Gates Foundation Launches Higher Ed Podcast "To A Degree"

What: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced the launch of a new podcast series dedicated to higher education. By 2025, two-thirds of jobs will require education beyond high school — yet half of students who start college don't graduate, and a high-income student is five times as likely to have a degree by age 24 than a low-income student.

The profile of college students is also changing. The majority of students are no longer 18- to 21-year-olds who enroll full-time and live on campus. Rather, the majority of students work while going to college, 40 percent are 25 or older, one-third are first generation college goers, and many are low-income students and students of color.

To A Degree aims to show how higher education must evolve to better support today's college students. The goal of the foundation's Postsecondary Success team is to help more students — especially low-income and first-generation students — graduate at higher rates, with high-quality degrees or certificates at an affordable price.

Who:
Dan Greenstein, director of Postsecondary Success, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Bridget Burns, executive director, University Innovation Alliance
Deborah Santiago, chief operating officer and vice president for policy, Excelencia in Education
Moderator: Casey Green, founding director, The Campus Computing Project

Where:  The podcast is available to stream or download at www.ToADegree.com.

When:  The podcast launched on Thursday, March 30.

Contact:  For more information, please contact Travis Reindl at [email protected] or 202/257-5307.

Featured

  • Colorado School District Breaks Ground on Unified PK–12 Campus

    The Haxtun School District No. Re-2J in Haxtun, Colo., recently announced that ground has been broken on a renovation/addition project that will unite its two schools, Haxtun Elementary and Haxtun Jr/Sr High School, according to a news release.

  • Universities Continue to Launch Multimillion-Dollar Campus Transformations

    What makes the current wave of campus development especially noteworthy is its emphasis on multi-use functionality and community integration. Institutions are no longer investing solely in academic or athletic facilities in isolation. Instead, they are creating destinations that blend recreation, health, housing, and event-driven economic activity.

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • Texas Recruitment

    Texas Recruitment

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The University of Texas at Austin's Texas Recruitment has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of Renovation.