Next Practices

About Next Practices

Next Practices welcomes higher education leaders to share their experiences and solutions for the challenges facing their students and institutions. Hosted by Katy Oliveira, the show delves into the use of data-driven strategies to address pressing questions and tackle issues in the constantly evolving landscape of higher education. Each episode provides practical advice and trends that can help leaders improve student outcomes and build financially sustainable institutions now and into the future. Next Practices is produced by Civitas Learning. Learn more at civitaslearning.com

Publisher

Civitas Learning

Category

education · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

21 Apr 2022

Latest episode

15 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

60 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 Sept 2026

   How Shared Leadership Turns Student Success Into Institutional Impact

   Student success rarely belongs to just one office or one team. The real challenge is getting people across an institution to work toward the same goals while still bringing their own expertise and perspective to the table. When that happens, individual efforts can become something much bigger. Today's guest, Tara Stopfel Warden, knows that challenge well. Tara is Assistant Vice Provost for Enrollment Management at the University of Cincinnati. Her work includes retention strategy, academic advising, new student orientation, dual enrollment, and student success technology. Much of her role involves coordinating work across the university without having direct authority over the people doing it. That experience has made collaboration a central part of how she approaches student success. In our conversation, we discuss how a group of advising leaders that began meeting informally grew into an important voice for student success across the university. We also talk about what can go wrong when students receive too many early-alert messages, or when those messages make them feel like they don't belong. Tara shares why advisors should be involved when universities choose the technology they'll be expected to use every day. We also look at AI and where it can be useful, particularly when it takes administrative work off an advisor's plate and gives them more time with students. Throughout the conversation, we return to the idea that better decisions often come from bringing the right people into the discussion. Show Notes: [02:32] Tara Stopfel Warden shares her role at the University of Cincinnati and the student success initiatives she helps lead. [04:08] Why leading at a decentralized university often depends more on influence than authority. [07:50] How an informal group of advising leaders grew into a trusted resource for solving student challenges across the university. [09:51] Giving every college and advising center a voice in student success decisions. [12:03] Using shared leadership roundtables to bring different perspectives together around the Bearcat Promise initiative. [14:12] How ideation labs helped UC involve students and staff in developing its student portal. [18:14] What UC learned about early-alert messaging and why well-intentioned outreach can sometimes hurt student retention. [20:28] Why coordinating outreach across departments matters when multiple teams are communicating with the same student. [23:52] What universities can get wrong when technology decisions are made without input from the people who will use the systems. [26:13] Why Tara wanted advisors themselves to help determine which student success platform UC adopted. [28:17] How AI is helping advisors spend less time on administrative work and more time working directly with students. [31:01] What Tara believes higher education is still getting wrong about student success. [32:42] Why collective action and shared leadership can create stronger support for institutional change. Links and Resources: Civitas Learning (https://www.civitaslearning.com/) Tara Stopfel Warden - LinkedIn University of Cincinnati (https://www.uc.edu/)

2. 

   2 Sept 2026

   Signals: The Stakes Are Rising for Career Readiness

   Federal accountability is putting more pressure on colleges to show strong career outcomes. The problem is that the clearest employment data often arrives after graduation, when there is little time left to change the result. In this episode, we look at how UT San Antonio is trying to see career readiness earlier through a real-time career readiness index built with Civitas Learning. You'll hear from Mario Vela, Assistant Vice Provost of Career Engaged Learning at UT San Antonio, on why career data can feel more like an autopsy than a diagnostic, and how institutions can connect internships, experiential learning, career programming, and resume development to better understand whether students are on track before graduation.

3. 

   1 Sept 2026

   How Institutions Can Measure Career Readiness in Real Time

   Career readiness can no longer be treated as something students pursue only if they happen to walk into a career center. As colleges and universities face growing expectations around employment outcomes, institutions are being challenged to think differently about how they prepare students for life after graduation. That means moving career development into the broader academic experience and giving students the skills, experiences, and confidence they need to compete in a rapidly changing job market. Joining me for this conversation is Mario Vela, Assistant Vice Provost of Career Engaged Learning and Executive Director of the University Career Center at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Mario is a longtime career services leader and a double alum of UT San Antonio whose experience also includes supporting mid-career Latino professionals through the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement and serving as Director of Employer Relations at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. His work today is focused on making career preparation an integrated part of the student experience rather than an optional service students have to seek out. We talk about UT San Antonio's classroom-to-career approach, the development of a Career Readiness Index, and how data can help institutions understand whether students are actually prepared for the workforce before they graduate. Mario also shares how leadership, faculty, colleges, and career teams can work together to build a campus-wide culture around career readiness, why this work is especially important for first-generation students, and how institutions can begin measuring which programs, technologies, and interventions are truly making a difference in student outcomes. Show Notes: [02:22] Mario Vela introduces his background in higher education and career services, including his current leadership role at UT San Antonio. [03:50] Why the traditional opt-in career services model is no longer enough and how new accountability measures are changing expectations for universities. [05:09] UT San Antonio's classroom-to-career strategy integrates career-engaged learning throughout degree programs, colleges, faculty partnerships, and the broader institution. [07:42] The vision for a Career Readiness Index that brings student data together to provide a clearer picture of career preparation before graduation. [09:10] Career development data can help institutions identify which experiences students are participating in and where targeted interventions could improve outcomes. [11:41] Why preparing students for the workforce is an institutional responsibility and how skills such as negotiation, networking, resumes, and interviewing create a competitive advantage. [14:13] Leadership support, relevant outcomes data, and partnerships with colleges and faculty helped turn career-engaged learning from a vision into an institution-wide strategy. [18:43] How the Career Readiness Index could reveal which combinations of mentorship, career coaching, experiential learning, and technology actually improve student outcomes. [20:53] The conversation turns to first-generation students and how real-time data could help institutions understand their experiences and provide more effective support. [22:28] Advice for career center leaders, including building leadership alignment, creating institutional coalitions, and finding collaborative ways to fund new initiatives. [24:18] Why the current focus on career outcomes creates a major opportunity for innovation in higher education career development. Links and Resources: Civitas Learning (https://www.civitaslearning.com/) Mario Vela - UTSA University Career Center Career-Engaged Learning Mario Vela - LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/velamario/)

Who has been a guest on Next Practices

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Ryan Bailey
• Jamie Muhlestein
• Kevin McMindes
• Nicholas S Zeppos

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 39 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

58

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.