00:03:18,305 --> 00:03:22,105 And the lab is a place where students make meaning of all of the 54 00:03:22,105 --> 00:03:23,735 other classes that they're having. 55 00:03:24,255 --> 00:03:30,054 And so a typical semester is a, um, uh, a lab for 16 weeks. 56 00:03:31,084 --> 00:03:37,054 And then, um, What we call instructional courses are eight weeks in duration. 57 00:03:37,135 --> 00:03:42,834 And so the instructional courses are delivered synchronously or asynchronously 58 00:03:42,885 --> 00:03:46,075 online, but the lab is the home base. 59 00:03:46,964 --> 00:03:50,675 And in the lab, students are really developing and cultivating 60 00:03:50,704 --> 00:03:53,984 a project that they care about, a community based project. 61 00:03:53,985 --> 00:03:59,274 And the projects can range from somebody who decides they want 62 00:03:59,304 --> 00:04:03,484 to launch a mentoring program for African American males. 63 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:10,890 Or they want to, um, create an after school program, um, for 64 00:04:10,970 --> 00:04:12,310 students with special needs. 65 00:04:12,750 --> 00:04:16,950 Or they want to do advocacy around housing at the Statehouse. 66 00:04:17,420 --> 00:04:19,800 So the projects come from students interests. 67 00:04:20,239 --> 00:04:25,060 And that is what's cultivated and developed in the course of the lab over 68 00:04:25,060 --> 00:04:27,500 the time that the students are at CU. 69 00:04:28,830 --> 00:04:34,520 To make what the being in class feels like I'll share a little bit about 70 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:36,070 a course I'm teaching right now. 71 00:04:36,579 --> 00:04:41,275 There's, um, there's one major, Organizational Leadership and Change. 72 00:04:42,505 --> 00:04:48,585 And every student is connected in that major because they're drawn to CU not only 73 00:04:48,585 --> 00:04:51,734 because they want a degree, but because they want to create change in the world. 74 00:04:52,344 --> 00:04:56,104 So one of the required courses is Reframing Failure. 75 00:04:57,895 --> 00:05:00,265 We meet on Thursday evenings online. 76 00:05:00,734 --> 00:05:04,005 It's synchronously, so I get to see their faces, which is great. 77 00:05:04,554 --> 00:05:13,615 And, um, it's very much problem posing, education, and inquiry based. 78 00:05:14,364 --> 00:05:20,714 So, a recent assignment, as an example, was, or discussion, was asking students 79 00:05:21,275 --> 00:05:29,095 to think about Biggest failure they think they've had in their lives, and they, they 80 00:05:29,095 --> 00:05:37,195 do, you know, some folks it was things like dropping out of school, you know, 81 00:05:37,195 --> 00:05:44,355 at 16, or making a mistake that ended them with a period of incarceration, 82 00:05:45,964 --> 00:05:52,345 not intervening with a child that they have that was abusing drugs. 83 00:05:53,665 --> 00:05:57,885 Um, you know, real, real life stuff, hard stuff. 84 00:05:59,205 --> 00:06:02,115 We don't ask them to say those things just because we want them 85 00:06:02,115 --> 00:06:04,034 to be in the depth of despair. 86 00:06:05,465 --> 00:06:11,410 We have that as part of the class so that they can re evaluate why they 87 00:06:11,410 --> 00:06:13,150 think those things were a failure. 88 00:06:15,420 --> 00:06:19,160 Were they really a failure or was it a set of circumstances? 89 00:06:20,159 --> 00:06:25,180 And that some that they couldn't control and some that they couldn't control. 90 00:06:25,870 --> 00:06:27,400 And then we start to unpack. 91 00:06:28,469 --> 00:06:31,689 Where do the messages come from about what's a failure? 92 00:06:33,109 --> 00:06:35,449 You know, someone would say, I didn't go to college. 93 00:06:35,609 --> 00:06:37,679 I could have gone to college and I didn't. 94 00:06:37,689 --> 00:06:38,449 That's a failure. 95 00:06:38,809 --> 00:06:42,205 And I'll say to them, You're in college and you're going 96 00:06:42,205 --> 00:06:43,805 to graduate in two semesters. 97 00:06:44,305 --> 00:06:45,474 Is it still a failure? 98 00:06:46,054 --> 00:06:50,005 And then on their own, they start to develop an understanding of the 99 00:06:50,005 --> 00:06:54,544 many, many things they learned from that failure, the insights that they 100 00:06:54,544 --> 00:06:56,984 gained, the person that they became. 101 00:06:57,364 --> 00:07:01,104 And sometimes they even realize Wait a minute. 102 00:07:01,865 --> 00:07:06,395 Yeah, there were some, um, things that they regret, but 103 00:07:06,395 --> 00:07:07,755 maybe it wasn't a failure. 104 00:07:08,115 --> 00:07:11,775 It was a step on the way to something that was better. 105 00:07:12,385 --> 00:07:16,455 And so, that's just an example of a conversation in a course 106 00:07:16,455 --> 00:07:17,834 called Reframing Failure. 107 00:07:19,050 --> 00:07:24,669 Imagine courses around leadership and change, around, um, organizational 108 00:07:24,729 --> 00:07:27,479 studies and understanding how organizations function. 109 00:07:27,870 --> 00:07:31,030 It's designed to give them all of the skills, knowledge, and expertise, 110 00:07:31,469 --> 00:07:34,639 um, to enact the kind of change they want to see in the world. 111 00:07:37,910 --> 00:07:42,640 It, it's, it's so amazing to hear about these courses and experience. 112 00:07:42,939 --> 00:07:45,480 These are the kind of courses that it feels like. 113 00:07:48,445 --> 00:07:53,455 It feels like a, it feels like a very meaningful, fun, and 114 00:07:53,724 --> 00:07:55,385 worthwhile learning experience. 115 00:07:55,655 --> 00:07:59,875 It does not feel like the kind of things where you go, Oh yeah, I got class. 116 00:07:59,975 --> 00:08:01,715 Oh, I got a paper due tomorrow. 117 00:08:01,734 --> 00:08:03,534 Oh, I got a final. 118 00:08:04,054 --> 00:08:05,714 You know how it is, right? 119 00:08:05,714 --> 00:08:05,934 Yeah. 120 00:08:06,075 --> 00:08:10,664 I think these are the types of things that I can see your student, 121 00:08:10,705 --> 00:08:12,054 and I have seen your students. 