As learner expectations, workforce demands and demographics continue to evolve, higher education must embrace greater flexibility to support lifelong learning across every stage of a learner’s journey. Expanding flexible pathways and creating opportunities for continuous skill development will help institutions remain relevant, meet changing learner needs and strengthen their long-term impact. In this interview, Julia Denholm discusses how flexibility and lifelong learning can help universities meet evolving learner expectations while strengthening career pathways and long-term institutional sustainability.
The EvoLLLution (Evo): Is lifelong learning becoming the defining strategy for the future of higher ed? If so, what does that mean for universities?
Julia Denholm (JD): I wouldn’t say lifelong learning will become the defining strategy for universities because higher education will always have core responsibilities—undergraduate education, graduate education and research. Those aren’t going away. What I do think is changing is the university’s role. It needs to expand to support learning across a much longer span of people’s lives. That’s already happening as more people return for graduate school or professional learning later in life.
The bigger shift is in how education is delivered. Traditional models built around weekday, campus-based classes don’t meet the needs of many adult learners. As universities serve a broader and older demographic, they’ll need more flexible delivery models. So, it’s less about redefining the university and more about expanding how it fulfills its educational mission.
Evo: How are workforce disruption, AI and demographic change reshaping what learners expect from higher ed?
JD: Universities have always balanced education for the public good with preparing people for careers, and both matter, but we also have to recognize that students increasingly see higher education as a pathway to employment, and that’s a reasonable expectation. Faculty may resist framing education that way, but students are looking for careers that provide stability and opportunity.
We ignore that at our peril. Some disciplines, particularly the humanities, need to do a better job of showing learners how the skills they develop—critical thinking, communication, analysis—translate into meaningful work. As learners move into graduate education and beyond, their expectations shift even further toward professional development, career mobility and flexibility. Universities need to meet those expectations while continuing to deliver the broader educational experience that has always been central to their mission.
Evo: How should universities balance the value of the degree with growing demand for flexible, stackable learning?
JD: The undergraduate degree isn’t going away. It still represents a breadth of knowledge, intellectual development and a level of personal maturity that employers value. That said, I do think we need to be more flexible. Students should have more opportunities to move in and out of degree programs, accelerate their studies or complete them in stages. We’re also seeing shorter credentials gain credibility with employers, which is encouraging.
Beyond the undergraduate degree, though, learners want to be able to return throughout their careers to pick up new skills as technology and industries evolve. Universities haven’t been especially good at responding to that need. Continuing education units are often in a better position, but they need institutional support to develop timely, high-quality programs and credentials that are meaningful to both learners and employers.
Evo: What organizational and cultural shifts are required for the concept of lifelong learning to become more of an institution-wide strategy?
JD: One of the biggest challenges, particularly in Canada, is that universities are highly unionized. As soon as we start talking about short, just-in-time programming, questions arise around workload, compensation and collective agreements. Those are legitimate concerns, but they also make it difficult to expand lifelong learning across the institution.
To make it work, universities need more flexible approaches—either through collective agreements that recognize this kind of teaching or by creating better pathways for faculty to participate through contract-based or alternative models. Not every faculty member will want to do this, but those who do should have the opportunity.
Evo: What will distinguish those who establish successful relationships with learners versus those who are struggling to adapt?
JD: Institutions that don’t adapt are going to struggle and, in some cases, may not survive. We’re already seeing that in British Columbia, where some institutions are facing serious enrollment and sustainability challenges. The universities that succeed will understand where the market is heading. They’ll recognize that they need to reach beyond the traditional undergraduate population, rethink how they promote themselves and offer programming that appeals to learners throughout their lives.
As demographics shift, relying solely on 18- to 22-year-olds isn’t a sustainable strategy. Institutions that embrace lifelong learning and respond to changing learner needs will continue to grow. Those that don’t risk finding themselves with too few students to remain viable.
Evo: Is there anything you’d like to add?
JD: One area I’m especially passionate about is microcredentials and transferability. Canada has an incredibly strong public postsecondary system, but we need to do a much better job of supporting student mobility.
Even in British Columbia, where we have one of the best transfer systems in the country, learners still face unnecessary barriers when trying to obtain recognition for microcredentials across institutions. We already trust each other’s degree programs, so we should extend that same confidence to high-quality microcredentials.
More broadly, we need to encourage greater collaboration across institutions and provinces. There are many different ways to achieve the same learning outcomes, and we need to focus more on what students know and can do than on where they learned it. If we embrace that mindset, we’ll create a more flexible, accessible and connected lifelong learning system.