Anna Mills, a writing teacher at the College of Marin, discusses how A.I. changes the rules for coursework and what faculty can do about it. She maps practical ways to use A.I. for learning and feedback while naming the real risks around privacy, security, and unregulated growth.

Key points:
• What A.I. agents are and why they matter in education
• Where A.I. can help faculty with OER, accessibility, and quick learning tools
• Using A.I. for writing feedback inside a human-centered process
• Building skeptical A.I. literacy through prompting and pushback
• STEM-friendly uses such as comparing explanations and checking reasoning
• A peer plus A.I. review workflow with required reflection and metacognition
• Academic integrity as a "wicked problem" with tradeoffs not perfect fixes
• Detection as a deterrent when paired with student conversations and trust
• Course design strategies that increase intrinsic motivation and reduce outsourcing
• Communities of practice that give faculty time to learn, test, and share
• Looking toward 2030 with concerns about AGI, guardrails, and valuing the human

"I like to say, 'A.I. for input and not A.I. for output.' [For example], ask A.I. to explain its reasoning for how it solves a problem, and ask that in two different ways that are contradictory. Then, the student looks at which way makes sense. Do either of them make sense? Using A.I. in ways that push us to be skeptical of it, I think is really valuable for students, especially as it becomes more sophisticated, more plausible. We can bring value by questioning it. You want to prepare for a workplace where students are going work with A.I. You have to be suspicious of A.I. You have to be ready to push back and not accept what it gives you. I favor pedagogical applications that help students practice that and help them build some confidence in relation to A.I." - Anna Mills

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Dr. Kevin Walters, president of Allan Hancock College, discusses why the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) metrics miss the real story of community college students. He shares a clearer way using the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond data to count success that includes transfers, certificates, persistence, and the systems that help more students finish. He also unpacks strategies that have increased student success at the college.

Key points:
• Dr. Walters’ path from first-generation student to community college president
• Why IPEDS graduation rates miscount community college outcomes and why the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond data is more accurate
• Using outcome data to spark better teaching, retention, and counseling
• What unit load reveals about momentum and time-to-completion
• Promise scholarships that incentivize full-time attendance
• Auto-generated comprehensive education plans as part of guided pathways
• Performance-based funding focused on outcomes rather than rates
• Building a student-centered culture through stable leadership and teams
• Equity gains when completion efforts match the community’s demographics
• Expanding local access through Cal Poly degree offerings on the Hancock campus
• Practical take on A.I., classroom assessment, and workforce readiness

"The most exciting piece of the Richmond Fed data [as opposed to IPEDS) is our success rate is 41%. If you take that, of students that transferred, students that got a degree, students that are still there, students that got a certificate, 41% of those students. Keeping in mind that some of those students had no intention of pursuing a degree, but they were there for the first time. So 41%, that's way better than the IPEDS number--that's down in the 20% range. But it also shows we can improve." - Dr. Kevin Walthers

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Dr. Al argues that our society, with its advanced systems, still runs on primitive wiring, which explains today’s fear, cruelty, and attacks on education, science, and expertise. He makes the case that educators are quiet resistors who push the pendulum toward progress through daily, deliberate practice.

• educators as stewards who shift norms through practice
• human evolution limits against complex systems
• manipulation exploits tribal instincts and bias
• attacks on higher ed and shrinking research funding
• the “stupid epoch” frame for modern cruelty and fear
• comfort in naming the epoch and acting locally

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Continuous Learning Institute:
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Student Success Podcast Homepage:
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