Episode 127: Introducing “Ask AI Elliot” Your 24/7 Virtual Coach on Creating Connected Colleges
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How can a virtual coach help you create better connected colleges, eliminate departmental silos, and redesign facilities and technology to drive measurable student success? In this special episode of The Connected College Podcast, Elliot interviews his AI Self to give you a sense of how it can help. They talk about effective strategic planning, agile organizational design, harnessing technology for student success, sustainable support services and staffing, campus facilities for student success, and creating company and community connections. Let's explore how modern higher education leaders can bridge silos, streamline technology, and optimize campus facilities to build a truly connected college.
Check out “Ask AI Elliot” at https://www.elliotfelix.com/ask-ai-elliot
Introducing “Ask AI Elliot” Your 24/7 Virtual Coach on Creating Connected Colleges
For years, Elliot wished he could clone himself to get more done and help more people. Well, he finally did it, sort of. Announcing “Ask AI Elliot” where you can call twenty-four seven with questions about strategy, structure, space, and more, and get answers based on Elliot’s books, articles, talks, interviews, and podcasts.
In this special podcast episode, Elliot interviews his AI Self to give you a sense of how it can help. They talk about effective strategic planning, agile organizational design, harnessing technology for student success, support services and staffing, campus facilities for student success, and creating company and community connections. Let's explore how modern higher education leaders can bridge silos, streamline technology, and optimize campus facilities to build a truly connected college.
Building Actionable Strategic Plans That Drive Results
Strategic planning is a cornerstone of higher education administration, yet too many plans end up gathering dust on a shelf. Research shows that strategic planning correlates with institutional performance by nearly 84%, but only when financial management directly funds those priorities. Roughly 70% of strategic failures stem directly from poor resourcing and execution.
To build an effective strategy, higher education leaders must avoid the trap of creating generic goal lists designed to please everyone. Real strategy requires making hard choices that differentiate an institution. Utilizing tools like the "opposites test"—where the reverse of a choice is also a viable option—ensures that goals remain meaningful.
Furthermore, institutions must adopt flexible methodologies like scenario planning. By mapping out critical uncertainties on a two-by-two grid (such as shifting student demographics versus online delivery models), leadership can identify core strategies that succeed across multiple future scenarios. Simplifying the strategic vision into a clear, concise plan tied directly to key budget metrics ensures that execution remains actionable and focused.
Organizational Redesign: Breaking Down Silos for Student Success
Achieving sustainable student success requires an organizational structure that mirrors the modern student journey rather than legacy departmental habits. When institutions reorganize, teams should align directly around core service models.
Key approaches to effective organizational redesign include:
Service-Aligned Teams: Reorganizing staff around practical service categories (such as advising, instruction, or access) rather than rigid, historical department lines.
Safe-to-Try Change Management: Embracing iterative prototypes and incremental adjustments to maintain momentum while providing staff with psychological safety.
Co-Located Support Hubs: Combining service-aligned teams into shared physical or digital spaces, creating a one-stop model that makes seeking assistance seamless for students.
Overcoming organizational friction requires treating restructuring as a human-centered change management process rather than an overnight top-down switch. Addressing underlying technology divides and shared budgets alongside org chart adjustments ensures long-term alignment.
Curbing Digital Sprawl and Harnessing Technology
As higher education technology options expand, institutions frequently fall victim to software sprawl. It is not uncommon for advisors and administrative teams to toggle between dozens of disconnected systems, creating friction for staff and confusion for students.
Curbing digital sprawl starts with a comprehensive technology audit to identify redundant applications. Consolidating disparate systems into unified, centralized student portals lowers overhead costs while streamlining the user experience.
When introducing new tools, institutions must subtract administrative friction to avoid staff burnout. Automating routine tasks like basic inquiries or scheduling frees up faculty and staff to focus on high-touch mentorship. Pairing centralized platforms with targeted AI applications—such as personalized feedback engines or automated tutoring—enables institutions to deliver proactive, scalable support that drives student retention.
Optimizing Campus Facilities and Community Partnerships
Physical space plays a crucial role in fostering student belonging and academic achievement. Studies show that co-located support centers are associated with a three percentage point increase in student retention. Furthermore, transitioning traditional lecture rooms into active learning spaces with flexible furniture and collaborative technology can cut course failure rates in half.