122 00:08:13,145 --> 00:08:17,260 They don't just go in, And they're not going in thinking, 123 00:08:18,020 --> 00:08:19,720 Oh, man, I have to do this. 124 00:08:21,450 --> 00:08:23,340 It's more like, I get to do this. 125 00:08:25,050 --> 00:08:28,310 It's a really different, it just come from a really different place. 126 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:32,009 I also want to talk a little bit about maybe a couple of things 127 00:08:32,009 --> 00:08:33,529 that you had, you had said. 128 00:08:34,630 --> 00:08:38,169 It's about doing the, you know, the labs, they're doing these projects together. 129 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:43,290 I want to talk about the role of the institution for a moment. 130 00:08:43,940 --> 00:08:46,750 And maybe even somewhat of a. 131 00:08:46,970 --> 00:08:51,176 Well, it's by design, really, but it's also a product of the institution, 132 00:08:51,176 --> 00:08:53,240 the impact of an institution. 133 00:08:53,570 --> 00:08:58,540 I think sometimes we don't talk about that a lot, and we can reframe that, you know, 134 00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:01,070 we can look at it in every institution. 135 00:09:01,070 --> 00:09:03,429 I've been involved in many institutions as well. 136 00:09:04,499 --> 00:09:08,130 What do the communities think of them? 137 00:09:08,569 --> 00:09:09,900 Are they bringing in 138 00:09:11,940 --> 00:09:16,630 knowledge, people, economy, you know, are they bettering the, 139 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:18,530 the, the community in some ways? 140 00:09:19,149 --> 00:09:20,149 And sometimes they're not. 141 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:26,679 You had mentioned very early on that at least one of the institutions in 142 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:30,249 your home state sits on native land, 143 00:09:32,429 --> 00:09:33,429 you know, there. 144 00:09:35,555 --> 00:09:39,035 I'm not, I I, I don't think you were even saying, well, whether the 145 00:09:39,035 --> 00:09:41,135 institution is a good institution. 146 00:09:41,345 --> 00:09:42,845 It's just a very fact that at some point. 147 00:09:43,680 --> 00:09:48,089 A large group of people were displaced because of the institution, right? 148 00:09:48,709 --> 00:09:50,630 But College Unbound doesn't work like that. 149 00:09:51,639 --> 00:09:59,399 In fact, in your very design, your students, you said, we have cohorts, a 150 00:09:59,399 --> 00:10:05,289 class of 10 ish, you know, students in, in each of these groups, and there are many, 151 00:10:05,289 --> 00:10:11,905 many groups, and each student developed, A project based on the passion that 152 00:10:11,915 --> 00:10:13,715 does something to better the community. 153 00:10:15,425 --> 00:10:19,185 So even, even if we take one single cohort, 154 00:10:21,354 --> 00:10:26,945 you would have done 10 things to your community to better that community. 155 00:10:27,485 --> 00:10:31,714 Whether like you said, it's an after school program, whether it's a, I 156 00:10:31,714 --> 00:10:39,719 talked to Jose Rodriguez who started a free Haircut service for kids. 157 00:10:41,270 --> 00:10:49,569 I talked to, um, one of your, one of your alum who I was so amazed by it. 158 00:10:49,630 --> 00:11:01,064 She, she created a, um, swim less free swim lessons for, um, kids who. 159 00:11:02,125 --> 00:11:06,885 don't typically get the privilege to have swim lessons. 160 00:11:07,995 --> 00:11:12,645 So they will lack a major skill, literal survival skill. 161 00:11:12,955 --> 00:11:13,335 Yeah. 162 00:11:13,825 --> 00:11:14,145 Right. 163 00:11:14,925 --> 00:11:19,065 Um, so your students are out there. 164 00:11:19,095 --> 00:11:22,554 Not only are they learning and gaining, gaining skills, by the 165 00:11:22,554 --> 00:11:27,885 way, in, I really, truly believe in deeper, faster, more impactful ways. 166 00:11:28,245 --> 00:11:29,825 They really are better learners. 167 00:11:29,985 --> 00:11:31,804 It's just, it's almost like saying. 168 00:11:31,805 --> 00:11:32,025 Yeah. 169 00:11:32,185 --> 00:11:35,625 It's the more efficient way to learn through that experience. 170 00:11:35,655 --> 00:11:41,045 It's, it beats them reading, you know, 10 books. 171 00:11:42,714 --> 00:11:45,565 It just does because it, you know, they're not thinking about the 172 00:11:45,565 --> 00:11:48,574 theories and what the hypotheticals they have to solve the problem. 173 00:11:48,605 --> 00:11:48,744 Yeah. 174 00:11:49,175 --> 00:11:49,385 Right. 175 00:11:50,464 --> 00:11:50,764 Right. 176 00:11:50,764 --> 00:11:51,144 Yeah. 177 00:11:51,604 --> 00:11:55,374 Because there are real lives at stake that they have to figure out how to do this. 178 00:11:55,694 --> 00:11:56,204 That's right. 179 00:11:56,234 --> 00:12:02,325 And And, but they are making all these difference in communities, just 180 00:12:02,375 --> 00:12:05,345 as a, you can call it by product. 181 00:12:05,345 --> 00:12:06,354 I think it's by design. 182 00:12:06,354 --> 00:12:11,214 Yeah, it is of your institution, you know, and people are learning at the same time. 183 00:12:11,494 --> 00:12:15,434 I mean, there is so many wins here that I'm just looking at this. 184 00:12:15,434 --> 00:12:16,135 I'm going. 185 00:12:16,615 --> 00:12:22,355 Oh my god, we've, traditionally, we get some wins, but we 186 00:12:22,355 --> 00:12:24,765 get mostly losses, you know? 187 00:12:26,505 --> 00:12:28,325 Yeah, yeah, that's so true. 188 00:12:28,375 --> 00:12:31,924 And the fact that you have to occupy the city and the campus 189 00:12:32,035 --> 00:12:37,554 and building, you know, buildings for classrooms and administration. 190 00:12:38,104 --> 00:12:39,154 College Unbound doesn't do that. 191 00:12:39,184 --> 00:12:39,444 Nope. 192 00:12:40,885 --> 00:12:41,245 Right. 193 00:12:41,655 --> 00:12:42,335 It's amazing. 194 00:12:42,365 --> 00:12:45,565 And the fact that you can do that allows you to be nimble and flexible. 