Ep. 110 - Eytan Wurman: Scouting Infrastructure for Artistic Intelligence

What happens when your website's most important visitor isn't a person—but an AI agent? In this episode, host Jeff Dillon sits down with Kyle Fondren, Executive Director of University Web Strategy at the University of Alabama, where he leads UA's global web presence, its institutional design system, and AI enablement across the Division of Strategic Communications. Kyle built UA's web strategy function from the ground up, manages more than 20 mission‑critical institutional websites serving over 15 million visits a year, and brings a unique perspective from his time working with Alabama football—a place where the pace is relentless and the margin for error is thin. Kyle shares the most "Kitchen Nightmares" moment of his career—a college web presence running on Adobe Contribute with 350 pages, countless sub‑subdomains, and no rhyme or reason to any of it. He and his team cut it down to 33 pages. The whiplash was real. He also tackles the big question: with human traffic down 15–20% and bot traffic surging, how do you design for two audiences at once? Kyle's answer is duality. The deep, well‑structured content that AI agents crave doesn't need to be beautiful—it needs to be accurate and structured. The homepage, admissions page, and brand campaigns are where you reserve your visual firepower. The human experience and the machine experience are diverging—and great web teams will learn to serve both. For any web leader, marketing strategist, or institutional leader trying to future‑proof their digital presence, this episode offers a clear, practical framework for what comes next.   Key Takeaways   Process Wins Championships: Working for Nick Saban taught Kyle that big results come from a bunch of small things done right. You can't hit a big redesign or tech moonshot if the atomic level of your design system is in disagreement. Set the standard, focus on the little things, and the big mountain builds itself.   Human Traffic Is Down, Bot Traffic Is Up—And That's Okay: UA is seeing human traffic down 15–20%, but the traffic that remains is more engaged. Bot traffic is shaving off low‑intent bounces. The people who come now are curious, interested, and ready to explore.   Design for Two Audiences: Duality Is the Theme: AI agents don't care about your beautiful homepage—they want well‑structured, deep content. You can reserve your visual firepower for the pages that need to create an experience: the homepage, admissions, brand campaigns. The machine experience and the human experience are diverging.   Design Systems Are the Most Valuable Infrastructure You Have: A good design system speeds up development, serves as the source of truth for AI agents, and syndicates good decisions downstream across your web presence. You can have your cake and eat it too—structure for the machine, experience for the human.   Good AEO Has Been Good SEO All Along: For the most part, the fundamentals haven't changed. Well‑structured, authoritative, consistent content is what AI is looking for. If your domain disagrees with itself, you lose authority and you're less likely to be cited.   Student Outcome Stories Penetrate AI Answers: AI agents love stories that are corroborated by third parties—student outcome stories, cited in institutional data, backed by external validation. That's one way to get your brand storytelling into the AI answer, even when the machine is mostly looking for structured, factual content.   Your Web Presence Is Only Getting More Important: Even... Chapters (00:00:00) - Intro: Bot traffic and human engagement trends(00:01:07) - Guest introduction: Kyle Fondren(00:02:19) - Kitchen Nightmares of university websites(00:04:32) - Lessons from Alabama football and Nick Saban(00:07:18) - Measuring success amid bot and AI traffic(00:09:33) - Designing for human vs AI audiences(00:12:41) - Design systems as critical infrastructure(00:15:10) - Building governance and buy-in across campus(00:17:35) - Managing outdated content and AI citations(00:20:59) - Choosing and procuring AI tools(00:22:30) - Closing the AI adoption gap across teams(00:23:39) - Brand storytelling in an AI-mediated world(00:25:54) - Separating hype from real tech value(00:27:21) - Vision for university websites in 2030(00:30:19) - Closing remarks and sign-off

What does a historian trained in medieval manuscripts know about SEO and generative engine optimization? More than you might think. In this episode, host Jeff Dillon sits down with Matt Russell, Director of SEO and Content at Inspira Education Group, an edtech company helping students navigate the road to medical school and college. Matt took a less traditional route into search—he earned a BA in history at Queen Mary University of London, where he also worked as a student admissions ambassador, and a master's in modern British history at Cambridge. That researcher's discipline—evaluating sources, interrogating context, understanding what information matters—turned out to be exactly what SEO demands. Matt shares how he scaled Inspira's organic reach from 20,000 to over 400,000 monthly active users and grew their email community from 1,000 to over 120,000 subscribers. He explains the concept of "sign-up intent" keywords—queries where users want something so badly they'll trade their email for it—and how building genuine, expert-crafted resources (like a full-length MCAT practice test) fed a virtuous cycle of rankings, recommendations, and brand trust. He also offers a grounded take on GEO (generative engine optimization) and AI visibility. The clicks may be declining, but the traffic that remains is more qualified. The question for universities isn't just "how do we rank?"