Finally, expanding student success beyond campus boundaries requires establishing strong community and industry connections. Creating a unified interface for employer partners simplifies collaboration, allowing regional businesses to engage with students through experiential learning projects, curriculum advisory roles, and direct career mentorship.
By unifying strategy, structure, technology, physical spaces, and external partnerships, institutions can build a cohesive environment where every student has the resources and support needed to succeed.
Episode 127 Transcript
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Elliot Felix: For years, I've wished I could clone myself to get more done and help more people. Well, I finally did it. I'm excited to announce the beta launch of Ask AI Elliott, where folks can call me up twenty-four seven with questions about strategy, structure, space, and more, and they'll get answers based on my books, articles, talks, interviews, and podcasts.
In this special podcast episode, I interview myself to give you a sense of how AI Elliot can help. After hosting 126 podcast episodes and appearing on dozens of podcasts myself, I've gotten pretty used to hearing my own voice, but I have to say, I'm not used to hearing my AI voice yet, and it's a little game show hosty at times, but in a great way, and it's growing on me And I hope you find it helpful.
Let's dive into this quick conversation with AI Elliot so you can get a sense of how I or it can help you.
Welcome to the Connected College podcast. I'm your host, Elliot. Felix. I've helped more than a hundred colleges and universities change what they offer, how they operate, and the way they're organized to enable student success. Join me for insightful interviews with higher ed innovators, sharing the stories, stats, and strategies to create better connected colleges and universities. -
Ask Elliot AI: Hi, I'm Elliot Felix, student success author, speaker, and consultant helping colleges and universities redesign what they offer, how they operate, and how they are organized. Thanks for dropping in to chat. Please tell me your name, what organization you're with, and what you'd like to talk about today.
Elliot Felix: Hi, my name is Elliot, and I have some specific questions for you about creating better connected colleges and universities.
Ask Elliot AI: It is great to meet you, Elliot. When I visit campuses to facilitate retreats and meet with leaders, we dig right into breaking down silos. From integrating academic and career advising to co-locating student support services to boost retention and belonging. There are so many practical ways to align your people, spaces, and programs to make a measurable difference for students. What specific area or challenge at your institution would you like to explore first?Elliot Felix: I know institutions spend a lot of time working on strategic plans, but often they sit on a shelf or they don't really move the needle. What's your advice on creating a more effective strategic plan?
Ask Elliot AI: That is a good question, Elliot. Real strategy requires making hard choices that differentiate your institution. Use the opposites test where the reverse of your choice is also a viable option rather than just listing generic goals like excellence. Research shows that strategic planning correlates with institutional performance by nearly 84 percent, but only when financial management directly funds those priorities because 70 percent of strategic failures stem from poor resourcing and execution. To keep it actionable, focus on delegating outcomes rather than micromanaging tasks and look at models like Rowan University, which built a clear, concise one-page plan tied directly to key enrollment and budget metrics. Did that answer what you had in mind, or would you like more details on how institutions put this into practice?
Elliot Felix: What are some things that folks get wrong when they're creating strategic plans, and what should they do instead?
Ask Elliot AI: I think I see where you are coming from. One major pitfall is creating a massive tent with anodyne statements that try to be all things to all people, often jumping straight from discovery to delivery without clearly defining the specific problem to solve. Another common trap is writing rigid, prescriptive five-year task lists that quickly become obsolete when conditions shift. Instead, leaders should use scenario planning to navigate critical uncertainties, ruthlessly prioritize their initiatives, and delegate the outcomes and guardrails while leaving teams the flexibility on the daily execution. Would you like more details on how scenario planning works, or is there another topic you'd like to dive into?
Elliot Felix: Yeah, I'd like to hear a little bit more about scenario planning. What is that exactly?
Ask Elliot AI: Scenario planning is a structured methodology for making sound strategic decisions in the face of uncertainty by mapping out multiple possible futures simultaneously. You start by identifying your most critical uncertainties, such as shifting demographics or online versus residential delivery, and place them on a two-by-two grid to create four distinct future scenarios. From there, you bring data to the table to evaluate each quadrant, asking what would have to be true for a particular path to succeed, and then pinpoint the common strategies that will work across all four futures. I worked with the University of Michigan on a shared services model, and this approach allowed disparate centers to find common operational ground while still protecting their unique identities. Would you like more details on that University of Michigan example or on how to select your uncertainties?
