On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent connects with Brandon Busteed, President of University Partnerships and Global Head of Learn-Work Innovation at Kaplan. As you might guess, this episode is all about the critical need for innovation in higher ed, and Brandon’s broad and deep industry knowledge makes his calls to action for advancement folks all the more urgent. A few of his key suggestions: Hire staff and appoint board members that are specifically tasked with uncovering and identifying innovative solutions to problems. Put programs in place that intentionally match students with real mentors; folks who have the time, energy, and commitment to invest in students’ personal and professional success. Blur the lines between student and alum so that you can deliver on that “lifelong learning” decree that is in your mission statement. As Brandon points out, the two biggest issues facing higher ed are the rising cost of tuition and growing doubt about graduates’ work readiness. He reminds us that there is big work to be done (quickly) if the business of US higher education is to survive the next 50 years. Under Brandon’s leadership, Kaplan only builds relationships with higher ed leaders who are ready to grow, adapt, and innovate, and there are tenable and actionable ideas that we can take from those innovative partnerships on this episode of the RAISE podcast.About BrandonBrandon Busteed leads Kaplan’s work serving U.S. colleges and universities, leveraging the organization’s highly diversified, global educational offerings and insights. His mission is to help U.S. higher education adapt, grow and thrive.Prior to Kaplan, Busteed was Global Head of Public Sector at Gallup – serving higher education, government and foundations. In that role, Busteed led dozens of ground-breaking studies and consulted with hundreds of higher ed leaders.Busteed was the founder and CEO of Outside The Classroom, one of the country’s first successful Ed Tech companies which was acquired by EverFi in 2011. Its flagship online courses on alcohol abuse and sexual assault prevention have been taken by more than 10 million college students.An internationally known speaker and author on education and workforce development, Busteed has published more than 100 articles and keynoted more than 200 conferences. He was named a LinkedIn “Top Voice” in education and is a frequent contributor for Forbes.com. Busteed received his bachelor’s degree in public policy from Duke University where he was also a two-sport Division 1 athlete. He received an honorary doctorate from Augustana College. He is a trustee emeritus of Duke and has served on the Board of Visitors of the Sanford School of Public Policy.Busteed is a current member of the Business-Higher Education Forum - the nation’s oldest membership organization of Fortune 500 CEOs, college and university presidents, and other leaders dedicated to the creation of a highly skilled future workforce. He also serves on the board of directors for the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U).