—it's "how do we become the source behind the answer?" For any enrollment marketer, SEO professional, or content strategist trying to make sense of a post‑AI search landscape, this episode offers a practical, evidence‑based playbook.   Key Takeaways  The Historian's Edge in SEO: Historical research trains you to interrogate sources—to ask why they were created, what they're saying, and what their intended purpose is. The same skill applies to reading Google's documentation, understanding algorithm updates, and identifying what AI search engines are actually looking for.  "Sign‑Up Intent" Keywords Are the Key to Email Growth: There are queries where users want something so badly they'll give you their email to get it. For Inspira, that's MCAT practice tests, med school calculators, and "which med school is best for you" quizzes. Build those resources, rank well, and the conversions follow.  Build Resources That Are Genuinely Excellent: The MCAT practice test is a few hundred pages with answer explanations, handmade with the help of expert consultants. When users find something that helpful, they recommend it on Reddit, which drives branded search, which drives rankings, which drives more email sign‑ups—a virtuous cycle.  AI Search Is Giving Answers Without Clicks—But the Clicks Are More Qualified: Universities may see traffic going down, but the traffic that remains is more qualified because those students already have more information and are coming to the site to confirm and act. Make sure the highway on your site is clear and the conversion path is easy.  Know Your Bot Traffic: A significant portion of website traffic is now bot traffic. Institutions need to understand how much of their traffic is human versus bot and adjust their metrics accordingly—focusing on qualified engagement, downstream inquiries, and application behaviors rather than raw pageviews.  Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Is SEO with Extra Steps: Make content scannable with short, topically themed chunks. Ensure schema markup is consistent. Being recommended by an AI is a different game than ranking—it's about off‑page signals and brand trust as much as on‑page o... Chapters (00:00:00) - Introduction and Guest Background(00:01:58) - From History Degree to SEO Career(00:05:56) - Lessons from Admissions Counseling(00:08:12) - Challenges Facing Medical and Law Applicants Today(00:12:47) - Scaling Organic Traffic at Inspira(00:15:25) - Growing Email Subscribers via Sign-Up Intent Keywords(00:18:06) - Generative Engine Optimization and AI Visibility(00:19:57) - Declining Traffic and Conversion Strategy in the AI Era(00:23:02) - How AI Shapes Student Decision-Making(00:25:45) - Where AI Belongs (and Doesn't) in Applications(00:28:12) - Future of Student Search and Closing Advice(00:29:27) - Outro and Show Credits

 Jeff Dillon welcomes back Eytan Wurman, founder and CEO of CommonTime Pathways—the recruiting platform built on a simple, disruptive idea: creatives deserve the same recruiting pipelines athletes get. When Eytan and Jeff first talked about a year ago, CommonTime was just getting off the ground. Since then, the company raised $1 million from Yamaha and Reach Capital, expanded beyond music into theater and dance, and took the platform to the international stage at the ISME World Conference. Eytan shares the big realization that reshaped CommonTime's mission: they weren't just helping music kids connect with scholarships—they were repositioning the artist as the center of an AI‑enabled future. He explains why music faculty are the most underutilized recruiters on campus, why they're already visiting high schools and adjudicating festivals, and why Common Time simply makes them 20 times more effective. He also offers a brilliant analogy for two‑sided marketplaces: they're like middle school dances. Everyone's on the wall, no one wants to touch each other. CommonTime created the dance floor, set up the DJ booth, and then had to figure out how to get people to dance. The answer? The snowball dance. Get one college and one kid to talk, then another, then another—until everyone sees it's safe to join in. For anyone thinking about enrollment innovation, creative talent, or what higher ed looks like in 2050, this episode is a must‑listen. Key Takeaways Artists Deserve the Same Recruiting Infrastructure as Athletes: Common Time is an athletics‑style recruiting platform for creative humans—musicians, and now theater and dance students. Colleges can find 13‑year‑old violists, oboists, and tenors the same way they find soccer players. Music