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High Structure Course Design for Student Engagement, Retention, and Success

Release Date: 06/17/2025

Innovation in Higher Education: How Leaders Build the Capacity to Adapt

Changing Higher Ed

Higher education leaders are being asked to innovate faster than their institutions are built to move. This episode of Changing Higher Ed explores how presidents and boards can change that. Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Erika Liodice, Executive Director of the Alliance for Innovation and Transformation (AFIT), about how institutions can strengthen their innovation capacity through futures thinking, cross-sector insight, and structured team-based planning. Topics Covered: How futures thinking helps leaders anticipate demographic, workforce, and technology shifts Why innovation efforts fail...

Accreditation Trends and WASC Priorities for Student Success

Changing Higher Ed

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The Real Cost of Overlooking Teaching Quality in Higher Ed

Changing Higher Ed

Improving how teaching happens in the classroom is one of the most effective ways to increase student retention, stabilize tuition revenue, and strengthen institutional reputation—yet most universities don’t manage it strategically. In this episode of , speaks with , Associate Professor at the University of Iowa and author of The Missing Course, about how teaching quality has fallen outside institutional oversight and what presidents and boards can do to make it a core part of strategic leadership. They explore how governance structures, incentive systems, and faculty preparation create a...

Free Speech on College Campuses: Insights from FIRE's 2025 Report

Changing Higher Ed

Free speech on college campuses has become one of higher education’s most volatile and defining challenges. In this episode, talks with , Chief Research Advisor at FIRE—the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression—about findings from FIRE’s newly released and the state of academic freedom, the growing political pressures on universities, and how presidents and boards can protect open dialogue in today’s divided climate. Topics Covered: Why FIRE expanded its mission beyond higher education and no longer stands for “Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.” How...

Aligning Higher Education Strategy and Programs with Workforce Needs and Student Value

Changing Higher Ed

Host welcomes , president of the University of North Texas and former Texas commissioner of higher education. This episode of the helps higher education presidents, boards, and senior leaders rethink how to connect institutional mission with workforce readiness. It explores how institutions can better align employer partnerships, faculty innovation, and experiential learning to ensure graduates gain both economic and civic value from their degrees. Listeners will hear how the University of North Texas is translating statewide strategy into campus-level change—showing what’s possible when...

Holistic Enrollment Strategy and Management: Filling the Enrollment Pipeline

Changing Higher Ed

At one of the smallest graduate schools in the nation, a system built to serve just over a hundred students is redefining how higher education can grow. CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism has proven that scale isn’t the key to enrollment stability—structure is. By integrating admissions, student affairs, career services, and alumni engagement into one cohesive unit, the school has created a holistic enrollment strategy and management model that continuously fills its pipeline while centering student success. In this episode of the Changing Higher...

Executing a Debt-Free Higher Education Turnaround with Real Estate

Changing Higher Ed

When every board discussion centers on deficits, deferred maintenance, or another “strategic realignment,” higher education leaders start asking what it would take to fix the system instead of just managing decline. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Beth Martin, President of Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU), who led her institution through a complete financial and operational turnaround—eliminating institutional debt through strategic real estate use, risk planning, and sound financial governance. Martin’s experience offers...

Cybersecurity Risk Management in Higher Education—It's Not Just an IT Problem

Changing Higher Ed

Higher education institutions are increasingly at risk from cyberattacks that threaten enrollment, accreditation, financial aid compliance, and reputation. In this episode of the , speaks with at and former higher education CISO, about why cybersecurity must be treated as an enterprise risk—not just an IT issue. This conversation is especially relevant for presidents, trustees, and senior leaders who need to understand how cyber risk intersects with governance, strategic planning, crisis management, and accreditation readiness. Topics Covered: Why higher education is a prime target for...

Higher Education Fundraising and Strategic Planning Alignment

Changing Higher Ed

Higher education institutions face strained budgets, declining enrollments, and shifting donor behavior—making fundraising a strategic priority, not just an operational function. In this episode of the , Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with , CEO of and former university president, about how presidents and boards can strengthen higher education fundraising by Topics Covered: Why fundraising must be integrated into institutional strategic planning The shift from the 80/20 rule to today’s 95/5 donor reality The concept of “mattership” and why donors need assurance that their lives...

How AI Dashboards Can Strengthen Board Governance

Changing Higher Ed

AI dashboards offer higher education boards the opportunity to boost performance to improve their institutions. In this episode of the , speaks with , about how AI dashboards provide trustees with better insight into board work and support This conversation is especially relevant for presidents, trustees, and board professionals seeking to strengthen board readiness and make governance more data-informed. Topics Covered: How AI dashboards consolidate board materials and surface the most important information Methods for tracking progress against institutional strategy over multiple years...

More Episodes

Higher education leaders are searching for better ways to engage students, improve retention, and close equity gaps—especially in the wake of COVID-related learning disruptions. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Justin Shaffer, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Teaching Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. They discuss Dr. Shaffer’s book, High Structure Course Design, which offers a proven framework for transforming student outcomes.

High structure course design—built on clarity, repetition, feedback, and engagement—originated in STEM education but is now widely recognized as effective across disciplines. This approach doesn't water down rigor; it scaffolds the learning process so students at all levels can succeed. The result: better retention, higher achievement, and greater equity in academic outcomes.

This conversation is especially relevant for institutional leaders seeking to scale evidence-based instructional practices and boost institutional performance.

Topics Covered:

Why many students struggle in gateway courses and what faculty can do differently
The long-term effects of post-COVID learning disruptions on student readiness
Three structural layers that drive student engagement and retention
Four foundational principles that support learning across all disciplines
How high structure pedagogy closes equity gaps without lowering standards
The undervalued impact of teaching-focused faculty on student success
Infrastructure and leadership decisions that enable faculty innovation
How structured courses also improve career readiness and workforce outcomes

Real-World Examples:

40–60% failure rates improved through course redesign
A biology field course that teaches both science and professional skills
Centers for teaching and learning that support faculty-wide improvements

Three Takeaways for Leadership:

Course design is one of the most powerful and underused levers for retention and equity.
Teaching-focused faculty are essential institutional assets and must be supported.
Scalable infrastructure for instructional quality is not optional—it’s a strategic necessity.

Recommended For:
Presidents, provosts, academic leaders, board members, and faculty development directors who want scalable ways to boost student success and institutional outcomes.

Read the transcript:
https://changinghighered.com/high-structure-course-design-for-student-engagement-retention-and-success/

#HigherEdLeadership #RetentionStrategies #StudentSuccess

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