Achieving the Vision: Leveraging AI to Drive Student Success in the Inland Empire

Ed InsightEd Chat New Episode Header (4)

About This Episode

Season 2. Episode 1.

The new season of Achieving the Vision launches with an episode that dives into the potential of artificial intelligence to reshape education and improve student outcomes across the Inland Empire. Host Alyssa Silva sits down with Charles Ansell, Vice President for Research, Policy, and Advocacy at Complete College America, to explore innovative ways AI is being used to enhance academic programs, streamline student support, and address educational equity.

In this conversation, Charles draws from his extensive background in higher education and his work at Complete College America to share insights on using AI to create a more personalized and practical learning experience for students. He highlights how AI can support everything from academic planning and advising to developing career-aligned competencies, helping students navigate their educational paths with greater clarity and success.

The episode also touches on the risks of the AI divide and the importance of ethical AI usage to ensure that advancements benefit all students, including those at under-resourced institutions. Charles shares practical tips for integrating AI thoughtfully, focusing on maximizing its strengths while safeguarding data privacy and educational equity. Whether you’re an educator, student, administrator, or tech enthusiast, this episode offers valuable ideas and actionable strategies for harnessing AI’s power in education.

Catch the full episode to learn how AI can be a transformative force in education and how institutions in the Inland Empire are leading the charge.

Featured Guests

90e5ee060e644b898570c763df0a5337!_!eb2198fd88e7195be199c1a2618e7672

Charles Ansell

Vice President for Research, Policy, and Advocacy

Complete College America

Biography

Charles Ansell has dedicated his career to educational justice and equity. In his current role at Complete College America, Charles uses research to advocate for legislation and resources that help students graduate college, closing socioeconomic, racial or generational disparities that exist in college completion. As the Chief Operating Officer of the Community College System of New Hampshire, Charles directed research, strategy, finance and technology for a statewide system of colleges. In this role, he developed a data and reporting infrastructure that enabled an evidence-driven policy agenda to influence state legislation and appropriations to higher education. A student success agenda drove all projects and operations, resulting in more students graduating college and having career and continued academic success after graduation. Prior to this, Charles led student success efforts at the City Colleges of Chicago. There, he oversaw the development of a pathways program that ensured students enrolled for classes along semester-by-semester plans, aligned with individual academic aspirations. These plans embedded academic readiness requirements in Math and English that innovated traditional developmental education so students did not stall out in coursework that did not count to graduation requirements. Before the City Colleges of Chicago, Charles worked in various positions in higher education administration and information technology. He holds an M.S. in Business Information Technology from DePaul University and a B.A. from Carleton College. He is engaged in numerous local boards devoted to education and workforce.

Watch the Episode

View our podcast page for more stories like this: https://inlandempiregia.org/gia-podcasts/

Growing Inland Achievement (GIA) created the Achieving the Vision video series to discuss important projects and initiatives that are driving regional educational transformation and student success in the Inland Empire region of Southern California–the 12th largest MSA in the U.S. with over 4.7 million residents and over one-million K-16 students. Learn more at https://inlandempiregia.org.