Faculty Are the Most Underutilized Recruiters on Campus: Music professors already visit high schools, adjudicate festivals, give lessons at summer camps, and build pipelines. Common Time makes them 20 times more effective by connecting them with non‑majors who want to keep playing in college. Creative Students Are the Center of the AI‑Enabled Economy: The Forbes/LinkedIn versatility data shows that English and performing arts majors are among the most versatile degrees. As AI handles more technical production work, the ability to perform, present, communicate, and curate experiences becomes more valuable, not less. The Unintended Consequence: Parents Are Talking About Music Like Sports: Students are telling their parents they want to study music earlier—and they're using Common Time to convince them it's viable. Parents are starting to see music as something that might pay for college, not just something that's good for you. Application Pledges Change the Conversation: Colleges can now offer application fee waivers, audition waivers, and pre‑assigned scholarships tied to a student's profile—sometimes two years before they apply. It's the same model as athletics recruiting, and it signals early interest that changes how families see a school. The Enrollment Cliff Is Creating Urgency—and Opportunity: With three million fewer college kids expected over the next five years and $75 billion in lost tuition revenue at stake, colleges are grasping for new ways to enroll students. Common Time opens the door to 10 million creative kids in the US alone. Two‑Sided Marketplaces Are Like Middle School Dances: Everyone's on the wall, no one wants to touch each other. The hardest part is getting people in the door. Common Time created the dance floor, put up the DJ booth, and then ran the snowball dance—one college and one kid at a time until everyone joins in. Common Time's Vision for 2050: To b... Chapters (00:00:00) - Introduction and Guest Background(00:01:54) - Catching Up: What's Changed at Common Time(00:03:06) - Expanding Beyond Music to All Creative Fields(00:04:40) - The Versatility of Creative Degrees(00:07:41) - How Common Time Pathways Works(00:09:25) - Building Scouting Infrastructure for Artists(00:11:20) - Art, AI, and Human Potential(00:12:42) - Fundraising and Investor Perspectives(00:15:50) - Taking the Idea to the ISME World Conference(00:19:37) - Redefining Success and Family Buy-In(00:21:42) - Application Pledges and Scholarship Mechanics(00:24:51) - The Enrollment Cliff and Pressure on Colleges(00:27:53) - Scaling a Two-Sided Marketplace(00:31:43) - Vision for the Future and Closing Thoughts

In this episode, host Jeff Dillon welcomes Melanie Moran, Vice President and Senior Strategist at Mackey Strategies, who spent nearly two decades at Vanderbilt University—rising to Associate Vice Chancellor for University Relations—and recently completed an 18‑month stint as interim head of athletic communications. She's seen campus and athletics communications from every angle: as a writer, a strategist, a leader, and an outsider brought in to bridge two worlds. Melanie shares what surprised her most about athletics communications: the sheer volume, the round‑the‑clock pace, the 17 sports, the live broadcasts, and the massive, always‑on audience. She explains why operational separation makes sense—athletics needs to move fast—but why brand and strategy can never be siloed. The university's name is on the jerseys, and the best operations work hand in glove. She also offers advice for crisis leadership. The best leaders don't panic. They create space to understand what really happened. They're willing to hear information they don't like. And they understand that trust is the currency of a crisis—the goal isn't to survive tomorrow's news cycle, it's to protect the institution's reputation for the next decade. For anyone in communications, athletics, or institutional leadership trying to navigate an increasingly complex media landscape, this episode is essential listening.  Key Takeaways  Relationships Must Be Built Before the Crisis Hits: You don't want to be meeting your campus communications colleagues for the first time in the middle of a reputational fire. Establish regular check‑ins, track issues together, and know in advance who handles what.  The Crisis Playbook: What Happened, What Will We Do, What Will We Say: In that order. Don't skip ahead to messaging before you understand the facts and have decided on a course of action grounded in your values.  The Best Leaders Don't Panic: The leader's behavior sets the tone for the entire team. Calm creates space to understand what really happened and gives staff confidence that they'll be supported.  The Best Leaders Ask "What Do I Need to Know?" Not "How Do I Make This Go Away?" They're willing to hear tough news, even if it reveals a staff failure or a mistake that could have been avoided. You can't make good decisions without complete information.  Trust Is the Currency of a Crisis: Getting through tomorrow's news cycle is not the goal. Protecting the institution's reputation for the next five to ten years is. Trust and values are foundational—and they can be lost in the midst of a crisis if you're not careful.  