Changing Higher Ed® Podcast

 

Higher Education podcasts dedicated to helping college and university leaders improve their institutions. We offer the latest in higher ed news and insights from the top experts in our profession who share their experience and perspectives on how you can grow and strengthen your institution.

The Changing Higher Ed podcasts are hosted by Dr. Drumm McNaughton, CEO of The Change Leader, a higher education consulting firm.

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The Changing Higher Ed Podcast

"Drumm – you are one heck of a good podcast host. I have done several podcasts. You are the best host I have ever worked with. You are incredibly well organized, and the ‘planning and discussion session’ you hosted two days ago helped us all to do a superb job today. Most of all Drumm, you made today’s actual podcast enterprise both substantive and also fun for your two guests. I enjoyed our three person smiles and laughter as we talked. Hope your podcast listeners enjoy hearing our remarks as much as we enjoyed presenting them. Thanks for everything."
Dr. Richard Light Carl H. Pforzheimer Professor of Teaching and Learning, Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Author of "Becoming Great Universitites"
Changing Higher Ed podcast 301 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Stephen Pruitt | SACSCOC Accreditation Substantive Change Updates and Standards Revision Through 2026

SACSCOC Accreditation Substantive Change Updates and Standards Revision Through 2026:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 301 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Stephen L. Pruitt

SACSCOC is updating how it handles institutional change and how it makes expectations easier to navigate. For institutional leaders, the practical work is keeping governance records and documentation clear enough that important changes move efficiently, with quality demonstrated in a way that holds up under peer review and public scrutiny.

March 3, 2026
Changing Higher Ed Podcast 300-Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Lynn Pasquerella on University Presidential Leadership in 2026 Navigating Political Pressure with Moral Resilience

University Presidential Leadership in 2026: Navigating Political Pressure with Moral Resilience:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 300 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Lynn Pasquerella

The crisis facing higher education is not a perception problem. It is not a branding gap that better marketing will close. It is a serious and sustained pressure on institutional independence, and higher education sits at its center whether institutions choose to acknowledge that or not. That reframing comes from

February 24, 2026
Changing Higher Ed Podcast 299 Free Speech in Higher Education: A Conversation with FIRE on Institutional Integrity and Mission-Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Sean Stevens

Free Speech in Higher Education: A Conversation with FIRE on Institutional Integrity and Mission:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 299 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Sean Stevens

Higher education does not exist to produce agreement. It exists to produce disciplined thinkers who can engage in debate and disagreement without fear. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Sean Stevens, Chief Research Advisor at the Foundation for Individual Rights and

February 17, 2026
Changing Higher Ed Podcast 298 The Data Exists, You're Just Not Using It — Tracking Stop-Outs, Transfers, and ROI Across the Full Student Journey -Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Melba Amissi - National Student Clearinghouse

The Data Exists, You’re Just Not Using It — Tracking Stop-Outs, Transfers, and ROI Across the Full Student Journey:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 298 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Melba Amissi

Higher education is sitting on one of the most powerful data assets in the country and most institutions aren’t using it. While colleges and universities debate their purpose, wrestle with declining public confidence, and face mounting pressure to demonstrate value, the National Student Clearinghouse quietly tracks the educational journeys of

February 10, 2026
Cover Image: Changing Higher Ed Podcast 297 Closing the Change Gap: Agile Change Management for Today’s Higher Education Leaders -Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Dr. Christine Janssen

Closing the Change Gap: Agile Change Management for Today’s Higher Education Leaders:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 297 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Christine Janssen

Higher education is facing a convergence of change unlike anything in its history. Within the past six years alone, institutions have navigated three major transitions: political shifts under the first Trump administration, the COVID-19 pandemic, and now a second Trump administration coupled with the rapid emergence of AI. Demographic decline,

February 3, 2026
Changing Higher Ed podcast 296- Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Jeff Meade Using Entrepreneurship to Redesign the College Operating Model

How Paul Quinn College Uses Entrepreneurship to Reduce Costs, Improve Workforce Readiness, and Graduate Students with Little to No Debt:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 296 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Jeff Meade

Most colleges treat entrepreneurship as a business school elective. Paul Quinn College treats it as an operating system for the entire institution. Under the leadership of Jeff Meade, Founding Director of Every Quinnite is an Entrepreneur, entrepreneurship is not a program layered onto campus. It is woven into tuition strategy,

January 27, 2026
Changing Higher Ed Podcast 295 Reduce Student Debt Risk and Improve Employability with Distributed Practicum -Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Jarred McNeely.jpg

Reduce Student Debt Risk and Improve Employability with Distributed Practicum:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 295 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Jarred McNeely

Higher education is no longer being evaluated on aspiration, tradition, or brand alone. It is being evaluated on outcomes. Students, families, employers, and policymakers are making decisions based on whether institutions produce graduates who can perform in real-world environments, adapt as conditions change, and build sustainable careers without accumulating unnecessary

