Editor’s note: This article is adapted from a conversation with Evan Cortens on the Illumination Podcast. To hear the full discussion, listen to the episode here.
In the shifting landscape of higher education, continuing education (CE) leaders are facing a unique challenge: how to define and deliver value in an increasingly competitive, cost-conscious, and student-centric market. The solution lies in recalibrating traditional mindsets and strategies to build educational experiences that are agile, community-rooted and outcomes-driven.
From Prescriptive to Responsive: Redefining Relevance
The days when institutions could dictate the terms of learning are long gone. Today’s CE units must listen—really listen—to the needs of learners and the communities they serve. Programs must be developed not from a position of assumption but through deep engagement with employers, local economies and students themselves.
This responsiveness goes beyond offering the "right" programs. It’s about delivering educational experiences that are timely, relevant and high-quality. While online platforms from global tech companies may offer free or low-cost training, higher education institutions hold a distinct advantage: community trust, deep-rooted reputation and the ability to connect learning to local and regional labor markets in a way no algorithm can replicate.
Value Beyond Tuition: The Economics of Purpose
Affordability remains a central concern—particularly in CE, where learners often pay out of pocket and lack access to traditional financial aid. Value, therefore, is not just about return on investment; it’s about return on experience.
For CE leaders, managing costs doesn’t mean cutting corners. It means architecting programs that deliver maximum impact while remaining accessible. Strategic partnerships, modular program designs and resource-sharing across units are all ways to keep offerings financially sustainable without diluting quality.
Financial Models That Shape Strategic Vision
The financial DNA of CE—cost recovery or revenue-generating—has profound implications for programming. It pushes leaders to think entrepreneurially, aligning program portfolios with both market needs and institutional capabilities. But this model also demands a careful balancing act: some high-demand programs may cross-subsidize more niche offerings that serve specific community needs.
Importantly, financial sustainability must be considered from day one of program design. Questions of pricing, demand and instructional resourcing aren't just operational—they’re strategic. The most successful CE units adopt a portfolio view, evaluating performance in aggregate rather than on a course-by-course basis.
The Service Layer: Where Engagement Begins
If CE is to compete in today’s crowded market, its student services must operate at the speed of modern life. That means offering omnichannel support—not just phone and email, but chat, text, and social media. It means being available when students are—often evenings and weekends, not 9-to-5.
And crucially, it means treating every student interaction as an opportunity to build trust. While CE professionals may resist the label of “customer service,” the truth is that learner engagement hinges on seamless, frictionless support that anticipates rather than reacts to student needs.
In an environment where a learner may register on a Friday for a course that begins Saturday morning, systems must be designed for agility. A missed login or unanswered question isn’t just a hiccup—it’s a lost opportunity, both for the student and the institution.
Designing for the New Normal
The traditional higher ed model—centered on two- and four-year degrees—no longer reflects the diversity of learner needs. CE units are the vanguard of this transformation. They serve adult learners, career changers, first-generation students and others for whom flexibility, relevance and speed matter more than campus life or collegiate tradition.
To serve this new majority, institutions must design experiences that mirror the best of both higher education and the consumer world: intuitive registration platforms, real-time responsiveness, transparent outcomes and personalized pathways.
The Road Ahead: Strategic Leadership in CE
To succeed in this new era, CE leaders must do more than manage programs. They must act as institutional intrapreneurs—building strategic alliances, championing innovation and pushing for policies that support sustainable, responsive growth.
They must also champion a broader vision of value—one that includes community impact, workforce development and lifelong learning. After all, the most enduring measure of value isn’t the number on a tuition receipt; it’s the transformation learners experience and the contributions they make to their families, industries and communities.
Higher education is evolving. CE is not on the periphery of that change—it is at the center. The question is not whether institutions can adapt. It’s whether they will seize the opportunity to lead.
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