AI Is Great for Getting Past the Blank Page—Not for Judgment: AI can synthesize information, test ideas, and handle repetitive work. But outsourcing judgment, leadership voice, or relationships to AI is risky. The question isn't "Is AI replacing communicators?" It's "How can AI free up communicators to think more strategically?"  The Transition from Individual Contributor to Leader Requires a Mindset Shift: Being the best writer or social media person won't prepare you to lead. You need to shift from "What can I produce?" to "What is the strategy behind it?" Learn the business of the institution. Understand what the president, provost, and athletic director are trying to accomplish. Invest in relationships before you need them.  The Signal Newsletter: https://edtechconnect.com/newsletter ... Chapters (00:00:00) - Intro and guest background(00:01:51) - A career story: chasing down a school bus(00:03:20) - How communications leadership evolved at Vanderbilt(00:04:47) - Athletics vs. university communications: scale and pace(00:07:16) - Where separation between athletics and university works or fails(00:08:43) - Crisis speed, authority, and shared language(00:10:32) - NIL, revenue sharing, and deeper integration needs(00:12:45) - Value of outside strategic counsel and interim leadership(00:15:10) - Common traits of leaders handling crisis well(00:16:30) - AI's role in communications work(00:18:09) - Mentoring communicators into leadership roles(00:20:37) - Optimism, burnout, and the future of athletics-campus branding(00:22:50) - Closing and sign-off

What if the reason your enrollment strategy keeps stalling has nothing to do with the plan—and everything to do with the culture? In this episode, host Jeff Dillon sits down with Austin Blair, Dean of Admissions and Marketing for both St. Francis Medical Center College of Nursing and St. Anthony College of Nursing, part of OSF Healthcare. Austin also coaches high school football, and that experience shapes everything about how he leads. He draws a direct line between coaching a team and building an enrollment operation: both are about creating belief, creating the experience before results, and understanding that talent rarely overcomes a bad culture. Austin shares the story of uniting two distinct nursing college cultures—one in Rockford, one in Peoria, two and a half hours apart—with different histories, different demographics, and different ways of doing things. He explains why "buy‑in" is too small of a goal and why shared ownership is the real objective. He walks through his CULTURE framework: clarify the why, understand the terrain, listen before launching, turn committees into coalitions, use data as a mirror, reinforce through relationships, and empower shared ownership. He also makes a provocative case against buying prospect names—a strategy he abandoned not out of philosophy, but out of necessity when his marketing budget was only $40,000. What he discovered was that relevance beats volume, and relationships beat lists. For any enrollment leader, president, or marketing team trying to move a stalled strategy forward, this episode offers a practical, football‑tested framework for putting culture first. Key Takeaways Culture Before Strategy: Strategy tells people what you're going to do. Culture determines whether they'll actually get there. Enrollment problems rarely stem from enrollment challenges—they're usually cultural, communication, or trust issues. Buy In Is Too Small a Goal—Build Shared Ownership: Buy in means the decision has already been made and you're trying to get people to agree. Shared ownership means shaping the decision together. People support what they build. Talent Rarely Overcomes a Bad Culture: Austin has seen great enrollment plans fail because the culture wasn't ready to support them. He's seen talented teams underperform because they weren't aligned. Culture is the foundation. Don't Skip the Listening Phase: The listening phase often gets compressed when leaders are under pressure to move fast. That's where you find who your arrogant leaders are—they think they've already solved it. Good Ideas Don't Spread Just Because They're Good: They spread because people trust who's behind them, understand the idea, and see themselves in it. A good idea without adoption is just a recommendation. Small Colleges Win by Being Human: Don't imitate scale—maximize intimacy. Own your traditions, own your identity, and don't try to be something you're not. The world will try to hate on you if you're inauthentic. The First Question to Ask When Enrollment Stalls: What's your culture? Who's your biggest leader? Are you embracing who you are? Culture determines whether you'll actually get where you're trying to go.   The Signal Newsletter: https://edtechconnect.com/newsletter Find Austin Blair: LinkedIn                               https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-w-b-63a306a6/ OSF HealthCare http://osfhealthcare.org/   And find EdTech Connect here: Chapters (00:00:00) - Introduction and Guest Background(00:02:03) - Coaching Football vs. Enrollment Leadership(00:04:27) - Culture Before Strategy: Merging Two Colleges(00:08:17) - Buy-In vs. Shared Ownership(00:11:39) - The CULTURE Framework Explained(00:16:47) - Moving Away from Buying Prospect Names(00:19:59) - Nursing Enrollment Challenges and Workforce Development(00:23:07) - From Counselor to Director: Getting Ideas Adopted(00:25:36) - Small Colleges vs. Large Universities(00:28:48) - Final Advice and Wrap-Up

