Full Transcript for Episode #12 | A Conversation with Melik Khoury, Unity College

the real onset. And I think this year has highlighted that conversation. Lee Maxey: I agree with you. I've been watching as you have online slowly be adopted by higher ed. But besides embracing, I'll call it alternative modalities for delivery, which is, as you and I have talked about only one piece of the puzzle, can you describe any of the models or approaches pedagogically that, or from a, I'll call it a business standpoint that schools have done in the past that would have prepared them to be more successful in this last year? Melik Khoury: Sure. I think the concept of online to your point is a misnomer. I think higher education has labeled the cost of online as if it's a thing. It's not. It's a technology. And I always say, if you have 15 students with a faculty member working at a remote location while taking another class with a faculty member on campus, are they residential? Are they online? Are they remote? I think we've created a false dichotomy between college and online college that is actually inaccurate. We've just never taken the time to separate that.             So colleges that have really engaged in appropriate student support to understand that the emerging student needs a different kind of help and support, colleges that understood the value of technology as a tool to create access and flexibility, instead of just this normal, there's an all or nothing online versus face-to-face, institutions that have created pathways for access for students who are historically not college going like it was in the 60s when this whole experiment started with the GI Bill, colleges who really tried to figure out where the students were instead of to create programs and calendars and pedagogies to support them are fairing better.             For example, I think that there is a blur in higher ed in the general public, that all colleges and universities are the same. There seems to be a lack of focus on the difference between why you go to an R1 institution, why you go to a liberal arts institution, why you go to a technical school. And it's become between online and not online. That's not the case. The online is a modality. That's all that it is. Face-to-face is a modality. And so that blur aligned, like I said earlier, with a lack of funding from the federal government in education and the increased prices, colleges who knew that was coming and just did not say, we will be the ones to find the 500 freshmen who can afford to take the parent plus loans, who can afford to put their lives on hold, who can come and live in the resort that is higher ed. It's either that, or you don't have a real education.             Those who did not back on just that one are fairing better. Now don't get me wrong. The Ivy League colleges, the Tier one institutions, the ones with huge endowments who could turn that on and off to shape their class, that's a different value proposition. But for the rest of the institutions, from State schools to private schools, to

community college, where we're trying to do a value proposition to prepare students for the workforce, but at the same time, make them well-rounded civic minded, culturally competent, environmentally resilient human beings. We've all tried to emulate that model, that is not possible on this each and every one of us has a billion dollar endowment, which is not a thing. So I think those who have refused to accept that there is more than one way to educate are struggling more.             I sometimes equate that to the music industry or storytelling, where before technology, the only way to tell a story was around a campfire. And then with the print press, we were able to write it down, with technology we were able to create videos. Now you have streaming. The story hasn't changed. But those who say the only way to tell a story is around the campfire might not be able to get their story out as much as those who understand there are multiple ways to share that story. And education is very much in that realm. I mean, you all know this. The completion rates in this country right now is poor. Universities like Western Governor's University, Arizona State University, Southern New Hampshire university, and now us in that vein saying to students, "Those of you who did the traditional route, and now you are in the workforce, or you are unemployed, or you're looking for something different, or you can put your life on hold, we are going to provide you with a quality education."             Those institutions are growing. But they've never been given their due deference or their place in educational society, because we all try to be that Ivy League mentality, which is not for everyone. So I think that's the confusion that we need to get past. Why do we exist? We exist to educate. Why do we educate? We educate because we need good citizens who are also career ready. And saying that there's only one way to do that, which is the four year residential model might be short-sighted in the 21st century. Lee Maxey: Thank you, Melik. I'm often talking with people I've just met or even friends of mine who know the business I am, working with schools, and their paradigm is around the 200, maybe 250 schools out of 5,000 schools in the US. It's a very small number, but that's the paradigm that they're thinking of with their 18 year old who's leaving high school and going to a bucolic pastoral four year residential. And that's such a small minority of the different kinds of educational experiences throughout there. And it is not a monolithic experience. I think we're seeing that more and more and I think we'll see it even more in the future. So speaking to the future, looking forward in the next six to nine months, so I'm sure you've done a lot of strategic and also tactical planning, what are some things you see happening or are in the midst of executing in the very short term in 2021? Melik Khoury: Sure. I think for us right now, we're focused on affordability, flexibility, and access. And how we manifest that is something that we are hoping to do very differently. So for example, Unity College abandoned the two semester model completely, whether you are face-to-face, whether you are residential, whether you're online, whether you're remote. The reason for that is to make things more accessible and affordable for students. Because now students can take one class and qualify for federal and State aid instead of the traditional model, where they have to take five classes in order to qualify. So that's one area that we have made some changes and we'll continue to make strides on to make this more affordable.             And because of that, in something as simple as seven months, we have seen a significant decline in students needing to take un-subsidized loans to continue their education. Also by creating nonstandard terms, because we understand where students are in their lives, we're traditional and non-traditional. Students are given multiple opportunities to start and stop and still maintain the trajectory that they want instead of the old model where you took five classes. And if you had to drop out, you lost that entire six months.             Another element that we're working on is really focusing on instructional design and in partnering. Because our faculty, they are subject matter experts in their field, but they are not subject matter experts in pedagogical design. And so by creating an internal model where our faculty, our instructional designers, and our deans work in collaboration to create a course is a very, very different approach to provide students with what they need and where they need it in lieu of just the old model where show up to class and I would profess.             I think the other element is in competency-based learning. There are ways to measure outcomes with students, without it always just being about time. So we are beginning to see that it's not enough to just say, I took English 101, but what are the skills that I have gained because I have completed that course? We are also trying to figure out how we can reduce costs by not duplicating resources that already exist within communities. There's a course right now that our students are taking in dendrology, and these students are in their neighborhoods and they're going to their local foreigner. And they are out there in the field doing work. Are they online? Are they remote? Some of those students would never be able to come and spend four years at Unity.             So really deconstructing the very essence of why we exist, which is to create hard and soft skills in order to educate students. And how to be global citizens, environmental stewards, and career ready in the 21st century is the work right now and not how can we keep the four year traditional model because that is the only way to teach. And I will end by saying, it's not an or, it's an and. For those who can afford that, for those who are lucky enough to

