Why Faculty Are the Key to Higher Education Transparency: Insights from TrustED's Philadelphia Roundtable

TrustED's second roundtable session was held at University of Pennsylvania's College Hall on July 29, 2025.

Just two days ago, TrustED had the privilege of facilitating the second TrustED roundtable session at the University of Pennsylvania, bringing together some of the most thoughtful voices in higher education to tackle a question that, frankly, keeps transparency advocates up at night: How do we build genuine transparency that serves all stakeholders in the higher education ecosystem--not just students and institutions, but everyone?

What emerged from the gathering was something we hadn't fully anticipated. While we'd gathered to discuss transparency templates and verification systems, the most compelling insights centered on a truth that's been hiding in plain sight: faculty are the unsung heroes of higher education transparency.

Dr. Laura Perna, University of Pennsylvania’s Vice Provost for Faculty and a nationally recognized expert in college access and affordability, brought a perspective that immediately shifted our discussion. As someone who has spent her career examining how social structures and educational practices either promote or limit student success, she understands that transparency isn't just about publishing data—it's about creating systems that work for students from all backgrounds.

This insight cuts to the heart of why faculty involvement is so crucial to the higher ed. transparency cause. Unlike administrators focused on institutional positioning or technology companies optimizing for metrics–though without question administrators and industry are crucial for promoting our vision–faculty see transparency through the lens of student learning and success. They understand which information actually matters for educational outcomes and which details might overwhelm or mislead prospective students.

Dr. Sajay Samuel, Clinical Professor of Accounting at Penn State and Faculty Director of their MBA Program, pushed our group to think systemically about what he called the "four-person game" of higher education: students, universities, employers, and lenders. "A big goal of TrustED is to forge the relationships between stakeholders, to infuse trust into this four-person game,” he said.

His perspective as someone deeply involved in MBA admissions revealed how faculty naturally think about transparency differently. While administrators might focus on marketing metrics or compliance requirements, Dr. Samuel discussed transparency in terms of student-institution fit, academic preparedness, and long-term career outcomes. He noted that faculty are uniquely positioned to identify which transparency measures actually predict student success.

One of the most fascinating concepts to emerge from our roundtable was what TrustED is calling "student visibility"—the idea that meaningful transparency between students and other stakeholders must be bidirectional. Dr. Samuel's experiences with international student admissions highlighted how faculty desperately need better, verified information about prospective students.

"What matters to the admission committee in the limited way that I've interacted with it for the purpose of the MBA program at Smeal [College of Business at Penn State University] is to find students, A., who are academically competent to get it done, and B., who have the right kind of reasons for doing the MBA," he shared, explaining the faculty perspective on what transparency should accomplish.

The current admissions process, he explained, often leaves faculty second-guessing application materials, calling institutions abroad to verify credentials, and struggling to assess whether students are genuinely prepared for their programs. Faculty want transparency not only of institutional data, but about student backgrounds, motivations, and preparedness levels.

This insight reveals something crucial: faculty aren't just passive recipients of transparency initiatives. They're active stakeholders who understand better than anyone what kinds of information exchanges would improve educational outcomes for everyone involved.

"We shouldn't be limited by third-party data, because whatever data we cannot gather from third-party sources, the university should nevertheless be publishing that data."

The roundtable centered on a comprehensive transparency template developed by TrustED. This template goes far beyond basic cost calculators and includes program-level details, international student fees, housing costs, and verification mechanisms. As we discussed implementation, it became clear that faculty participation would determine whether such initiatives succeed or fail.

Faculty serve as the bridge between institutional promises and student realities. Deans, professors, and lecturers are the ones who see, on the ground, whether transparency initiatives actually help students make better decisions or just create more bureaucratic noise. They understand which data points correlate with student success and which are just institutional marketing.

Dr. Samuel's insight during our discussion was particularly striking: When we mentioned potential restrictions on third-party data–in particular, government-published data, Dr. Samuel boldly replied: "We shouldn't be limited by third-party data, because whatever data we cannot gather from third-party sources, the university should nevertheless be publishing that data." There’s nothing more powerful than a professor and program director from a major U.S. institution like Penn State empowering institutions themselves to drive transparency for the sake of its students and regardless of how outside forces may limit “verifiability” of critical data. 

Some of the most critical learnings from the session include: 

• Transparency initiatives fail when they're imposed from the outside without faculty engagement. They succeed when faculty see them as tools for better teaching, advising, and student support.

• Information alone isn't enough—context, presentation, and cultural framing matter enormously, and faculty can provide that context. They're the ones who can help students understand not just what programs cost or what employment outcomes look like, but what those numbers mean for individual educational journeys.

• Faculty don't just consume transparency data—they help create it. Their insights about student preparedness, program effectiveness, and employment readiness are essential components of any meaningful transparency system.

What was perhaps most exciting about the Philadelphia conversation is how it enacted the belief that transparency is fundamentally about trust-building, not mere information spewing. And faculty are most positioned to build that trust.

Students trust faculty in ways they don't trust administrators or external platforms. When faculty support transparency initiatives like TrustED, students see them as educational tools rather than marketing gimmicks. When faculty help design transparency systems, those systems reflect actual educational needs rather than institutional convenience. And the faculty perspective—grounded in academic rigor and systematic thinking—offers a roadmap for building transparency systems that actually work. Instead of creating more data dumps, faculty can help identify the specific information exchanges that matter most for student and institutional outcomes.

As we continue building transparency systems that serve all higher education

stakeholders, faculty engagement isn't optional—it's fundamental. Faculty understand better than anyone what kinds of information actually help students succeed. They provide the educational context that transforms raw data into meaningful guidance. And they have the student trust necessary to make transparency initiatives credible.

The question isn't whether we need more transparency in higher education—this has been well-established. The question is whether we'll build that transparency with faculty as partners or try to impose it despite their concerns. Our Philadelphia roundtable convinced us that faculty leadership isn't just helpful for transparency initiatives—it's the difference between creating systems that truly serve students and ones that just satisfy compliance requirements.

The future of higher education transparency directly relies on the wisdom, experience, and student-centered perspective that faculty bring to every educational challenge. TrustED's incredible board of TrustED advisors and roundtable participants, including Dr. Cecilia Orphan, Dr. Chell Roberts, and Dr. G.B. Singh are driving transparency in real time.

It's time we recognize them and all faculty as the transparency catalysts they've always been.