What if the biggest problem in higher ed marketing isn't technology, budget, or even strategy—but the fact that we assume students make rational decisions when they're actually driven by emotion, bias, and the simple need to feel like they belong? In this episode, host Jeff Dillon welcomes Si Elliott, founder of Fabrics, a customer experience consultancy that applies behavioral science to how organizations design experiences and relationships. Si also runs Diversity, a creative agency in Nottingham, England, and guest lectures at three universities—including the Communication University of China. He brings a rare outside perspective to higher ed, challenging institutions to stop designing around the needs of the organization and start designing around the experience of the person. He explains why the technology amplifies whatever process is already there—good or bad—and why "marketing is better with psychology." He also breaks down three behavioral biases that could change how enrollment teams communicate: the curse of knowledge, social proof, and peak-end rule. And he offers a simple but powerful challenge to any president or CIO: put on a pair of trainers and a hoodie, walk around campus anonymously, and just observe. Change your shoes.   Key Takeaways   Psychology Is Better Marketing: Marketing isn't just persuasion—it's understanding people so you can serve them better. The goal isn't to trick people into converting; it's to make it easier for them to make the best decision for themselves.   Assume Emotional Decisions, Not Rational Ones: A 17-year-old choosing a university isn't just weighing league tables and employment outcomes. They're asking: "Can I see myself fitting in here? Does this feel like a place for me?" That's hard to track in a CRM, but it's the real question.   Three Biases That Matter Most: The curse of knowledge (you know your institution too well to explain it clearly to others), social proof (students need evidence they'll belong), and peak-end rule (people judge an experience by its emotional peak and its final moment). Use these to redesign open days, communications, and touchpoints.   Technology Amplifies What's Already There: If the underlying process is broken, technology will make it broken faster. Before buying a new platform, ask: are we fixing a process problem, an ownership problem, or a human understanding problem?   Don't Confuse Efficiency with Experience: AI and automation can streamline operations, but they can also strip the warmth out of a relationship. If an airline's automated messages leave a stranded passenger with no human contact for 72 hours, the technology is working against the brand.   The Value of Toil: Learning happens when you work through a problem yourself. AI shortcuts can rob students of the struggle that leads to true understanding. The future of education isn't competing with AI on processing—it's competing on context, nuance, creativity, and the human touch.   Map the Journey, Find the Friction: A customer experience audit starts with mapping the full journey—exploration, open days, offers, registration, student life—and identifying moments of high emotion or high friction. That's where you focus your attention.   Change Your Shoes: If you're a president, CIO, or marketing leader, put on a pair of trainers, jeans, and a hoodie. Walk around campus anonymously. Attend an open day. Buy a student a coffee and just listen. Observe body... Chapters (00:00:00) - Introduction to Cy Elliott(00:01:57) - A frustrating airline experience(00:04:47) - Why psychology, not just marketing(00:07:39) - Comparing higher ed and corporate customer experience(00:10:50) - How students actually make decisions(00:13:40) - Key behavioral biases for enrollment teams(00:16:06) - Technology as amplifier, not solution(00:19:39) - Auditing the student experience for friction(00:22:00) - Rethinking the application process(00:23:15) - AI's impact on what students expect from lecturers(00:25:39) - Comparing UK and Chinese student experiences(00:27:47) - Practical steps for resource-limited teams(00:28:42) - Final advice: walk in the student's shoes(00:30:24) - Closing and sign-off