195 00:12:45,565 --> 00:12:48,645 You can go into communities and serve it as they need to. 196 00:12:48,675 --> 00:12:49,185 Yeah. 197 00:12:49,445 --> 00:12:49,795 Yeah. 198 00:12:49,865 --> 00:12:56,324 And deliver the, the, the program, the education in the context of community. 199 00:12:56,324 --> 00:13:04,815 So even now in Rhode Island, um, we make use of the, um, The Met School facilities 200 00:13:05,439 --> 00:13:08,999 We don't have our facilities, which means we don't have all of that overhead. 201 00:13:09,610 --> 00:13:17,160 Our, um, dollars are spent on delivery of the program to students and supporting 202 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:18,730 those students to be successful. 203 00:13:19,300 --> 00:13:26,064 And we also have, um, Um, two cohorts of people, uh, in Central Falls in Rhode 204 00:13:26,064 --> 00:13:30,645 Island, in Woonsocket in Rhode Island, in Newport in Rhode Island, um, in 205 00:13:30,645 --> 00:13:38,404 Philadelphia, uh, in, uh, Camden, and so where a partnership or a relationship 206 00:13:38,415 --> 00:13:41,520 grows with a Community based organization. 207 00:13:41,790 --> 00:13:45,390 If they say, oh, we've got, you know, folks who are interested in getting their 208 00:13:45,390 --> 00:13:52,049 degree and it seems like a good fit, an organization can say, yeah, and when we 209 00:13:52,049 --> 00:13:56,090 close at five o'clock, the cohort can meet in the, in our conference room. 210 00:13:56,750 --> 00:13:59,150 Then it makes it easier for employees. 211 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:00,860 They don't have to go anywhere. 212 00:14:00,980 --> 00:14:05,180 They just switch, they get some food, and they begin their evening for class. 213 00:14:05,220 --> 00:14:09,520 So, we're in community and we're of community. 214 00:14:10,009 --> 00:14:14,399 And so what's interesting, there is no, you know, in traditional settings, 215 00:14:14,409 --> 00:14:16,680 there's the town gown relationship. 216 00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:19,570 The college and the community. 217 00:14:20,900 --> 00:14:27,649 We know sometimes those relationships can be really contentious or it can 218 00:14:27,649 --> 00:14:34,029 even be that the college has come in and swooped up land and some people would 219 00:14:34,029 --> 00:14:37,989 say, Oh, they, um, developed an area. 220 00:14:38,019 --> 00:14:41,319 Other people would say they gentrified an area and pushed 221 00:14:41,319 --> 00:14:43,819 out folks in that community. 222 00:14:43,849 --> 00:14:52,180 Uh, another college I worked at just before, um, College Unbound, beautiful 223 00:14:52,850 --> 00:14:57,950 community, beautiful college, expanding college, right on the Boston Common. 224 00:14:58,900 --> 00:15:00,120 Okay, that's great. 225 00:15:00,340 --> 00:15:03,319 Yeah, you know, if you were 18 years old, wouldn't you want to go to a college 226 00:15:04,090 --> 00:15:06,339 where your view is on the Boston Common? 227 00:15:07,079 --> 00:15:13,089 But as the college spread back, it also displaced folks in Chinatown. 228 00:15:14,039 --> 00:15:18,819 And so, That is often the story of colleges, and College 229 00:15:18,819 --> 00:15:23,520 Unbound, uh, intentionally seeks to be in and of community. 230 00:15:23,949 --> 00:15:29,300 If you go to, um, events in the City of Providence that are trying to create a 231 00:15:29,309 --> 00:15:34,410 better city, a better lived experience for the residents of the Providence 232 00:15:34,479 --> 00:15:40,739 area, you'll see on committees, in the audience, um, leading discussions, 233 00:15:40,770 --> 00:15:46,964 advocating for change, Just like a sea of College Unbound students, whether they're 234 00:15:47,194 --> 00:15:51,714 alums or previous students or folks who are alums who now work in City Hall. 235 00:15:52,205 --> 00:15:58,575 They are just in the community and shaping change in, in their circles 236 00:15:58,915 --> 00:16:00,875 that seem to be ever expanding. 237 00:16:01,255 --> 00:16:06,915 And so you're right, there is this, um, kind of magical, you know, You know, 238 00:16:06,955 --> 00:16:11,085 stones in a pond, you know, you throw a stone and the ripples just keep going. 239 00:16:11,095 --> 00:16:16,095 So every cohort, 10 stones, uh, that are creating change in the world. 240 00:16:16,835 --> 00:16:17,605 It's amazing. 241 00:16:17,615 --> 00:16:24,275 Cause I, I, I, I sometimes think that, and in fact, these literal, I 242 00:16:24,275 --> 00:16:27,154 mean, I don't know whether they're competitions or ranking or whatever, 243 00:16:27,175 --> 00:16:28,964 you know, you call them really exist. 244 00:16:29,265 --> 00:16:31,165 Most beautiful campuses in the United States. 245 00:16:31,834 --> 00:16:32,045 Right. 246 00:16:32,995 --> 00:16:43,140 And I, I, I can see how Um, enamored one can be when you step foot on 247 00:16:43,140 --> 00:16:49,369 a campus and it's got, you know, the grand, um, you know, campus. 248 00:16:49,460 --> 00:16:52,399 And I, I don't want to name names because they're really beautiful campus. 249 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:54,680 And you, you're like, wow, I belong to this, 250 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:55,609 this 251 00:16:55,609 --> 00:16:55,799 space. 252 00:16:56,279 --> 00:17:01,079 But at the same time, I don't think that, I think that it's. 253 00:17:01,449 --> 00:17:06,339 Crazy that an institution is judged by the square footage that they have. 254 00:17:06,700 --> 00:17:07,069 Yeah. 255 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:07,500 Right. 256 00:17:08,190 --> 00:17:10,659 As opposed to the impact that have on that community itself. 257 00:17:11,700 --> 00:17:12,010 Right. 258 00:17:12,230 --> 00:17:18,140 So it's almost like this kind of idea of ownership of square footage or whatever. 259 00:17:18,390 --> 00:17:21,269 At some point, I think it was, it was really for a real purpose. 260 00:17:21,309 --> 00:17:24,030 You know, I, you know, we need a place to convene and whatnot. 