State of Higher Education: What Learners Say and Employers Want

Stephanie Marken is a senior partner at Gallup, where she leads research on higher education access, value and student experience. She has spent more than a decade studying the attitudes and outcomes of adult learners and currently enrolled students, with a focus on enrollment decision-making, persistence and completion. Marken frequently advises higher education leaders on how to use data to design programs and policies that better meet the needs of today’s learners.

Courtney Brown is vice president of impact and planning at Lumina Foundation, where she leads strategy to advance the foundation’s goal of increasing postsecondary attainment in the United States. She has extensive experience in higher education policy, data-driven planning and systems-level reform, and works closely with institutions, states and national partners to improve affordability, access and student success.

Laura Ullrich is Director of Economic Research in North America at the Indeed Hiring Lab. Prior to joining Indeed, Laura served as a Senior Regional Economist and Senior Manager at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, primarily focused on research related to higher education and workforce dynamics. For over a decade, Laura was an economics professor and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Winthrop University. Her research interests include higher education, community college policy, labor participation, and the economic impact of local development. She holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Georgia and a master's and doctorate in Economics from the University of Tennessee.

Scott Fleming joined SCHEV as its executive director on May 25, 2024. Prior to joining SCHEV, he served as the chief strategy officer for Teaching Strategies, one of the nation’s leading education technology companies. He has an extensive career in the education sector, leveraging his expertise across public, private and nonprofit organizations, including senior executive roles at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Scantron, and Strada Education Foundation. As a staff member to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, he led the reauthorizations of the Higher Education Act in 2005 and the Carl D. Perkins Technical and Vocational Act in 2006, while supporting numerous other reauthorization processes in K-12, early childhood, and disability education. At SCHEV, he has focused on the connection of business and higher education, including redesigning the state’s approach to work-integrated learning, as well as issues related to cost and affordability, access, governance and innovation. He holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah.

Scott Pulsipher has served as president of Western Governors University (WGU), the nation’s premier nonprofit competency-based university, since April 2016, leading all academic, operational, and organizational functions. He cultivates a student-centric environment by using technology and data to improve three key measures: completion, return for graduates, and equity in both access and attainment. Scott has been named by EdTech Digest as one of the Top 100 Influencers in EdTech, and also serves on multiple higher education and technology boards, including as board member at the American Council on Education and Jobs for the Future. Before coming to WGU, Scott had more than 20 years of leadership experience in technology-based, customer-focused businesses, including Amazon, Sterling Commerce (now part of IBM), and two successful startups that traverse retail, supply chain, banking, payments, and manufacturing sectors. He holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Brigham Young University and an MBA from Harvard University. Prior to joining WGU, Scott led several technology-based, customer-focused businesses, including Amazon, Sterling Commerce (now part of IBM), and two successful startups that traverse retail, supply chain, banking, payments, and manufacturing sectors. He serves on multiple higher education and technology boards, including: Education Co-Chair for Committee for Economic Development, board member at the American Council on Education and advisory board member at the Presidents Forum.