What happens when a veteran TV writer—whose credits include The Wonder Years, Dawson's Creek, and Disney's Tarzan—decides to build a film school inside North America's largest soundstage complex? You get a model that challenges nearly every assumption higher ed has about where learning happens, who should teach it, and what students actually need to succeed. In this episode, host Jeff Dillon sits down with Jeffrey Stepakoff, founder of the Georgia Film Academy and now President and co-founder of the Trilith Institute. Jeffrey has spent 40 years in entertainment, has over 1 million books in print, and has built two groundbreaking programs that bridge the gap between academia and industry. The Georgia Film Academy grew to serve 2,500 students a year across 30 institutions, helping grow Georgia's film production spending from $2 billion to $4.4 billion during his tenure. Now at Trilith, Jeffrey is taking the model further—launching "Semester at Trilith," a 15-week, 15-credit immersive program that drops students into a working studio environment. He argues that in an era of AI abundance, the most valuable thing we can teach isn't craft—it's taste, critical thinking, and the ability to discern what stories actually deserve to be told. For anyone in higher ed wrestling with questions of workforce relevance, industry partnerships, or the future of experiential learning, this episode offers a bold, practical, and deeply human vision.  Key Takeaways  Partnership Is the Engine of Success: The Georgia Film Academy succeeded because it brought together labor unions, state leadership, production studios, and 30 higher education institutions—including universities, technical colleges, and private schools—all aligned around a shared goal.  Credit Portability Is a Political Problem, Not a Technical One: The mechanics of transferring credits are doable. The challenge is institutional anxiety about losing students and resources. The solution is a consortium model with an R1 institution (like Clemson) serving as the accrediting body—similar to a semester-at-sea model.  Own Less, Access More: Institutions shouldn't be building their own soundstages or buying equipment that will be obsolete in 18 months. The future is about buying access to industry infrastructure, not owning it. Trilith partners with a 34-soundstage complex so students train on professional equipment in a professional environment.  In an Age of Abundance, Taste and Curation Are the Valuable Skills: AI can generate endless content. The scarce skill is knowing what deserves to be made—developing taste, critical thinking, and the ability to discern what stories matter and why.  What Do You Have to Say? Craft can be taught in a weekend. The deeper question is: who are you as a person? What stories are only you equipped to tell? That's what educators should be spending their time on.  The Goal Is to Build a New Creative Hub, Not Just a Factory: Georgia grew its production infrastructure to serve Hollywood. But the real opportunity is to build a self-sustaining industry based on original intellectual property—where writers, directors, and creators live, work, and tell stories that originate in the region.  Economic Impact Requires Measurable Metrics: To convince legislators and policymakers, programs must track outcomes—credit hours, job placements, industry spend. Accountability builds credibility and long-term investment.  The Future of Higher Ed Is About Partnership, Not Replacement... Chapters (00:00:00) - What is content?(00:00:44) - Jeffrey Stepakov on the Georgia Film Academy(00:02:07) - The Hardest Place In The World(00:02:51) - In the Elevator With Georgia Film Academy's Founder(00:06:23) - Getting the institutions to join the film and television consortium(00:08:42) - Clemson on Campus and Credit Portability(00:14:38) - Film Programs and the Equipment Problem(00:16:28) - Higher Ed: The Need for AI Skills(00:18:07) - What is content in a world of abundance?(00:20:17) - The role of the university(00:21:24) - What should we be teaching students?(00:25:04) - Georgia's film and television industry(00:29:56) - The Signal: Where Learning happens

What if the real crisis AI has exposed in higher education isn't student dishonesty, but the fact that we've been treating final papers as evidence of thinking—when AI can now simulate that thinking in seconds? In this episode, host Jeff Dillon sits down with Michael Leggs, who has taught English at St. Paul College for 21 years and is the founder of Smartlby, an AI‑powered revision tutor designed to help students strengthen their writing through guided reflection—without writing for them. Michael brings a rare perspective: he's not a technologist or an administrator talking about AI in the abstract. He's the person reading the papers, watching students struggle, and redesigning assignments in real time. Michael argues that detection software is a triage response, not a long‑term solution. The deeper problem is that our curriculum and assessment models were already fragile—AI just made it visible. He explains why surveillance tools create environments of mistrust, why revision should be treated as evidence of thinking, and how tools like Smartlby can guide students through a Socratic dialogue about their own writing without ever rewriting a single sentence. For any faculty member, department chair, or academic leader trying to figure out what actually works in the AI era, this episode offers a grounded, practical, and deeply human perspective.  Key Takeaways  The Real Problem Isn't Cheating—It's Assessment Design: AI didn't create the problem; it exposed a weakness that was already there. We've been treating final papers as evidence of thinking, but AI can now simulate that product. The solution isn't more surveillance—it's redesigning how we assess learning.  