261 00:17:24,349 --> 00:17:24,750 But. 262 00:17:25,270 --> 00:17:29,850 They became extremely permanent and those things drive one thing, drive another. 263 00:17:29,850 --> 00:17:32,750 Now you have to hire people to do that, to maintain them. 264 00:17:32,750 --> 00:17:34,690 And, and then there's the cost. 265 00:17:34,690 --> 00:17:38,639 And when we think about sort of problems of higher education, I 266 00:17:38,649 --> 00:17:41,399 think cost and affordability is definitely one of the things. 267 00:17:42,030 --> 00:17:48,289 And like what you have just shown and proven to us that you can get an 268 00:17:48,309 --> 00:17:52,929 actual better space, more convenient space for those who actually are 269 00:17:52,929 --> 00:17:56,229 attending this school, um, for. 270 00:17:56,470 --> 00:17:57,670 A fraction of the cost. 271 00:17:57,760 --> 00:17:59,580 By the way, there is cost to what you do. 272 00:17:59,610 --> 00:17:59,880 Yeah. 273 00:17:59,900 --> 00:18:01,079 Because you know what you do? 274 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:04,100 You spend money on providing meals to them. 275 00:18:04,330 --> 00:18:08,600 You spend money on providing child care for those who 276 00:18:08,620 --> 00:18:10,100 actually come to attend school. 277 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:13,480 You don't get to go to Dartmouth and come to class and say 278 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:14,580 like, here, here is my kid. 279 00:18:15,079 --> 00:18:16,970 Can you drop him off for this? 280 00:18:17,410 --> 00:18:18,160 You don't get to do that. 281 00:18:18,420 --> 00:18:18,780 No. 282 00:18:18,780 --> 00:18:20,940 And you should, given that money that you're paying. 283 00:18:21,955 --> 00:18:28,294 Um, and so I think that's, that's a, it's, it's, it's just really, really smart. 284 00:18:28,294 --> 00:18:34,685 I think that you've really done so much of that re imagining higher education that 285 00:18:34,704 --> 00:18:40,165 it really, it's, it's, it's subtle in the smallest details, kind of like what you're 286 00:18:40,284 --> 00:18:44,875 saying, breaking bread isn't just to, yes, on one hand, we want to feed them. 287 00:18:44,875 --> 00:18:49,105 We want them to have the energy to, to, to carry on after a day of work and all that. 288 00:18:49,304 --> 00:18:53,255 But it's also a pause and also a time to reflect and reset. 289 00:18:53,715 --> 00:18:59,444 I just love all these really smart, in a way it seems simple, but like 290 00:18:59,504 --> 00:19:03,155 amazing solutions often seem simple once you've come up with them. 291 00:19:03,155 --> 00:19:09,604 And I think that that's, that's what you've done at College Unbound. 292 00:19:09,604 --> 00:19:10,685 I think it's really amazing. 293 00:19:11,415 --> 00:19:15,385 Um, can I talk a little bit more about this sort of relationship building? 294 00:19:16,475 --> 00:19:22,605 I think that there is a, um, one could also say, Hey, I attended a school. 295 00:19:22,605 --> 00:19:26,125 I had great relationships with my classmates. 296 00:19:26,964 --> 00:19:30,515 A lot of times they develop that relationship, maybe at a fraternity or 297 00:19:30,515 --> 00:19:36,564 in a dorm room, or maybe through clubs, athletics, you know, what have you. 298 00:19:37,565 --> 00:19:43,955 I actually have found that many of them, they do have relationships. 299 00:19:43,955 --> 00:19:47,905 I don't want to say they don't, but the relationship is not very deep when it 300 00:19:47,905 --> 00:19:50,725 comes to the academic side of the house. 301 00:19:51,395 --> 00:19:57,354 So if you took a math class together or writing class together, actually in many 302 00:19:57,355 --> 00:20:00,975 places, and I, this is not the case in all, all places, in fact, we work with 303 00:20:00,975 --> 00:20:04,855 a lot of schools at Digication, very privileged to do so where they, they do 304 00:20:04,855 --> 00:20:10,175 a lot of sharing by the nature of their work, but in many traditional classrooms. 305 00:20:10,510 --> 00:20:13,639 Actually, you don't even know what the next person is 306 00:20:13,639 --> 00:20:15,850 writing in that writing class. 307 00:20:16,770 --> 00:20:19,680 In fact, you're not allowed to share. 308 00:20:20,270 --> 00:20:21,520 You're not encouraged to share. 309 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:23,920 Sometimes you're not allowed to share, right? 310 00:20:23,950 --> 00:20:29,230 Because it's like, it's, it's like the, you know, like this is my stuff. 311 00:20:29,230 --> 00:20:30,129 This is your stuff. 312 00:20:31,340 --> 00:20:36,990 So actually, No one ever, like, people don't get to learn from each other very 313 00:20:36,990 --> 00:20:43,200 much, and I, I know that that's not the case in all classrooms, you know, 314 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:47,030 I know that, you know, that's not the case, you know, in fact, that's very 315 00:20:47,030 --> 00:20:51,769 much what I try to help people do as well, you know, using, you know, our, our 316 00:20:51,770 --> 00:20:58,850 platform, but, but at College Unbound, when you talked about this cohort of 317 00:20:58,860 --> 00:21:04,509 people, I want people to realize that In those, you said 16 weeks in the lab? 318 00:21:04,519 --> 00:21:04,959 Mm hmm. 319 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:10,485 In those 16 weeks, Each person is coming up with these projects and their passion, 320 00:21:10,545 --> 00:21:15,115 and they are telling each other every single week, what their progress is, 321 00:21:15,115 --> 00:21:20,295 what their hurdles are, what's going on, you know, what are the changes, you 322 00:21:20,295 --> 00:21:25,354 know, if they had to change an idea and then they all have each other's back by 323 00:21:25,355 --> 00:21:34,205 giving each other feedback and responses in, in a way that, and I, I love this 324 00:21:34,265 --> 00:21:37,709 because You have 10 students in there. 325 00:21:38,729 --> 00:21:40,199 They are not doing one project. 