When a student is offered the opportunity to pursue a program of study at a college or university, they are invited to be part of a community of learners and educators that carry out their work within the context of the deep-rooted traditions that imbue the institution. Regardless of the type of institution and the community it serves, ingrained cultural, social and business practices impact the institution’s identity, reputation and future growth. The ceremonies, rituals, celebrations and pedagogical methods that accompany our traditions are a representation of our institution’s mission and values, and they provide the foundation for the academic enterprise. Many of these practices are common among higher education institutions and are hallmarks of achievement while others can create barriers to access and impede innovation and transformation.
Institutional traditions should invite learners to be part of a shared history of success and a future that fosters excellence, opportunity and limitless growth. Nostalgia, inertia and long-standing norms can masquerade as tradition; it takes an honest look by stakeholders to recognize when this is the case and to overcome the obstacles to innovation by meeting the modern learner’s needs.
The Modern Learner’s Needs and Expectations
This past summer, the Office of Academic Success and retention moved under me, and I was asked to take a shot at our retention efforts. I am a firm believer that every student we invite to be part of our community should have equitable access to a Marywood University education, and we should make every effort to meet them where they are. We have always had strong retention, but with the enrollment cliff looming I wanted to better understand the broader retention landscape of higher education and the students who persist vs. the ones who don’t at both the undergraduate and graduate level. I wanted to better understand the characteristics of the modern learner and how we can attract and retain them.
What I found was that cost was one of the key considerations for both undergraduate and graduate students seeking a degree, and financial stress has a significant impact on persistence. Many students need to work to afford college, and in some cases work full-time.
According to a fall 2023 survey from Trellis Strategies, 68% of students worked while enrolled and 41% worked 40 hours or more a week. As a result, students have become savvy consumers, looking for the best programs that fit their schedule and budget. Online, hybrid and shorter paths to credentials all appeal to the modern learner, and institutions are offering alternatives like three-year bachelor’s degrees to meet demands.
Beyond financial considerations and time to completion, students are seeking programs, degrees and certificates that offer marketable skills that employers value. In a recent Forbes article, the futurist Bernard Marr shared his thoughts on the five most in-demand skills in 2025, and AI fluency was unsurprisingly a top priority. The four other in-demand skills are consistent with the habits of mind that have been the foundation of general education for the last 50 years but are now described through the lens of technology: digital transformation leadership, perpetual learning agility, strategic foresight and complex problem solving, and emotional intelligence.
For institutions to meet the modern learner’s needs, we must innovate in both delivery and content while being faithful to our mission. Leaders need to bring the community together to reflect on how the mission continues within the fabric of our programs and services. They need to manage change in a transparent and supportive way, as the loss of tradition can hit close to the nerve. Make it a priority to train and upskill your campus workforce; it is not only students that need in-demand skills but staff as well. Invite faculty, staff, students and alumni to be curious and engaged rather than threatened by transformation.
This past fall, Handshake reported that spring 2025 graduates were pessimistic about what lies ahead. Generative AI, the job market, student loans and the political climate all weigh heavily on the minds of soon-to-be graduates. These same concerns resonate with us as leaders as we reflect on the future of our institutions. We need to embrace what modern learners need by leaning into the changes ourselves and using our mission as the reference point.
Embracing New Traditions
This past July, my institution inaugurated its first lay president in its 109-year history. The community did not take this break from tradition lightly but with thoughtful deliberation, ultimately embracing it as a commitment to growth and the future of our institution. With the vision of President Lisa Lori, J.D., the community is building new partnerships with other institutions and industry, exploring new degree programs for the future workforce and expanding our international educational opportunities. We are challenging the traditional view of who and what we are for internal and external stakeholders, pushing our boundaries and being disruptive—in a good way. What we are doing today would never have been in the imagination of the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who started Marywood College to educate the anthracite coal miners’ daughters of Northeastern Pennsylvania years ago, but the spirit behind it would be intimately familiar. When our mission and core values are what guide our progress and initiatives, we can meet the modern learner’s needs where they are and build new traditions that foster community.
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