Why it matters:

AI is reshaping higher ed. Leaders are grappling with how to harness innovation while protecting academic integrity.

Key points:

• Balance, not tradeoffs: Academic integrity and innovation aren’t opposites — they must be integrated into education and technology design.
• Student impact: Cheating undermines self-competence, risks identity theft, and produces unprepared graduates — a danger for public safety and global competitiveness.
• Systemic risk: Employers, licensing boards, and society lose trust when degrees don’t reflect real skills.
• Action in motion: The Credential Integrity Action Alliance (CIAA) is driving reform — creating a model statute to close loopholes, empower institutions to sue cheating companies, and push for stronger laws.
• Vision ahead: Integrity should be built in by design — much like security and privacy — ensuring students learn responsibly with AI while preparing for the workforce.

The bottom line:

Protecting academic integrity in an AI-driven era requires shared responsibility.

Why it matters:

Affordability is the central barrier to equitable access in higher ed. David Andrews (UMass Global) and Eloy Ortiz Oakley (College Futures Foundation) unpack what’s broken—and what needs to change.

The big picture:

• More than tuition: Real costs include housing, childcare, transportation, and lost wages.
• Technology + accountability: AI, automation, and back-office efficiencies can lower costs, but only if institutions are held accountable.
• Flexible delivery: Learners want 24/7 access. Rigid, brick-and-mortar schedules no longer work.
• Employers as partners: Skills-based hiring is rising. Companies must help shape and support new education-to-employment pathways.

What’s next:

Both leaders agree; higher ed must redesign around students, not institutions. Flexibility, accountability, and employer engagement will define the next five years.

Bottom line:

Success depends on restoring public confidence by giving learners more agency, transparent value, and clear pathways to opportunity.

Why it matters

Forsyth Tech President Janet Spriggs brings a unique perspective to higher education leadership: she started as a community college student herself. That experience shapes her belief that access, student success, and economic mobility must remain at the heart of community colleges.

The big picture

Spriggs’ leadership philosophy is grounded in leading from within—working alongside faculty, staff, and students to co-design systems that truly serve learners. Under her guidance, Forsyth Tech has focused on three priorities:

• Access: Ensuring higher education is available to every student within reach.
• Success: Supporting students beyond enrollment—making sure they persist, complete, and thrive.
• Outcomes: Connecting credentials to meaningful careers that provide family-sustaining wages.

How they’re doing it

• Building strong partnerships with K–12 schools, universities, and employers.
• Co-developing workforce programs with industry leaders to ensure graduates have in-demand skills.
• Embedding human-centered design to shape schedules, services, and supports around today’s students.

The bottom line

Spriggs believes higher ed should change lives, families, and communities, not just grant credentials.