The Frantic Move Online: A Real-Time Look at How Higher Ed is Responding to the Coronavirus [Special Edition]

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About the Episode

To say it has been a crazy week might be the greatest understatement of 2020. We're a weekly podcast, but in light of all of the fear, confusion, and frustration plaguing higher education as a result of COVID-19, we're bringing you this special edition. Around the world, nearly 300 million students have been sent home over coronavirus fears. Universities are scrambling to create plans in the event of a local outbreak, and for many, the answer is to move courses online.

Yesterday, Zach Busekrus sat down with Nathan Greeno, the Senior Vice President of Global Program Strategy at 2U, to discuss how schools are responding to the COVID-19 outbreak and, in particular, the challenges many are facing as they prepare to move coursework fully online. 2U is a global leader in education technology that partners with over 70 of the world's leading universities to build, deliver, and support more than 400 digital and in-person educational offerings.

While a high-quality online degree typically takes months - if not years - to get off the ground, coronavirus is forcing many institutions to provision hundreds of online courses in a matter of weeks - Nathan provides insight into how 2U is assisting schools doing just that. Among others, Zach asks Nathan the following questions:

Can you spend a couple of minutes fleshing out how higher education leadership can migrate course content online as efficient and effectively as possible? Where do folks begin? What stakeholders need to be present in these conversations?
What positive opportunities do you believe this "coronavirus crisis" creates for higher education? If any?
Considering this current reality, if there were three things you could mandate that all listeners to today's show do immediately after listening to this podcast, what would they be?

People in this episode

Host

Seth Odell

Seth Odell is Founder and CEO of Kanahoma, the fastest growing digital marketing agency in higher education, and host of The Higher Ed Pulse.

Mallory Willsea

Mallory Willsea is a strategist and consultant working at the intersection of higher education.

Interviewee

Nathan Greeno

Nathan’s career is focused on working at the intersection of Ed Tech and Higher Education to extend access, sustain quality, and drive innovation. He serves as the Senior Vice President, Global Program Strategy at 2U, Inc. Nathan brings more than 25 years of higher education business development, program design, and implementation experience to 2U. He knows that successful curricular design takes a blend of business acumen and educational mission. Previously, he was Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for the University of Maryland's global campus. He was also the founding CEO at two education firms, each responsible for implementing classroom and online programs at a combined 100+ non-profit colleges and universities. Nathan is an award-winning author and a frequent speaker on higher education innovation while serving online or classroom professor for over twenty years.

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