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Elliot Felix: I'd like to move from strategy to structure and talk a little bit about how to break down silos for colleges and universities that are thinking about redesigning their organizational structure.
Ask Elliot AI: When restructuring, the most important step is to make sure your organization follows your actual service model rather than legacy habits or the specific software tools your teams support. For example, when working with Miami University of Ohio, we reorganized the library staff into groups that mirrored their six core service categories, such as advise and instruct or access and borrow, and used a safe-to-try change management mindset that kept momentum moving forward without fear of failure. Combining service-aligned teams with co-located spaces, much like the one-stop support model at Normandale Community College, turns isolated departments into a connected hub that makes getting help seamless for students. Does that give you a helpful starting point on structural alignment, or did you have a specific department in mind?
Elliot Felix: That's a good starting point. I'm wondering what the pitfalls are. Where do teams usually get stuck when they're trying to restructure?
Ask Elliot AI: Let me see if I understand what you are asking. You want to know where institutions stumble during organizational redesigns. One major trap is treating restructuring as a top-down switch you simply flip on a specific date, rather than managing it as an emotional human experience where people need clear communication and psychological safety. Another frequent pitfall is aiming for complete consensus and perfection, which leads to endless committee meetings and analysis paralysis instead of embracing safe-to-try prototypes. Teams also get stuck when they rearrange the org chart on paper but leave disconnected data systems, duplicate platforms, and siloed budgets completely untouched. Would you like more details on change management strategies, or should we look at how to tackle shared technology and data next? -
Elliot Felix: Yeah, I think it'd be good to talk more about the technology side of things. How can folks curb technology sprawl so they're not just constantly adding more and more technology, which creates confusion and complexity and unsustainable costs without necessarily helping students? How can they use technology to drive student success?
Ask Elliot AI: That is a good question, Elliot. Curbing digital sprawl begins with conducting a thorough technology audit. Simply cataloging every platform your campus uses on sticky notes often reveals staggering redundancies, like having 65 percent of advisors toggling between multiple disconnected systems. Instead of adding new apps, institutions need to consolidate into integrated platforms. For instance, the University of the Pacific slashed their systems from 29 down to five, cutting their software budget by 45 percent. From there, driving student success requires combining high tech with high touch, using platforms to deliver proactive alerts or AI tutoring, which frees up advisors and faculty to have the meaningful human-centered conversations that actually drive retention. Did that answer your question about technology, or would you like to explore examples of centralized student portals next?
Elliot Felix: What are some of the most promising areas in technology to enable student success while curbing the technology sprawl?
Ask Elliot AI: I like that question. One of the most promising areas is centralized student portal platforms like the Next Generation portal at Montgomery County Community College, which unifies coursework, financial aid, and peer communities into a single interface to eliminate system fragmentation. Another high impact area is targeted artificial intelligence tutoring and writing feedback, such as Cal Poly Pomona's use of Packback to teach critical source analysis, which provides instant personalized support within the learning management system without adding standalone apps. Finally, experiential learning platforms like Riipen are bridging curriculum with career paths at scale, replacing ad hoc department spreadsheets with one connected database for projects and alumni mentoring. Would you like more details on one of these specific technologies, or should we move on to space and facility planning? -
Elliot Felix: Before we go to space and facilities, I'd love to talk a little bit more about staff and support services. How can staff and faculty use these new technologies and engage with students in new ways without creating burnout? How can they do this in a sustainable way with a more collaborative culture?
Ask Elliot AI: Yes, a lot of people in our industry are wondering the same thing. To prevent what the research calls a 70 percent innovation burnout tax, leaders must explicitly subtract legacy tasks and administrative friction whenever they introduce new technology or expectations. Automating routine grading, scheduling, and basic inquiries, like using tools that save faculty five to 12 hours a week, gives educators the breathing room to focus on high-touch mentorship without working overtime. Building a sustainable culture also means pairing instructional designers and technology trainers directly with departments, creating shared service networks so faculty do not feel isolated while redesigning courses. Does that provide a clear picture on preventing burnout, or would you like more details on workload redesign?