326 00:21:40,219 --> 00:21:44,239 They're doing one of their own project and nine of the other 327 00:21:44,239 --> 00:21:46,489 people's projects at the same time. 328 00:21:47,069 --> 00:21:49,519 You get invested into them, right? 329 00:21:49,550 --> 00:21:52,699 If someone is doing that after school program, you're not 330 00:21:52,699 --> 00:21:53,709 doing the after school program. 331 00:21:53,709 --> 00:21:59,165 Someone else is doing the after school program and you get to You 332 00:21:59,185 --> 00:22:01,005 thought of something, you'd help them. 333 00:22:01,525 --> 00:22:01,865 You 334 00:22:01,875 --> 00:22:06,415 know someone in a school who might be a good point, a contact person 335 00:22:06,415 --> 00:22:08,795 to start the absence school program. 336 00:22:09,034 --> 00:22:12,175 You make the connections for them, right? 337 00:22:12,214 --> 00:22:14,955 You become each other's support structure. 338 00:22:15,225 --> 00:22:19,164 So when you're talking about relationship is different from that 339 00:22:19,165 --> 00:22:23,034 of People thinking, well, these are my college buddies relationship. 340 00:22:23,145 --> 00:22:23,485 Absolutely. 341 00:22:23,485 --> 00:22:28,625 These are people that you went to do extraordinary work together and you 342 00:22:28,925 --> 00:22:35,024 respect and understand each other, both at an intellectual level, but also at 343 00:22:35,084 --> 00:22:41,624 the, at a very deep, um, sort of the deep respect to the people's core values. 344 00:22:42,144 --> 00:22:43,154 Yeah, absolutely. 345 00:22:43,164 --> 00:22:46,014 That's different in my mind than just saying, you know, It's sort of like 346 00:22:46,095 --> 00:22:53,014 your, you know, um, uh, uh, buddy for going to football games together. 347 00:22:53,045 --> 00:22:53,205 Yeah. 348 00:22:54,145 --> 00:22:54,455 Yeah. 349 00:22:54,455 --> 00:23:03,254 Because the, um, the, the, the kind of personal experience and the academic 350 00:23:03,254 --> 00:23:09,130 experience are are connected, as opposed to, oh, my social and personal life 351 00:23:09,130 --> 00:23:11,600 happens only outside of the classroom. 352 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:14,580 It's, it's, they're all, they're the same. 353 00:23:14,590 --> 00:23:17,700 People aren't leaving themselves, part of themselves at the 354 00:23:17,700 --> 00:23:19,320 door when they come into lab. 355 00:23:19,740 --> 00:23:26,780 And they're in that lab for 16 weeks of every semester that 356 00:23:26,780 --> 00:23:28,630 they're enrolled at College Unbound. 357 00:23:28,670 --> 00:23:33,530 So they're with those same folks through the whole experience. 358 00:23:33,590 --> 00:23:35,440 And when they graduate. 359 00:23:36,835 --> 00:23:40,135 It's, they talk about each other as extended family. 360 00:23:40,625 --> 00:23:44,815 They're no longer just a peer in a, in a, oh yeah, we went to college. 361 00:23:44,865 --> 00:23:49,755 They are tight and when, you know, somebody from the cohort walks 362 00:23:49,755 --> 00:23:53,244 across the stage at commencement, I don't know who's louder. 363 00:23:53,245 --> 00:23:57,505 Is it the family in the back who's louder or is it that cohort who's just 364 00:23:57,745 --> 00:24:04,215 screaming their heart out and with tears and high fives and hugs and it, it is. 365 00:24:05,685 --> 00:24:07,135 The celebration of one. 366 00:24:07,740 --> 00:24:09,570 is the celebration of the whole. 367 00:24:09,650 --> 00:24:14,220 And so there's something really, really powerful in the relationships 368 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:16,049 that are formed in the lab. 369 00:24:16,780 --> 00:24:21,519 They are, as you noted, supporting each other, talking about each 370 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:23,329 other, giving each other feedback. 371 00:24:23,850 --> 00:24:26,879 So there's all of the stuff that's related to the, the learning. 372 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:32,300 And then They're even kind of giving a hand up when something goes wrong. 373 00:24:32,810 --> 00:24:37,920 So somebody's car breaks down and they, they write to their cohort, uh, 374 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:41,490 you know, in Snapchat and say, I'm not going to make it to class tonight. 375 00:24:41,500 --> 00:24:42,489 My car is broken. 376 00:24:43,620 --> 00:24:45,929 10 minutes later, somebody is like, hold on. 377 00:24:46,170 --> 00:24:47,690 Nope, we're not doing that. 378 00:24:47,970 --> 00:24:48,870 I'll come get you. 379 00:24:48,890 --> 00:24:49,800 Give me your address. 380 00:24:50,129 --> 00:24:52,210 And next thing you know, that student's in class. 381 00:24:52,690 --> 00:24:54,890 Um, that's how they have each other's backs. 382 00:24:55,410 --> 00:24:59,449 And there's some formal things that we do to, to also support that. 383 00:24:59,540 --> 00:25:04,660 So, based on the project, every student develops a personal learning network. 384 00:25:05,390 --> 00:25:07,180 So, four or five people. 385 00:25:07,985 --> 00:25:14,235 That they believe have wisdom, expertise, experience that's going 386 00:25:14,235 --> 00:25:15,955 to help them with their project. 387 00:25:16,005 --> 00:25:20,435 Somebody that they can, um, be in touch with informally or 388 00:25:20,435 --> 00:25:22,824 formally to advance their project. 389 00:25:22,825 --> 00:25:26,405 So every student has a personal learning network that they've identified. 390 00:25:27,585 --> 00:25:31,984 Which means the, you know, the value of relationships. 391 00:25:32,594 --> 00:25:37,344 in CU's educational model is probably the highest priority. 392 00:25:38,794 --> 00:25:44,995 And it's so consistent with some of the values that we have around learning and 393 00:25:44,995 --> 00:25:50,684 how learning happens, how it happens best is always in, in the context of community. 394 00:25:50,905 --> 00:25:58,685 And so we do a lot to cultivate, um, both spontaneous as well as intentional. 