In this episode of Higher Ed Hot Takes, host Joel Goodman teams up with his friend and higher ed insider Shane Baglini to tackle the pervasive yet often misguided hype surrounding AI in the academic sector. Joel and Shane explore how artificial intelligence has infiltrated higher education and discuss the pressure felt by practitioners who think they're falling behind. They critique the so-called AI thought leaders and the industry's tendency to chase hype over utility. With a focus on practical, grounded applications of large language models and a plea for critical thinking, this episode offers valuable insights while debunking some common myths about AI's role in higher ed.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:24 AI in Higher Education: A Grounded Perspective
01:55 The Hype and Reality of AI in Higher Ed
06:04 Practical Uses and Misuses of AI
08:03 AI's Role in Recruitment and Website Management
12:21 The Systemic Issues in Digital Marketing
14:59 Leveraging AI for Skill Expansion and Efficiency
19:00 Encouragement and Final Thoughts

Get in touch

• Find Joel on LinkedIn or Bluesky.
• Find Shane on LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening to Higher Ed Hot Takes—the counterculture higher ed marketing podcast!

In this episode, I dig into why starting with real people—not trends, competitor inspiration, or AI shortcuts—is the only way to create meaningful web experiences in higher ed. I share my frustration with how often our industry defaults to copying what others are doing or chasing the latest tech buzzword, instead of focusing on the actual needs of the people we serve. Drawing from nearly two decades of experience (and a few Top Chef analogies), I argue that relying on generic solutions or large language models only leads to mediocrity and disconnects us from our core purpose. For me, it’s a privilege to do creative work that makes a difference for real people. In this episode, I challenge you to reclaim that sense of privilege, put humanity back at the center of your work, and remember that the impact we make starts with genuine connection and service.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:26 The Importance of User Experience
01:45 Starting with Real People
03:14 The Problem with AI Hype
05:14 The Privilege of Creativity

Connect with Joel

Find me on LinkedIn or Bluesky.

Thanks for listening to Higher Ed Hot Takes—the counterculture higher ed marketing podcast.

For more honest takes on higher ed digital strategy, visit bravery.co.

Is efficiency always a good thing? In this episode of Higher Ed Hot Takes, Joel Goodman challenges the relentless pursuit of productivity in higher education and creative work. He argues that while efficiency tools and AI promise to save time, they often come at the expense of quality, originality, and the human touch. Joel explores why great work is inherently inefficient, how "doing more with less" leads to diminishing returns, and why craft and creativity require time and care. Tune in to hear why embracing a little inefficiency might be the key to standing out and producing truly great work in a world obsessed with shortcuts.

Connect with Joel

Find me on LinkedIn or Bluesky.

Thanks for listening to Higher Ed Hot Takes—the counterculture higher ed marketing podcast.

For more honest takes on higher ed digital strategy, visit bravery.co.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: Balancing Quality and Quantity
00:20 Efficiency in the Digital Age
01:00 The Dark Side of Efficiency
01:41 AI and the Illusion of Efficiency
03:56 The Value of Human Creativity

In this episode of Higher Ed Hot Takes, host Joel Goodman tackles the growing problem of “GenAI slop” flooding higher education marketing. Drawing on his experience as a web designer and marketer since 2009, Joel argues that higher ed marketing has always struggled with sameness and generic messaging-but the rise of generative AI tools like ChatGPT is accelerating the problem.

Joel explains how the rush to automate content creation and admissions processes with AI risks stripping away the authenticity and human connection that set institutions apart. He highlights the ethical and practical dangers of relying on large language models (LLMs) that don’t truly understand context, values, or brand nuance.

The episode offers real-world examples of generic, AI-generated content (“slop”) and emphasizes that, while AI can support research and data tasks, it shouldn’t replace skilled writers or frontline staff. Joel’s remedy: a return to craft, creativity, and human touch in higher ed marketing. He urges institutions to use AI as a tool-not a substitute-and warns that sacrificing authenticity for efficiency will only worsen higher ed’s trust deficit with prospective students.

Resources Mentioned

• Jeff Stevens reciting all of the taglines. YouTube

Connect with Joel

Find me on LinkedIn or Bluesky.

Thanks for listening to Higher Ed Hot Takes—the counterculture higher ed marketing podcast.

For more honest takes on higher ed digital strategy, visit bravery.co.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: The State of Higher Ed Marketing
00:46 The Rise of Generative AI in Higher Ed
01:35 The Limitations of Current AI Technology
02:46 Ethical Concerns and AI in Admissions
03:23 The Importance of Human Connection
04:00 The Risk of Losing Authenticity
05:06 Leveraging AI Without Losing Craft
05:47 Conclusion: Embracing Humanity in Higher Ed

In this episode of Higher Ed Hot Takes, Joel Goodman tackles the mounting pressures facing universities worldwide: declining enrollment, rising inflation, government hostility, and the resulting wave of job losses. Drawing from personal experience and industry data, Joel reveals how seemingly small decisions-especially around website performance-can have massive financial consequences for institutions.