January 20, 2026
Cover Image - Changing Higher Ed Podcast 294 Empathy in Higher Education Leadership Without Losing Your Edge with Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Dr. Laura Parson

Empathy in Higher Education Leadership Without Losing Your Edge:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 294 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Laura Parson

Empathy is often treated as a temperament. In leadership, it functions more like a competency: a repeatable set of behaviors that improve judgment, communication, and follow-through under pressure. Higher education leaders are making decisions in environments where people are tired, trust is uneven, and the stakes are personal. In that

January 13, 2026
Changing Higher Ed Podcast 293 - The Case for a Chief Enrollment Management Officer—The Strategic Risk of Treating Enrollment as Everyone’s Job with Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Dr. Dan Predoehl

The Case for a Chief Enrollment Management Officer—The Strategic Risk of Treating Enrollment as Everyone’s Job:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 293 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Dan Predoehl

Enrollment pressure in higher education is structural, not cyclical. Demographic contraction, shifting student expectations, workforce alignment demands, and persistent fiscal stress have exposed a leadership gap many institutions have avoided naming. Enrollment is routinely treated as a shared responsibility spread across admissions, marketing, student services, and academics, yet rarely is

January 6, 2026
Changing Higher Ed Podcast Cover Image-Podcast 292: How Stevens Tech Became One of the Strongest Transformation Stories in Higher Education

How Stevens Tech Became One of the Strongest Transformation Stories in Higher Education:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 292 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Nariman Farvardin

Strategic Planning and Academic Realignment at Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology has become a living example of how disciplined strategic planning, academic realignment, and institutional follow-through can transform a university for long-term relevance and success. This episode of the Changing Higher Ed podcast features Dr. Nariman Farvardin,

December 30, 2025
Changing Higher Ed podcast 291 cover image - Higher Education 2026 Planning and Outlook with Lessons from 2025 Predictions with guest host Tom Netting and co-host Dr. Drumm McNaughton

Higher Education 2026 Planning and Outlook with Lessons from 2025 Predictions:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 291 with guest host Tom Netting and co-host Dr. Drumm McNaughton

In this 8th annual end-of-year episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton joins Tom Netting of TEN Government Strategies to review how 2025 unfolded and explore what institutional leaders must prepare for in 2026. The discussion reveals how higher education navigated a transformative year marked by federal

December 23, 2025
Changing Higher Ed Podcast Cover Image-290- Strategic Insights from the 2025 AAC&U Employer Survey-What Employers want from higher education-Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Dr. Ashley Finley

Strategic Insights from the 2025 AAC&U Employer Survey: What Employers Really Think About Higher Education:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 290 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Ashley Finley

Employers are far more aligned with higher education than today’s public and political narratives suggest—and the 2025 AAC&U Employer Survey makes that disconnect impossible to ignore. In this episode of Changing Higher Ed, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Ashley Finley of the Association of American Colleges and Universities about

December 16, 2025
Cover image | Changing Higher Ed podcast 289 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest David Maffei | Higher Education Communication Strategy Under Political Pressure and Crisis Risk

Higher Education Communication Strategy Under Political Pressure and Crisis Risk:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 289 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest David Maffei

Higher education is operating inside one of the most unforgiving communication environments in modern history. Political pressure, fractured trust, faculty skepticism, board-level risk exposure, and real-time public scrutiny have collapsed the margin for error. In this environment, a coherent higher education communication strategy is no longer a marketing function. It

December 9, 2025
Changing Higher Ed Podcast Cover Image-288- How Accreditation Can Strengthen Institutional Strategy and Student Success: Insights from CHEA-Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Dr. Nasser H. Paydar

Using Accreditation to Advance Institutional Strategy and Student Success: Insights from CHEA’s New:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 288 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Nasser Paydar

Accreditation in higher education is entering one of its most consequential periods. Institutions are navigating declining public trust, shifting federal expectations, uneven student success outcomes, and a pace of change that outstrips traditional planning cycles. In this episode of Changing Higher Ed, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Nasser Paydar,

December 2, 2025
Changing Higher Ed podcast 287 | How Leaders Can Reclaim the Narratives About Higher Education and Rebuild Public Trust | With host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Peter Murphy Lewis

How Leaders Can Reclaim the Narrative About Higher Education and Rebuild Public Trust:

Changing Higher Ed Podcast 287 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Peter Murphy Lewis

Public narratives about higher education have drifted away from the real work taking place on campuses. Families hear more from pundits, political operatives, and social media personalities than from the people who teach, mentor, and support students every day. As those outside voices grow louder, institutions struggle to communicate the

November 25, 2025
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Changing Higher Ed Podcast | Dr. Drumm McNaughton | Higher Ed Consultant