395 00:25:59,699 --> 00:26:02,749 Moments for people to be in relationship with one another. 396 00:26:03,220 --> 00:26:05,500 And that's, that's where the best learning comes from. 397 00:26:07,350 --> 00:26:12,610 So, I mean, I think that at this point, if people are listening to this, at 398 00:26:12,610 --> 00:26:16,879 this point, you're thinking, this is an amazing, beautiful, magical college. 399 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:20,290 It must cost a hundred-K, twenty-K to attend. 400 00:26:22,169 --> 00:26:22,570 No, 401 00:26:22,679 --> 00:26:27,230 Sylvia, what is, how much, how much does this whole thing cost? 402 00:26:27,290 --> 00:26:29,830 I mean, it's high touch, small classes. 403 00:26:30,989 --> 00:26:31,999 You're providing. 404 00:26:32,450 --> 00:26:35,139 Food and childcare. 405 00:26:35,230 --> 00:26:39,139 How, I mean, and then you were talking about this population of people who may 406 00:26:39,139 --> 00:26:43,979 not, shouldn't have been able to afford college, how there's some, there's an 407 00:26:43,979 --> 00:26:48,360 imbalance here, you know, like how, how much is this thing going to cost them? 408 00:26:48,939 --> 00:26:52,259 Uh, it's, uh, about 10, 000 a year. 409 00:26:52,315 --> 00:26:56,145 10, 000 a year and they have to do it for six years? 410 00:26:56,214 --> 00:26:59,094 No, most students, it's two years. 411 00:27:00,174 --> 00:27:00,645 Two years? 412 00:27:00,654 --> 00:27:02,174 Maybe two and a half at the most. 413 00:27:02,175 --> 00:27:03,318 To get a bachelor's 414 00:27:03,318 --> 00:27:03,604 degree. 415 00:27:03,604 --> 00:27:08,694 Yeah, because many of them have, they're coming with credits or they 416 00:27:08,705 --> 00:27:16,774 have lived experience that is, um, valuable experience that can be 417 00:27:16,774 --> 00:27:20,044 reviewed through portfolio for credit. 418 00:27:21,015 --> 00:27:27,084 And so we take the experience if somebody was a caregiver of an elderly parent and 419 00:27:27,085 --> 00:27:35,274 as part of that process had to understand medicines and all kinds of health 420 00:27:35,594 --> 00:27:42,870 related activities and really can provide evidence of deep learning around health 421 00:27:42,870 --> 00:27:45,290 and well being and, uh, all of that. 422 00:27:45,300 --> 00:27:50,659 They, they may submit a portfolio that reflects on that learning that provides 423 00:27:50,689 --> 00:27:54,920 evidence of that learning and then they actually can receive credit for learning. 424 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:59,380 So, you can't be somebody who's lived in the world and at your 35, 425 00:27:59,380 --> 00:28:04,360 40 years old and you and not have learned deep skills and knowledge 426 00:28:04,650 --> 00:28:07,650 and so we value that, that knowledge. 427 00:28:07,670 --> 00:28:12,639 And so somebody might come in and they might have 20 credits from community 428 00:28:12,639 --> 00:28:18,779 college, but they might do portfolios and give themselves a bump and then 429 00:28:18,779 --> 00:28:24,309 do the major and then do additional credits so that it's around two years. 430 00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:29,159 Um, there have been a handful of mighty people who have 431 00:28:29,159 --> 00:28:30,600 done it in a year in a summer. 432 00:28:31,710 --> 00:28:33,070 And got their bachelor's degree. 433 00:28:33,210 --> 00:28:35,340 It's, it's amazing. 434 00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:41,020 Just, just to describe to folks, these are people who traditional 435 00:28:41,060 --> 00:28:44,450 college might have failed them. 436 00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:48,059 The society, the community in which they live in may have failed them. 437 00:28:50,129 --> 00:28:59,559 And that they are stuck in a space, in a, in, in, in a, in a, in a phase of their 438 00:28:59,559 --> 00:29:04,320 lives where they literally are stuck. 439 00:29:04,350 --> 00:29:07,520 They, they don't have a way to go and get a degree. 440 00:29:07,850 --> 00:29:11,059 If they could get a degree, they might've gotten a better job. 441 00:29:11,210 --> 00:29:15,170 You know, better pay or better outcome in, you know, the current, you know, the 442 00:29:15,170 --> 00:29:17,520 job and a career, but they couldn't do it. 443 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:19,589 They couldn't, they couldn't have the ability. 444 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:22,030 They don't have the ability to go back to school to do it. 445 00:29:22,530 --> 00:29:24,690 Now one could say, well, they could go to community college 446 00:29:24,690 --> 00:29:26,779 and do it and sort of part time. 447 00:29:26,780 --> 00:29:28,939 And so there are actually other opportunities to do 448 00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:29,989 things part time as well. 449 00:29:29,989 --> 00:29:30,229 Right. 450 00:29:30,540 --> 00:29:35,409 But these are schools that are not designed to help people like them. 451 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:39,350 Actually, that's most people, right? 452 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:42,300 They're not designed to help most people's real lives. 453 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:45,980 They're, you know, they're designed for people who are 454 00:29:45,980 --> 00:29:48,470 willing to sacrifice so much. 455 00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:53,280 Of what life really should be, should be for them in order to get that degree. 456 00:29:53,510 --> 00:29:56,370 The sacrifice, the sacrificing sometimes is too much. 457 00:29:56,400 --> 00:30:03,039 Maybe it's in the, in the, in the, you know, um, um, for someone who's, 458 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:06,619 uh, who has young children, for example, just couldn't do it, right? 