Detection Software Is a Triage Response, Not a Solution: Institutions rushed to buy detection tools because it was something they could control. But surveillance creates environments of mistrust—students know we don't trust them, and that damages the learning relationship.  Revision Is Evidence of Thinking: The shift needs to be from product assessment to process assessment. When a student revises, they are thinking. Tools that track revision give instructors visible evidence of that thinking process.  Process Assessment Is Instructionally Scalable—Not Just Technically Scalable: Many tools are technically scalable (they work at scale) but not instructionally scalable (they don't actually help teachers teach better). Smartlby was designed by a teacher with 21 years of classroom experience, so it solves problems faculty actually face.  AI Closes the Production Gap—But the Learning Gap Is Still Open: Students can produce more effectively with AI assistance. But producing more isn't the same as learning more. The goal should be to close the learning gap, not just the production gap.  Redesign Starts at the Grassroots Level: Faculty sharing ideas about how they're redesigning assignments is where real change begins. It doesn't have to be a top‑down mandate. Department‑level collaboration on assignment types can create scalable, shared solutions.  Surveillance Tools Should Be Abolished in Five Years: Michael's hope is that within five years, institutions will stop policing student writing and instead focus on ethical AI use, assistive tools, and redesigning assignments that actually teach students how to think—not just how to produce.   The Signal Newsletter: https://edtechconnect.com/newsletter  <... Chapters (00:00:00) - The Real Problem with AI in Higher Education(00:02:11) - The Name of Smartlby(00:03:02) - What Pulled You Back into the Classroom?(00:04:47) - The Tipping Point for Academic Writing(00:06:44) - SmartAlby on How to Prevent Student Cheating(00:15:41) - Does generative AI Close the Production Gap?(00:21:33) - How to Keep AI Out of the Composition Classroom

Jeff talks to Raffi DerSimonian, VP and Chief Strategy Officer at ERI, a digital agency that has been building for colleges and universities since 2005. Raffi came up on the institutional side—alumni relations at Becker College, then marketing and communications at Maine College of Art—before moving to the agency side. He brings a rare combination: deep empathy for campus dynamics and a strategist's eye for what actually moves the needle. Raffi shares the story behind ikiGuide.ai, a tool that takes the Japanese concept of Ikigai—the intersection of what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for—and turns it into a guided college search experience. Instead of handing a student a list of programs, ikiGuide gives them a path and the reasoning behind it, pulling in not just curricular offerings but also clubs, activities, study abroad, and stories of students and alumni who have walked similar paths. The conversation also tackles the shifting role of the college website in an AI-driven discovery landscape. Raffi argues that with nearly half of prospective students now consulting AI before visiting a website, the site's purpose is no longer to provide facts—it's to provide a "vibe check," a sense of connection, and evidence that a student can see themselves there. He also offers a sobering challenge to institutions: if your differentiators sound like they could apply to any school in America, it's time to go back to the drawing board.   Key Takeaways  Start with Purpose, Not a Major: The traditional college search process begins with "what do you want to study?"—a question many 17‑year‑olds can't answer. ikiguide flips that by asking who you are, what brings you joy, and what you're good at, then connecting those answers to a full ecosystem of opportunities.  Only 30% of Gen Z Students Feel Prepared for Life After High School: According to Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation, the majority of students enter higher education without a clear sense of direction. Colleges have a responsibility to help them explore, not just funnel them into a predetermined path.  The College Website's Role Has Shifted from Facts to Vibe: With nearly half of prospective students now consulting AI before ever visiting a site, the website is no longer the primary source of information. Its job is to provide a sense of connection, evidence of differentiation, and a clear path forward—all within the first three seconds.  AI Is Moving the Discovery Upstream—But Websites Still Matter: Students are coming to websites already briefed by AI, with comparisons and assumptions already formed. The site needs to validate that they can see themselves there, not just repeat the facts they already know.  Personalization Requires Judiciousness: Over‑personalization can backfire if the institution can't fulfill the expectations it creates. The safer approach is to let users opt in to sharing their interests and then use that data to surface relevant opportunities—not to make assumptions about them.  