When I attended my nephew’s high school graduation party and ceremony this past May, there was a change in the usual question that one might hear at these celebrations. I was used to hearing the question, “Where is ______ going to college?” This year, the question was more general: “What is _______ doing after high school?” The answers were wide and varied. College was not the go-to reply or the expectation, as it had been at so many similar events of the past. This experience took me down a rabbit hole of thoughts and important questions.
Not only was I thinking about my nephew’s upcoming journey, but I began to reflect on my own experience compared to my son’s current college experience. He will be a senior in the fall. When I started college, every class was in person, living in the dorms was expected and involvement was key. While many still experience this well-known tradition, many students today do not want it spelled out for them in this manner. Fast forward 30 years to my son’s experience. While he wants an education and always planned to go to college, he had no desire to live in the dorms, he takes all his classes online (as a main campus student) and his involvement is limited to two key activities that he believes will help his future most—as a student employee and as a volunteer manager for a sports team. The pandemic hit during his early high school years, and his bedroom became his sanctuary. He is on campus each day to work and volunteer, but his formal education is all online behind a screen. He found a workaround for his style, but so many students don’t find that fit and leave college without a degree or the skills needed for success.
Is traditional higher education serving all learners? As a former chief enrollment officer, I can confidently say higher education is serving many learners and serving many of them very well, but is it serving all learners? No. While this has always been the case, and some students figure it out and tweak the system on their own, others are not sure how to accommodate this reality. In today’s rapidly changing world and workforce, we must embrace change. Higher education’s current model is one that serves as an amazing rite of passage for millions of recent high school graduates. This model, however, is not one that meets the needs of working adults and underemployed workers, nor those of the high school graduates seeking opportunities outside the traditional college or university structure.
To remain relevant and continue to thrive, higher education institutions must evolve and fully serve learners of all ages while offering the opportunity for reskilling and upskilling. Without moving in this direction, colleges and universities will feel great pain from the impending demographic cliff as well as the missed opportunity to educate a greater portion of the population. According to the US Census Bureau, only 27% of adults in the United States hold a bachelor’s degree. Georgetown University’s Center on Education and Workforce reports that 42% of jobs will require at least a bachelor’s degree by 2031. Clearly, transformation must occur to ensure colleges and universities can drive economic resilience in this ever-changing world.
Even for students who have earned a degree, continued reskilling will be absolutely necessary. The World Economic Forum tells us that 44% of workers’ core skills are expected to change within the next five years, and McKinsey Global Institute shares that up to 60% of jobs will be impacted by automation in some way by 2030. Moreover, Gallup and Lumina report that 47% of employers now view alternative credentials as equal to or even more valuable than a college degree. Institutions of higher learning must evolve to meet students’ needs today and into the future, and this transformation must be both built into curricula and offered in short-term bundles.
My career at the university level was spent happily leading enrollment teams to increase access and support student success for every qualified student. It was joyous, and we thrived in our work due to the impact we believed we were able to make on our community and each student we educated. As I begin a new role at ACT to support higher education, I reflected fondly on my time as a university enrollment leader, but my mind has continued to return to the words “qualified student.” What makes a qualified student? That definition may be slightly different for every institution, of course, but isn’t there more than can be done to leverage the talents of all students in all fields?
As I have leaned into my new organization, I have learned about a powerful tool that may help higher ed institutions transform and drive economic resilience. ACT’s WorkKeys assessment is used by over 20,000 employers and integrated into workforce programs across dozens of states. WorkKeys helps learners validate critical workplace skills, from applied math to graphic literacy, and earn the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate. This assessment credential can be utilized as a student completes their high school and/or college career. WorkKeys also can help adults transition between careers and give employers confidence in hiring. WorkKeys may be a path for more higher ed institutions to do more for all students of all ages and types, to drive economic development and help ensure greater job placement and career development.
It is a changing time in the world of education. The options are out there, but will colleges and universities embrace them and evolve? It is a must for continued relevance and success for institutions and learners alike. Learning, including upskilling and reskilling should not be bound by age or stage of life. If we want economic resilience, we must ensure continued education is lifelong and obtainable for all.
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