Elliot Felix: I'd like to learn a little bit more about the teamwork and the collaboration aspect. Can you talk a little bit about how institutions can build communities of practice across different functions?
Ask Elliot AI: Building effective communities of practice starts by uniting staff around a shared student challenge or journey map rather than reporting hierarchies, creating regular cross-functional forums to share workflows and templates. A great example of this in action is Purdue University's Communicators Council, which connected diffuse marketing and communication staff across colleges to share best practices, standardized messaging, and dramatically amplify their institutional reach without creating a massive new central bureaucracy. Co-designing services like bringing advisors, writing tutors, and financial aid counselors into joint problem-solving sessions fosters mutual trust and naturally transforms isolated departmental champions into an active network of collaborators. Would you like more details on how to launch a community of practice, or are you ready to explore space and facilities? -
Elliot Felix: Yeah, let's move into space and facilities. What role do they play in student success, and how can institutions best leverage them?
Ask Elliot AI: That is a good question, Elliot. Campus facilities are far more than physical containers. They are powerful tools that foster belonging, integrate support services, and enable experiential learning, with two-thirds of applicants citing facilities as a major factor in their college choice. When institutions consolidate scattered services into visible co-located hubs, they eliminate the runaround for students, and studies show that one-stop centers are associated with a three percentage point increase in retention. To leverage physical assets, institutions should also elevate affinity and identity spaces, such as Emory University's Identity Spaces project, while adopting a grow in place and online mindset that makes better, more sustainable use of the square footage they already have. Did that answer your question about facilities, or would you like to explore specific examples of student hub designs?
Elliot Felix: I'd like to hear more about classroom design. How can the configuration of learning spaces enable student success?
Ask Elliot AI: Classroom configurations that shift from traditional tiered lecture rows to flexible active learning layouts have been shown by a National Academy of Sciences meta-analysis to cut course failure rates in half. These active learning classrooms feature round group tables, writable walls, distributed screens, and movable furniture, expanding footprint allocation from roughly 15 square feet per seat up to 25 to 40 square feet to foster collaboration. Institutions like the University of Minnesota with Bruininks Hall and Carnegie Mellon University have used the Learning Space Rating System to systematically assess and renovate their classrooms to support interactive project-based teaching. Would you like more details on how the Learning Space Rating System works, or do you have another question? -
Elliot Felix: My final question is about how colleges and universities can better connect with companies and nonprofits in their communities to help students succeed.
Ask Elliot AI: Yes, a lot of people in our industry are wondering the same thing. Moving beyond one-off transactional job postings, institutions should establish a unified front door for external partners, much like the University of Minnesota's Corporate Engagement Center, to streamline curriculum advisory, research, and recruiting into one seamless relationship. Colleges can also co-design learning directly with regional employers. For example, San Francisco Bay University partnered with 47 local organizations to shape essential general education competencies, while George Washington University hosts industry roundtables that connect students and employers on emerging trends. Embedding paid credit-bearing community projects into the core coursework ensures students gain social capital, build professional networks, and step directly into high-impact careers upon graduation. Did that fully cover what you were hoping to learn for your final question?
Elliot Felix: I'd like to talk a little bit more about the experiential learning aspect of that. How can students work on class projects for companies?
Ask Elliot AI: Let me see if I understand what you are asking. You want to know how institutions can systematically integrate real-world company projects directly into the classroom. While 81 percent of students want company-led projects and only 30 percent of faculty currently offer them, institutions are bridging this gap using work-integrated platforms like Riipen and Arizona State University's Work Integrated Learning Accelerator to scale project matchmaking. In these setups, faculty replace hypothetical textbook case studies with real partner challenges, structuring semester-long milestones where students deliver actionable solutions, build portfolios, and earn direct employer mentorship. Innovation hubs like the University of Rochester's iZone also support this by training multidisciplinary student teams in design thinking so they can tackle company and community projects with confidence.
Elliot Felix: Thanks for listening to the Connected College podcast. Go to Elliotfelix.com for more information about my book, the Connected College articles I've written and talks I've given. There's also tools you can download information on upcoming events and information on booking me to speak at your institution or organization. Please support the podcast by rating it and reviewing it wherever you're listening. Let's create connected colleges where all students succeed.