Write for Both Humans and the Machines That Read for Them: AI is now summarizing institutions on behalf of students. Content needs to be findable for AI while still resonating with the human who will eventually read it. The line between the two is blurring rapidly.  Differentiation Is the Only Defense Against Sameness: Most higher ed websites look and feel identical. Institutions that clearly articulate what sets them apart—with evidence, not just claims—are the ones that win attention in... Chapters (00:00:00) - The Signal: The Future of Higher Ed Websites(00:01:51) - In the Elevator With a Consultant(00:04:31) - Exploring Ikigai: The College Search(00:14:36) - The Future of the University Website(00:20:21) - Will Higher Ed Content Be Personalized by AI?(00:24:25) - Higher Ed: The Need for Personalization(00:28:42) - The Future of Higher Ed: Reimagining the Signal

Jeff Dillon talks to Jenny Petty, Vice President of Industry Relations and Advisory Services at Simpson Scarborough, who has spent over a decade inside higher ed—most recently as VP of Marketing Communications at the University of Montana, where she helped reverse a decade‑long enrollment decline. Jenny brings a rare combination of private‑sector marketing experience (including growing a Facebook community from under 200 to over 1 million at IGT, working with brands like Dolly Parton and Family Guy) and deep institutional knowledge. Jenny doesn't hold back. She argues that many CMOs are operating from fear disguised as prudence—dressing up inaction as "getting more buy‑in" or "the campus isn't ready." She challenges the instinct to centralize everything when things feel chaotic, warning that org chart changes often mask deeper alignment problems. She introduces the concept of "alignment debt"—the organizational equivalent of technical debt—that compounds quietly until it becomes one of the most expensive problems an institution faces. For anyone leading marketing, enrollment, or institutional strategy, this episode offers both a diagnosis of what's broken and a framework—assess, align, activate—for actually fixing it.   Key Takeaways Fear Disguised as Prudence Is Holding Marketing Back: Many CMOs are afraid—afraid of exposure, afraid of making a public mistake. That fear gets dressed up as "getting more buy‑in" or "socializing the idea more." The result is inaction. The institutions that need to change most are the ones that can least afford to wait. Alignment Debt Is the New Technical Debt: Just like technical debt, unresolved misalignment in people, processes, and decision rights compounds quietly until it becomes one of the most expensive problems an institution faces. It shows up in missed enrollment goals, budget crises, and systems that break at the worst possible moment. The Scope of the CMO Role Has Become Unmanageable: Job descriptions for higher ed CMOs read like seven jobs in one—crisis communicator, media relations, digital transformation lead, enrollment partner, and more. Marketing can't fix problems with the academic portfolio, pricing, or leadership misalignment. That's not a marketing problem—it's an institutional problem. Political Savvy Is Necessary—But It Can Become Self‑Protection: You have to be political in these jobs. But the moment political maneuvering starts protecting your own position instead of serving the mission, it stops being leadership. Know your warning signs. Ask yourself: "Am I building healthy coalition, or am I being manipulative?" Assess, Align, Activate Is a Flywheel, Not a One‑Time Process: The activation stage exposes false agreement. It reveals even more misalignment that you would have missed if you skipped from assessment straight to activation. Continuous improvement requires cycling through all three stages repeatedly. AI Is Moving Production Work Upstream—Design Around That: AI is making production cheaper and faster. The question isn't whether to use AI tools—it's what humans should be doing when production is no longer the constraint. Judgment, synthesis, creativity, institutional knowledge, and relationship‑building are all moving upstream. Managing Decline Is Not Stability: Growth, stasis, and managed decline are all strategies. But many campuses act like they're in a growth strategy while actually managing decline—and the misalignment shows up in budget, resources, and morale. Marketing leaders need to be at the table helping to resolve institutional contradictions, not just communicating outcomes after decisions are made. The Signal New... Chapters (00:00:00) - What do you want your marketing leaders to do in the future?(00:00:45) - Jenny Petty on The Higher Ed Marketer(00:02:25) - CMOs: From Coal Miner to Rodeo Cowgirl(00:04:09) - What Did Working in Higher Ed Teach Me About Marketing?(00:10:48) - The Alignment Gap in Higher Ed(00:19:11) - The 3 Stages of organizational change(00:21:46) - What does an AI Ready Marketing Structure look like?(00:25:19) - In the Elevator With Consultants(00:27:03) - What can you say now about the CMO role(00:28:48) - What Higher Ed Marketing Needs