The higher ed market is evolving from the traditional continuing education model and that means the continuing ed student is changing too. What are these new and niche needs that these learners have and how can institutions adapt to serve this new demographic in the market? Amrit Ahluwalia and Sheila LeBlanc discuss the changing higher ed environment, consumer tendencies and trends and thinking about strategy when it comes to serving the new continuing ed student.
Demand is evolving
By 2030, about 65% of the workforce will be made up of GenZ and Millennials. This is critical information when it comes to continuing education division as their mission is to serve the adult learner population. We need to know who these adults are and what they need. In today’s society, we’re seeing levels of unemployment that we haven’t seen before. With high unemployment rates, people are looking to higher education as the answer.
Consumer tendencies and trends
Students are customers and if we’re delivering on that student expectation, it’s critical to know what it takes to serve customers. If you think of “the customer is always right” it’s really about treating the customer with empathy and respect. That’s the foundation of student centricity. As we shift to a customer service mentality, we need to rethink how education is being delivered and for whom.
Serving the mid-career professional
So who is the learner coming in the door? It’s a new generation—not based on age, but rather the generation that in their lifelong learning journey, they have similar needs. And institutions need to find out what those niche needs are. As the lifelong learning model reshaped the way we think about the institution’s role, we’re shifting from a single point of entry to looking at how the institution can become an active part of the learner’s life.
Watch the full webinar below to find out how you can adjust to meet the needs of the new CE student.
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