459 00:30:07,230 --> 00:30:12,030 So they're stuck in the part of the face of their life where there's no no 460 00:30:12,860 --> 00:30:20,495 possible forward movement in bettering themselves, or at least that's how it 461 00:30:20,495 --> 00:30:21,174 is. 462 00:30:21,555 --> 00:30:27,035 And that they can come to College Unbound, first of all, is much, 463 00:30:27,035 --> 00:30:28,425 much, much less expensive. 464 00:30:28,965 --> 00:30:34,564 But second, is that they could do, they could actually obtain an accredited 465 00:30:34,575 --> 00:30:39,045 4 year bachelor's degree, what's traditionally a 4 year bachelor's degree. 466 00:30:40,570 --> 00:30:45,530 In, in some cases, a year and a bit, but most of the time, 467 00:30:45,590 --> 00:30:46,600 two, two and a half years. 468 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:48,600 That's incredible. 469 00:30:48,690 --> 00:30:49,120 Yeah. 470 00:30:50,350 --> 00:30:50,800 Yeah. 471 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:57,710 And that degree is accessible because of how the, the curricular model 472 00:30:57,710 --> 00:31:00,930 is delivered, that it's relevant to the work that they're doing. 473 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:04,490 So it's not like, Oh, I have to stop doing what I'm doing to go to college. 474 00:31:05,270 --> 00:31:07,980 It actually feeds into the work that they're doing. 475 00:31:07,980 --> 00:31:12,140 So many people, even before they graduate, will be recognized by their 476 00:31:12,140 --> 00:31:15,400 employers and move into other roles. 477 00:31:15,830 --> 00:31:21,070 Um, for some students, they graduate and, um, as soon as they can, show that 478 00:31:21,070 --> 00:31:28,550 diploma, they're promoted, you know, a 15, 000 or 20, 000 bump is, is real. 479 00:31:28,570 --> 00:31:34,109 That's something that can materially change the experience of, of students. 480 00:31:34,450 --> 00:31:39,989 And if you can change the, the experience of a mother who's raising kids on 481 00:31:39,989 --> 00:31:44,520 her own, or a dad who's out there struggling, or somebody who's in a multi 482 00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:49,440 generational household, you can change the trajectory of that entire family. 483 00:31:49,935 --> 00:31:56,235 And so that's why CU is committed to removing barriers, um, and as 484 00:31:56,235 --> 00:32:00,455 many barriers as we can so folks can just do the work that they need 485 00:32:00,475 --> 00:32:04,775 to do, um, to advance their lives and to make change in the world. 486 00:32:04,985 --> 00:32:09,435 And I have to say, There are days when it feels like a really magical 487 00:32:09,445 --> 00:32:13,465 place, especially when you're hanging out with students and the work 488 00:32:13,465 --> 00:32:19,595 behind the scenes to ensure that we don't unintentionally replicate 489 00:32:21,625 --> 00:32:24,255 the stuff that's in higher ed. 490 00:32:24,465 --> 00:32:31,165 The traditional things in higher ed is real work, um, because all of us, whether 491 00:32:31,165 --> 00:32:35,864 we've been higher ed professionals or community, uh, worked in community 492 00:32:36,105 --> 00:32:42,105 organizations, all of us as a staff and faculty have been acculturated, socialized 493 00:32:42,134 --> 00:32:44,255 into a different model of education. 494 00:32:45,125 --> 00:32:45,505 Yeah, 495 00:32:46,155 --> 00:32:51,685 and we're committed to learning from traditional higher 496 00:32:51,685 --> 00:32:54,155 education, but not replicating it. 497 00:32:55,335 --> 00:33:01,124 And so how we're always in the process of becoming, always in the 498 00:33:01,125 --> 00:33:06,544 process of innovating, of asking ourselves, why are we doing this? 499 00:33:08,084 --> 00:33:10,554 Uh, is it going to build relationships? 500 00:33:11,595 --> 00:33:13,665 Is it going to advance equity? 501 00:33:14,435 --> 00:33:18,815 Is it, um, you know, replication just for the sake of replication? 502 00:33:18,815 --> 00:33:20,485 Is it meeting the needs of our students? 503 00:33:20,995 --> 00:33:25,495 Is the student voice actually fundamental to our decision making? 504 00:33:26,004 --> 00:33:30,515 And if it's not, if we answer no to any of those things, then we need to take a pause 505 00:33:30,544 --> 00:33:35,055 before we do anything because we don't want to replicate or to become the very 506 00:33:35,055 --> 00:33:36,835 thing that we're trying to work against. 507 00:33:40,365 --> 00:33:41,405 That's amazing, Sylvia. 508 00:33:41,485 --> 00:33:45,895 I, I was going to ask you, but I think you actually pre answered that question, 509 00:33:45,895 --> 00:33:52,055 which was, you know, if I was, if I'm listening to this, I'm, I'm an admin, 510 00:33:52,084 --> 00:33:54,175 I'm a dean and an administrator. 511 00:33:54,175 --> 00:34:00,335 I'm someone with the power to change, to make significant impact in my 512 00:34:00,775 --> 00:34:05,215 current institution that is not CU, and maybe we suffer from some of 513 00:34:05,215 --> 00:34:07,895 the things that we had talked about. 514 00:34:08,025 --> 00:34:08,204 Mm hmm. 515 00:34:08,430 --> 00:34:10,770 Maybe I didn't even realize we were suffering from it 516 00:34:10,770 --> 00:34:11,980 until you talked about it. 517 00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:15,980 We thought those are good things, but now I realize, oh, hold on a minute. 518 00:34:16,670 --> 00:34:22,950 Um, you know, I, I think that you gave people so much hope, but 519 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:29,135 also a practical real example, a model, a roadmap to say, Hey, look, 520 00:34:32,125 --> 00:34:37,395 acknowledge some of these things that, that may not be, you know, we 521 00:34:37,435 --> 00:34:43,455 sometimes have metrics in our lives, you know, that, that were given to 522 00:34:43,455 --> 00:34:47,945 us that didn't have a good, they weren't good metrics to begin with. 523 00:34:49,615 --> 00:34:55,115 And yet, because they were the ones given to us, we take that as, you The 524 00:34:55,475 --> 00:35:00,665 effect, and sometimes they're not, and we have to reexamine those things. 