Key Topics Covered

• The global higher ed crisis: job cuts, closures, and financial strain
• Personal reflection on surviving staff redundancies in higher ed
• How ego and poor spending decisions (like unnecessary tech upgrades and cosmetic projects) undermine student and staff needs
• The overlooked importance of website performance in university marketing and recruitment
• Bravery Media’s 2025 SpeedyU benchmarking data: alarming stats on slow higher ed websites across the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand
• The real-world cost: Google research shows 53% of mobile users leave if a site takes over 3 seconds to load-costing institutions millions in lost tuition and donations
• Common website performance killers:
  • Heavy homepage videos and improper video hosting
  • Excessive tracking pixels (e.g., Facebook) that slow down sites and hurt conversions
  • Outdated codebases (Bootstrap, jQuery, old CMS platforms)
• Why performance is non-negotiable for web marketing and enrollment success
• Actionable advice for universities:
  • Remove or properly optimize large videos
  • Minimize third-party trackers and pixels
  • Modernize code and CMS platforms
  • Leverage in-house developers for low-cost, high-impact fixes
• Bravery Media’s ongoing speed and accessibility testing (SpeedyU.com) and offers for deeper audits or custom checklists

Resources Mentioned

• Bravery Media’s SpeedyU benchmarking: speedyu.com
• Google mobile site speed study

Calls to Action

• Contact Joel Goodman or Bravery Media for a custom website performance audit or actionable checklist for your institution’s dev team.
• Visit SpeedyU.com to see how your institution’s website ranks.

Connect with Joel

Find me on LinkedIn or Bluesky.

Thanks for listening to Higher Ed Hot Takes—the counterculture higher ed marketing podcast.

For more honest takes on higher ed digital strategy, visit bravery.co.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Context
00:18 The Financial Strain on Higher Education
00:52 Misguided Spending Decisions
01:26 The Impact of Slow Websites
02:02 The Cost of Poor Website Performance
04:35 Common Website Issues and Fixes
06:15 Modernizing Your Website
06:54 Conclusion and Call to Action

Episode Summary

• I kick things off with a story from my early days in higher ed web, when personalization meant little more than mail merges and “Hi, [First Name]!” emails. The sector is still obsessed with personalization today—but most of us are still guessing what it should actually look like.

• We’ve thrown everything at the wall: custom landing pages, personalized videos, digital viewbooks that require students to do all the work. It’s exhausting, and honestly, most of it hasn’t moved the needle. Why? Because the infrastructure isn’t there. Most institutions can’t even reliably connect website traffic to CRM records.

• Ask around and you’ll hear dozens of definitions for personalization, most of which miss the point. Customizable homepages? No one’s coming back to your homepage. And why would they? We’re obsessed with flashy tech like drone videos, chatbots, and pop-up RFIs because we want to show off, not because it actually helps prospective students.

• Here’s the hard truth: good personalization is invisible. It should feel like magic, not like a neon sign screaming “Look what we did with your name!” If your personalization is obvious, it’s adding friction at best, and downright creepy at worst.

• Most of the tools being sold to higher ed are solving problems we don’t actually have or they’re creating new ones. AI chatbots, so-called “conversion optimization” platforms, search tools—they’re distractions, not solutions. Your audience doesn’t care about your tech stack. They care about getting what they need, quickly and easily.

• The real job is to curate a frictionless experience. That means anticipating needs and removing barriers, not layering on more tech for the sake of it. Results matter more than impressions or engagement. And results come from seamless, invisible guidance. Not from shouting about how “personalized” your website is.

• I challenge you to invest in real UX improvements instead of the latest SaaS snake oil. Most of these “AI-powered” tools are smoke and mirrors, designed to confuse and extract as much money as possible before the industry catches on.

• The higher ed sector is at a crossroads—financially and strategically. Now’s the time to be a critic, not a skeptic. Stay vigilant, focus on outcomes, and make every dollar, pound, or euro count.

Key Takeaways

• Personalization should be invisible and frictionless.
• Flashy tech rarely solves the real problems students face.
• Results are more valuable than engagement or impressions.
• Most “AI” tools in higher ed are more hype than help.
• Invest in user experience, not just the latest marketing fad.

Connect with Joel

Find me on LinkedIn or Bluesky.

Thanks for listening to Higher Ed Hot Takes—the counterculture higher ed marketing podcast.

For more honest takes on higher ed digital strategy, visit bravery.co.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: Personalization in Higher Ed
00:20 Early Days of Personalization
00:42 Current State of Personalization
01:11 Misconceptions and Challenges
01:46 The Right Approach to Personalization
02:03 The Role of AI and Technology
02:52 Audience-Centric Strategies
04:39 The Importance of Results
05:34 Industry Critique and Advice
06:41 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Thanks for being here.

Show Resources

• The Generative AI Con, Ed Zitron
• OpenAI Projections Imply Losses Tripling to $14 Billion in 2026, Cory Weinberg at The Information
• Microsoft Dropped Some AI Data Center Leases, TD Cowen Says, Bloomberg