To value student centricity is easy. But to prove these values are actualized in student outcomes bears asking, “How do we really know we do what we say we do?” This is one among many spirited insights from guest Dr. Gregory Fowler, President of the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), in this episode of An Educated Guest. Dr. Fowler and host Todd Zipper, Executive Vice President and GM at Wiley, discuss a wide range of topics in career-connected education, such as the true implications of student centricity, how to meaningfully surface skills through lifelong learning, and the broader implications of AI and ChatGPT.

Key Takeaways: What led UMGC to become the number one college serving transfer students  How the university is experimenting with a “metaversity” to help learners develop skills  The importance of learners’ dispositions beyond knowledge and skills How successful student outcomes hinge on validating and communicating skills 

Guest Bio Dr. Gregory Fowler is the President of the University of Maryland Global Campus, the largest public online university in the US, with courses offered online and in more than 20 countries and territories worldwide. Gregory is a nationally recognized scholar and leader in developing innovative learning models and experiences for adult and non-traditional learner populations.  

Prior to UMGC, he served on the leadership teams of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) Global Campus and Western Governor’s University. At SNHU, he led efforts to develop competency-based online and hybrid programs that respond to the rapidly changing demands of the workforce and global communities, including disadvantaged students in Los Angeles, refugees in Africa and the Middle East, and learners in Mexico and Columbia.

In addition to his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Morehouse College, George Mason University, and SUNY–Buffalo, Gregory holds an MBA from Western Governors University and completed programs at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and Business School.