525 00:35:00,715 --> 00:35:04,195 And I think all those things that you just talked about give people, 526 00:35:04,195 --> 00:35:06,064 um, maybe a starting point, right? 527 00:35:06,705 --> 00:35:07,145 Yeah. 528 00:35:07,605 --> 00:35:10,964 You think, do you believe that, do you believe that there is. 529 00:35:16,205 --> 00:35:18,005 What is your magic wand? 530 00:35:19,685 --> 00:35:21,105 Not magic wand overnight. 531 00:35:21,155 --> 00:35:23,385 I think magic wand overnight doesn't work. 532 00:35:23,385 --> 00:35:29,545 I think that's just, you know, that's just silly, but magic wand in 30 years, Sylvia, 533 00:35:29,545 --> 00:35:36,755 a 30 year long magic wand, you get to, Do the wand, but it doesn't come true. 534 00:35:36,765 --> 00:35:40,985 It's going to take small parts every day for the next 30 years for it to come true. 535 00:35:41,265 --> 00:35:44,415 What does that magic wand looks like for higher education for you? 536 00:35:44,585 --> 00:35:45,375 Wow. 537 00:35:47,085 --> 00:35:48,065 I love that question. 538 00:35:48,385 --> 00:35:56,975 Um, I think it would look like, um, not that colleges there'd be, um, more CUs or 539 00:35:56,975 --> 00:36:01,555 colleges would look more like CU, but CU. 540 00:36:02,495 --> 00:36:10,075 The model that CU uses would be, um, already a thing of the past because 541 00:36:10,075 --> 00:36:16,635 we would have actually developed the next level of innovation that, that, 542 00:36:16,964 --> 00:36:24,310 um, that the basis of CU in, in 10 years is in colleges already and that 543 00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:29,640 colleges are creating the next iteration of what it means to meet the needs 544 00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:31,430 of students because it's not static. 545 00:36:31,660 --> 00:36:33,420 The needs of students will change. 546 00:36:33,940 --> 00:36:40,569 Barriers will change and how do we ensure that every college, every 547 00:36:40,569 --> 00:36:45,740 community is actually dismantling the things that do not serve students 548 00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:47,840 and building the things that do. 549 00:36:48,205 --> 00:36:54,925 And so, I'm looking for what's the next innovation that springs out of CU and all 550 00:36:54,925 --> 00:37:00,565 of the CU like institutions or all of the CU like communities of practice within 551 00:37:00,565 --> 00:37:06,545 institutions that then actually have a very different landscape for higher ed. 552 00:37:07,165 --> 00:37:08,585 That it all looks different. 553 00:37:08,955 --> 00:37:14,950 And, um, things like Relationship and relevance are embedded 554 00:37:15,120 --> 00:37:18,930 fully in every college, every institution across the country. 555 00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:22,920 And that people actually have access, that they're, that they 556 00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:27,620 are more of community, uh, and less set aside on a hill somewhere. 557 00:37:30,200 --> 00:37:32,560 What a beautiful, beautiful vision. 558 00:37:32,610 --> 00:37:37,629 I can't think of a better time to, to end our conversation, but to leave everyone 559 00:37:37,639 --> 00:37:41,320 here listening, think about that, ponder. 560 00:37:41,690 --> 00:37:49,040 And maybe I don't, we don't usually do this at these conversations, but I think 561 00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:52,989 this is a point for people to think about, well, what, what are some things that 562 00:37:52,989 --> 00:37:59,960 you can do in your community to, if you agree with what Sylvia is saying to, to, 563 00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:05,100 to help that become a reality, because I think that is a beautiful, beautiful, 564 00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:08,810 um, sounds like a magical place to be. 565 00:38:08,810 --> 00:38:11,840 And I think that, you know, if people are willing to. 566 00:38:12,210 --> 00:38:14,830 Put in some work into going towards that goal. 567 00:38:14,830 --> 00:38:21,020 I think I, I really think that is it's, it's, it's a realistic goal, um, that 568 00:38:21,030 --> 00:38:25,830 one could have, it's not magic wand in that it's just potion and pixie dust. 569 00:38:26,310 --> 00:38:26,820 I think it's. 570 00:38:27,390 --> 00:38:30,070 I think that you are, you are starting there and you are doing it. 571 00:38:30,070 --> 00:38:34,290 And I think with, you know, with more people knowing about this, um, 572 00:38:34,510 --> 00:38:39,100 it could really be a reality and I'm so glad to be in the beginning 573 00:38:39,100 --> 00:38:40,450 of these conversations with you. 574 00:38:40,749 --> 00:38:46,200 Only 14 years in, in, in, in, in establishment and, but, but the, but some 575 00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:48,910 of the most amazing discoveries today. 576 00:38:48,910 --> 00:38:53,000 I hope that everyone enjoyed this, um, this conversation with Sylvia. 577 00:38:53,475 --> 00:38:57,275 Thank you, Sylvia, so much for being, um, sharing your insights. 578 00:38:58,165 --> 00:39:02,185 I, I, I love this and I hope that we continue this conversation. 579 00:39:02,514 --> 00:39:03,244 It's been a pleasure. 580 00:39:04,964 --> 00:39:05,774 Take care, Sylvia. 581 00:39:05,794 --> 00:39:06,214 You too. 582 00:39:08,015 --> 00:39:12,385 Coming up next, we'll be chatting with Matthew Street, senior lecturer in 583 00:39:12,394 --> 00:39:14,895 Spanish at the University of Virginia. 584 00:39:15,175 --> 00:39:16,495 Here's a quick preview 585 00:39:17,365 --> 00:39:21,175 and just encourage them to, to start creating with the language, like you 586 00:39:21,175 --> 00:39:23,125 mentioned, like you mentioned earlier. 587 00:39:23,185 --> 00:39:25,705 You know, I want the students to, to be comfortable. 588 00:39:25,705 --> 00:39:30,925 My job there is to kind of gently push students towards things and 589 00:39:30,925 --> 00:39:32,900 encourage them to organize on their own.