To remain relevant in today’s higher education landscape, colleges and universities must serve more students they have previously overlooked.
Consider the data. The number of graduates from American high schools is projected to peak at 3.9 million in 2025—less than a year from now—then begin a slow and steady slide downward for the next decade. Even before this decline, the percentage of students heading straight from high school to college has fallen to 62%—the lowest level in more than two decades.
Meanwhile, the population of adult learners continues to grow. Nearly 37 million adults of working age attended college but left before earning a degree. An estimated 70 million adults—about half of the American workforce—have in-demand skills and experience but lack a bachelor’s degree or other credential that would help them get hired or promoted into higher-paying jobs.
Most institutions aren’t set up to serve adult learners or the employers that might hire them. A third of today’s college students are older than 25. Many are parents, caregivers and workers who juggle multiple responsibilities on and off campus. Although adult learners want to earn new credentials as quickly as possible, many of them enroll part time because full-time college demands too much of their time and money.
Institutions are also struggling to untangle two issues that represent two sides of the same coin. One is that they should emphasize degree programs—and steer the bulk of their students into degree pathways—because there’s a pervasive but mistaken belief that learners and employers prefer degrees. The other is that students who choose certificate, nondegree and other short-term credential programs won’t move into degree programs or stay with an institution over the long term.
Because the workforce is evolving so rapidly, higher education must be agile and aligned with a world that simultaneously embraces skills, alternative credentials and degree pathways. To meet the twin challenges of effectively supporting adult learners and producing the skilled talent in such high demand in the workplace, institutions must build value-rich education.
Value-rich education is about creating credential-rich, connection-rich and experience-rich opportunities that support learners throughout their lives. It’s about building pathways and creating value-added and industry-relevant opportunities that support their needs. It’s about helping them gain practical skills and earning industry-aligned credentials while minimizing the expense and their time.
Alternative credentials, like certificates, badges, microcredentials and other nondegree options, should signal the skills, competencies and certifications an individual possesses. They should occupy a more central space within an institution. They should be aligned with both employer needs and what professions demand. They should be innovative and responsive to changing workforce needs. In short, these credential programs should hold value for both learners and employers. They should then stack toward credit to help students progress from smaller credentials to larger ones, ideally building toward a degree.
While there are many ways we can work to increase college access and reduce costs, one key step is to award credit for prior learning. Institutions must recognize that adult learners enter college at various points in their college and career journeys. They might be seeking an advanced degree, their first degree or a short-term credential that will help them find a job. They also come to college with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, including prior college degrees, industry credentials, military experience and work experience. By awarding credit for knowledge and skills acquired inside and outside a traditional college classroom, institutions can honor students and the roads they have traveled, while ensuring they have gained the competencies and skills needed to earn a degree (or next credential). Meeting students where they are on their journey can shorten the time to completion and reduce the cost of education while preparing learners more quickly for new workforce opportunities.
Offering stackable credentials is another way institutions can increase access and give learners the exact program they need to land the job they want. Stackable credential pathways allow students to earn multiple credentials and apply them toward a more advanced credential or degree. Ideally, these stackable credential programs are aligned to industry standards, so students can sit for industry certification exams when they complete the program. Like credit for prior learning, stackable credentials are efficient and cost-effective. They also allow learners to take a pause from college when life happens, while putting their new credential to work. They can then return at any time to continue their education and work to advance from a career and educational perspective. A medical coding certificate could be the first step toward a bachelor’s degree in health care administration, and a certificate of online teaching could ultimately lead to a master’s degree in education. When institutions build stackable pathways, they give learners education and career momentum.
Finally, institutions should embed industry certificates where appropriate into their academic programs to help learners gain industry certification for the work they plan to do. Elements of each certificate can be added into a program, not as extra work but incorporated into fundamental work within existing courses and course assignments, allowing students to earn as they learn. National University, where we work, recently embedded the Google Project Management Certificate into its master’s degree programs in business administration and public administration. With students earning embedded industry certificates as they progress toward their degree, they have something tangible to show potential employers long before they finish the program. These credentials can support them in moving up or taking on a new role.
Credit for prior learning, stackable credentials and embedded industry certificates have value, not only for learners but for institutions as well. Skills-based hiring is gaining ground as a growing number of employers, including at least 20 states, have dropped degree requirements for certain roles and are seeking workers with the right set of skills and competencies. In other words, employers are more likely today to seek job candidates with certificates, certifications and other nondegree credentials that institutions should be offering. Degrees are not for everyone, and forcing learners immediately into a degree program might not be the right approach, especially for those who want to earn credentials quickly.
Moreover, research suggests that prospective students who inquire about certificate programs generally won’t register for degree programs if an institution doesn’t offer those short-term programs. Instead, learners will seek out the programs they want elsewhere. But if institutions can give students a foothold in a short-term program with enhanced value through credit for prior learning, stackable credentials and embedded industry certificates, we have found that a high percentage of learners will make the transition to degree programs.
Today’s adult learners no longer follow a linear path to and through higher education but instead weave in and out of work in different ways than past students. Institutions that want to support these learners and help build a workforce that industry demands should construct value-rich pathways with multiple on- and off-ramps and acceleration lanes that cut the time and cost of a credential. Learners who gain tangible benefits and opportunities along the entire route of their education journey will be encouraged to continue. Earning that credential—and potentially several more after that—holds tremendous value for both learners and employers.
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