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PENN FOSTER · S1 ·E1
OutRival Presents: The New Normal Ep. 1 - Penn Foster CEO Kermit Cook
CHAPTERS
Intro
00:00
PENN FOSTER’S 135-YEAR LEGACY
04:24
CHAPTERS
Ben: Okay, David. So the question, do you have a favorite Ferrari?
David: Ooh, that's a tough one. I would never actually want to get behind the wheel of it, but I think I gotta go with the F40.
Ben: Of course.
David: I remember just being like a kid in elementary school and getting a model of one and thinking like, Oh my God, this is the most incredible machine that mankind has ever created.
Ben: Yeah, it's the defining supercar.
David: Yes. Yes. How about you?
David: Ooh, that's a tough one. I would never actually want to get behind the wheel of it, but I think I gotta go with the F40.
Ben: Of course.
David: I remember just being like a kid in elementary school and getting a model of one and thinking like, Oh my God, this is the most incredible machine that mankind has ever created.
Ben: Yeah, it's the defining supercar.
David: Yes. Yes. How about you?
Miami Dade College President Madeline Pumariega on Deploying AI at Scale in Higher Education
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Presented by OutRival
Guest BIO
Madeline Pumariega is President of Miami Dade College, America's largest community college, serving 125,000 students across eight campuses. A former MDC student athlete, she has made AI a cornerstone of the institution's mission, deploying Digital Workers to help students plan academic paths, re-enroll, and get round-the-clock support. Under her leadership MDC has trained 10,000 people and 400 companies in AI.
Miami Dade College is America's largest community college, with 125,000 students across eight campuses. President Madeline Pumariega has made AI a cornerstone of the institution's mission, turning MDC into one of the country's most ambitious examples of AI deployment in higher education.
Hosts Ruben Harris and Timur Meyster sit down with Pumariega at MDC's AI Center to talk about how the college uses Digital Workers to help students plan academic paths, re-enroll when life gets in the way, and get support around the clock.
Pull Quotes
EPISODE 01
“AI tutors alone haven’t moved the needle in education. The real opportunity is using AI to reach learners proactively, support the people building courses, and remove the barriers that keep students from completing them.”
AI tutors alone haven't moved the needle in education. The real opportunity is using AI to reach learners proactively, support the people building courses, and remove the barriers that keep students from completing them.
We only spoke with 3% of our active learners before the AI partnership — proactive outreach changed that math almost overnight.
The academic calendar is still the biggest barrier to innovation in higher ed. Learners don't wait for semesters; their problems show up in real time.
A rough, unpolished 9-minute video lifted course completion rates by 15%. Perfect is the enemy of shipped.
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