Ripple Effect," the Wharton School's faculty research podcast, explores what inspires experts' studies and how their findings resonate with the world today. The past month's episode series, "Back to School," explores the latest issues in higher education, including pay for student athletes, artificial intelligence, the overall value of college, and transitioning back to the school year after summer break.

Wharton's Kenneth Shropshire examines the question, "Can student athletes profit off of their own name, image, and likeness?" He discusses Supreme Court ruling in 2021 on name, image, and likeness, and its impact on college athletics in "What's the Right Compensation for Student Athletes."

"It's an appropriate change. It's an appropriate disruptive change to have dollars that are coming into the system to the labor that has produced it," says Shropshire. "Also in some sense, you're not giving these student athletes something new. It's something they really had the right to, that the NCAA had taken away this right to make money off of your name, image, and likeness …"

Christian Terwiesch, Wharton's Andrew M. Heller Professor of operations, information and decisions, reflects on how AI is changing education in "What Will AI in Education Look Like?"

"The distinction that matters is, unfortunately, the rich and the poor," says Terwiesch. "There are privileged universities and privileged private schools-Wharton being one of them. The question is all about, 'How can we take the students that we teach anyway and provide them with a better education?'"

In "Is College Worth It?", Wharton's Peter Cappelli breaks down the pros and cons of getting a degree. Cappelli, the George W. Taylor Professor of management, discusses when a college degree is and isn't worth the money.

"There is a difference between going to college and being a college graduate," says Cappelli. "One of the things you have to be clear-eyed about is, do I think my kid will actually graduate? If so, are they ready to go to college? And if so, how long do I think it will take? There are little calculators that will help you decide this, based on the experience of generations of prior kids. I'd say that's the first big thing to think about."

And in "Back to School: Transitioning from Summer Jobs," Judd Kessler explains how summer jobs can impact teenagers in the short- and long-term. Teens may underestimate the value of soft skills when looking for a job, but Kessler's research shows how these skills can help them succeed in the labor market.

"Even if you're working at a day camp and the job you want is in an office, you're learning the soft skills at the day camp that we think will translate to the office," says Kessler. "Having initiative, showing up on time, being a good communicator. These important skills, you can develop them and learn them and practice them no matter what job you're in."

For a full list of podcast episodes, visit the "Ripple Effect" website.