get the scholarship for that, for those institutions who can subsidize that, that is great. But for the other 90% of America, we need to provide a different way, a more palatable and affordable and flexible way for them to get the same education. And that's the work that's moving forward. Lee Maxey: One of my favorite subjects to harp on is the credit hour as the currency of exchange. And that's where the funding from scholarships/financial aid, that's where your transcript leads up to a credential. And it always has struck me that at a credit hour, even the label is not really all that connected to really the objective or goal that any of the stakeholders have in relationship to what happens at the end of that educational experience. Whether it's an outcome-based focus, whether it's be able to participate in a democracy, which is where affordable education really was set up for in the first place, whether it's from an industry perspective of, can someone do that job and what's their speed to proficiency in their new job, or the student themselves to have a portable credential that demonstrates that they're able to do something. And that it's not just in one realm, but it's portable. And then for the school to keep track of and to continually improve what they're delivering.             Tilting at that credit hour windmill, I think is going to be an ongoing challenge as we, as we move forward. So speaking of moving forward, if we look forward to 2022 and beyond, this has been a big impact from this pandemic in so many different ways, all over the globe. And you've already highlighted some things that are going on at Unity in relationship to that. But if you think more broadly about some changes that are likely to happen, in your mind or things you imagine or see in the future, what are some of those things, Melik? Melik Khoury: Absolutely. From a purely higher education perspective, I think that you are going to see a lot more closures, you're going to see a lot more mergers, and you're going to see a lot of transformations. I think the model just doesn't work for most of us right now. How that manifests is yet to be determined. I think there's going to need to be a much more stronger partnership between higher education industry and government. I believe in the independence of all three, but I think it's becoming, over the last 10 years, we have lost relevance for each other. And so we need to become relevant about how we as educators prepare students to be good citizens, how it's funded and how industry can help.             So for me, I think the future is going to be a deconstruction of higher education to lend itself to different deliveries, to your point about the credit hour. The credit hour can not be the only currency, or your residential cannot be the only currency. Micro-credentials, upskilling, workforce development, technical programs, leadership programs, associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, doctorates, each and

every one of those has a focus and need for a specific job. And having students understand that and not a one size fit all and how we deliver that in an affordable, accessible, and flexible way. And at the same time, relook at the very concept of our general education program to modernize it. Because I think, as you know, it was invented by the Greeks. It was militarized by the Romans. It was adopted by us. And it hasn't really changed since then, except I think now we substitute language for computers. We really need to look at that.             And now that we understand that the environmental impact is no longer a niche, but a real core focus of how we exist between humanity, economy, and ecology. We need to transform. What does a student need to be, to be career ready, but what do they need to be, to be environmentally and civic minded to work in this global economy? I think that's the work of the future. And the colleges who are going to innovate are going to succeed. And the colleges we're going to hope that things get back to normal or that miracle donor that's going to force them never to have to change, they will play the lottery. But the future is about innovation and higher education was designed to be the exact opposite.             We at Unity College are trying to transform our model to be one that does not talk about innovation, but one that innovates, to design pedagogy and curriculum and pricing specifically for each different type of student, instead of a one size fit all. That's the exciting thing about the future, is we don't know what it's going to end up. There are some that feel that we're going to go back to normal. There are some that think that a lot of colleges are going to close, and those who survive will go back to normal. And then there are many who believe that we are going to have to transform into something different, but continue to deliver on our promise for an educated society. And I can go into specifics all day, but we are now investing in how does virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence play within the very fabric of students being ready?             Now we are not interested in doing a VR major or an AI major. That's [inaudible 00:20:04] goes wrong. We're saying, the way that 20 years ago, we tried to figure out how Excel and Word and PowerPoint fits within the curriculum. Now that we're saying is how do students who graduate can understand that? How can we use that to drive down costs and improve access? So those are the kinds of innovations that is going to take both academics and non-academics to partner to create this, that I think is the work of the next five years. Lee Maxey: I think, Melik, you have a role in higher ed leadership ahead of you. Melik Khoury: I appreciate it, sir. I will tell you that I make a lot of people nervous because a lot of people really would prefer that. We just say, once the pandemic is over, things will go back to normal. Lee Maxey: Well, the reason I say that is there's obviously many styles of leadership. There are some who lead from the back, there're some who lead from the middle, and there are some who lead from the front. I have appreciated the work you're doing at Unity and I believe you are all leading from the front in terms of... And stubbing your toe, when you stub your toe and getting back up and failing forward and learning and so forth. And I really have appreciated our time today. This has been another MindMaxing podcast. So thank you very much, Melik. Melik Khoury: Thank you. Lee Maxey: This has been another interesting MindMaxing podcast. Please listen to the other podcasts on this series or look for us later this summer, when we release our next series of podcasts.