Ep 71: Reinventing Community College with Tade Oyerinde, Chancellor of Campus

Ten million students attend community college annually, but only 30% ever graduate! It's a massive economic loss to students and society. What if a new model could drastically increase completion rates while maintaining a high-quality education, and leave students with zero debt? That's what Tade Oyerinde is aiming to build with Campus, a new way to conduct community college.

His approach is two-pronged: improve quality and increase completion rates. First, Campus is pioneering a gig economy for top adjunct professors. Recognizing that adjuncts at elite universities are often underpaid and drowning in debt, Campus offers them the opportunity to teach part-time online — a win for adjuncts and students alike. Next, they surround students with support designed to reduce attrition: tuition includes a laptop, wifi, and a personal coach, all at a cost less than the annual Pell Grant (currently $7,495). Campus also recently acquired a brick-and-mortar school in Sacramento that offers hands-on skills training for in-demand career tracks, such as medical coding and cosmetology.

Instead of taking on large sums of debt to attend mediocre private schools, Tade believes community college is the smarter path for most students, and hopes Campus will be at the forefront of a new era in higher education. But it won't be easy. Learn about his journey to reinvent one of America's most entrenched and misaligned sectors.

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