Episode 25: Toughest Thing about Education? Measuring It. Feat. John Katzman, CEO, Noodle

Though the history is a bit murky, the word “noddle” was first used in the 1500s. It comes from the Middle English “nodle,” meaning the back of the head or neck. Today, your “noodle” is a slang term for your brain or for the act of thinking things over. The word and its meaning have not changed much; until recently, traditional education did not evolve much faster than “noddle” did.

John Katzman, CEO of Noodle, joins podcast host Kiran Kodithala on this episode of Illuminate Higher Education. John is the chief executive officer of thinking things through--before founding Noodle, John founded The Princeton Review and 2U, an organization that helps colleges build and run high-quality online degree programs. He serves on several for- and not-for-profit boards of directors to help build a more agile and equitable education landscape.

Get a brief overview of their discussion in the Q&A below. Then, listen to the full episode for all the details, including John’s story behind the creation of The Princeton Review.

Q: What role does Noodle play in supporting institutions of higher education?

One significant issue in higher education is striking a balance between digital transformation, including driving down the cost of education, and positive financial outcomes for investors. Noodle accelerates digital transformation in higher ed by helping universities leverage technology to achieve higher engagement, capacity, and accessibility. We help students learn about degree programs with free counseling, and we help learning institutions build and administer online and agile programs. We also manage the complex flow of data from schools and systems and anonymize it, so institutions can focus on analytics-driven insights.

Q: What led you to a career in education?

While there is no one specific moment, education played an important role in my life from a young age. In college, I began tutoring and loved it. I thought I could create a class, work with a few hundred students, make some money, and use that money to start a tech company. Then, The Princeton Review caught on. Teachers loved the concept, and we grew rapidly.

As I got involved in education, I realized it is a target-rich market. Higher ed institutions are full of intelligent, capable, well-meaning people whose day-to-day jobs are hampered by underinvestment in technology and innovation. There are countless opportunities for improvement; edtech is a $1.2T industry.

Q: What trends or changes do you foresee in the education sector?

In my opinion, each level of education will move forward in different ways. The least change will happen in K-12. Until we fix K-12 governance, it will be difficult to change the pedagogy in an important way. Covid-19 was an accelerant of the move from textbooks to online learning materials, but it will not likely move the meter in a significant way.

I anticipate Pre-K institutions breaking down into smaller, more local schools. (I’m focusing on micro-preschools both as an investor and an aficionado of progress in education.)

Regarding higher education in general, cost remains a concern. However, the cost of higher ed net tuition has not gone up in 20 years, but it is still too high. The problem lies not in the teaching side but in everything else; universities must become more efficient. In general, this challenge often leads to the consolidation of the space. I think we may see fewer larger universities with a bigger digital footprint. If we can bring down the cost of higher education in a significant way, I anticipate a positive impact on completion rates, improving social mobility and racial equity over time.

Of all of these, I believe lifelong learning will be the fastest-growing segment of the higher education market. Long after learners achieve a college degree, ongoing education will be critical as globalization and innovation continuously disrupt the economy. It will be commonplace to further your education throughout your life. The percentage of adult and lifelong learners will only increase, and most of them will complete some or all of their chosen programs online.

Listen to the full podcast episode for all the details.

Connect with John Katzman on LinkedIn and Twitter @JohnKatzman. 

Visit Noodle.com and follow Noodle on Twitter @NoodleEducation.


—

This episode is brought to you by N2N’s Illuminate App, the iPaaS for Higher Education.

About N2N Services

Founded in 2010, N2N is committed to serving educational institutions and helping them figure out how to serve their students, faculty, and staff using the most innovative technologies and solutions available in the marketplace. Over the last decade, N2N has served over 300 academic institutions and enabled their student success journeys.

N2N Services Inc. is a leader in enterprise application integration and strategic advisory services for higher education, At N2N, we are committed to providing the highest quality solutions and collaboratively building student-centric solutions.

Learn more at https://illuminateapp.com/web/higher-education

Subscribe and listen to more episodes at IlluminateHigherEducation.com.