As tech takes over every sector and the global landscape continues to shift, universities must be proactive and partner with the business world.
Higher education is at a turning point in the United States. Everything from technological advancements to immigration policies to the coming of age of a new generation are changing the landscape for colleges and universities across the country.
A 2019 survey of admissions officers found that 52 percent had not met their institution’s enrollment goals prior to the July before the term in question. These troubling numbers may be due in part to population changes: As members of Generation Z enter university, the U.S. birth rate continues to drop, meaning Gen Z generally has smaller student populations than its Millennial predecessors.
$1.4 trillion: Total student loan debt in the U.S. in 2019
Cost is another factor: Americans carry an average $35,359 in student loan debt, up 26 percent from five years ago, and 81 percent of admissions directors believe their institution is losing potential applicants because of concerns about student debt.
But colleges and universities are also facing recruiting challenges born out of trends that go beyond the education industry—in a fast-paced, global world, success will continue to hinge on each institutions’ ability to adapt to new technologies and skills employers are looking for in their new hires.
“If universities are going to be successful, they need to respond to the needs of students and employers,” said Steven Bahls, president of Augustana College. “We need to have the infrastructure to change in a much more rapid way than colleges and universities are typically accustomed to changing.”
Many players in higher education are already well aware of this need to bring new education solutions to their students in the coming years. Programs and policies are popping up to address changing student populations, skill demands from employers, and new technology. Here are the four insights everyone should know about the evolving world of U.S. higher education.
1. Student demographics are shifting
As the U.S. grows increasingly diverse, Gen Z grows up, and adults return to school for retraining in the digital age, colleges and universities are serving a new generation of students.
This group, especially first-generation students, have less family knowledge to lean on when navigating higher education and employment, and so they rely more heavily on the services provided by their institutions. Many colleges have ad-on resources designed to help these students. But more effective, according to Robert Morris University President Mablene Krueger, is integrating it into the core of what the school does.
“Being inclusive of all kinds of students has to be part of the fabric of the institution for it to work,” she explained. The students seem to want the mindset most of all.
A 2019 report from the Chronicle of Higher Education found that “Gen Zers tend to want fewer comforts and more supports; they may be fine with simpler housing while benefiting from more flexible spaces that promote interaction with classmates and professors.” Fifty-seven percent of Gen Zers believe the primary goal of college should be to prepare students for a specific career, compared to only 43 percent of Millennials.
“Students today are not as interested in the amenities. They are serious about resources like career and professional development. They want pure education; they want to do their work. They want one-on-one attention.”
Elissa Tenny, president, School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)
New programs are cropping up across universities to fill these expectations. For example, a mentorship role between a student and someone in the working world. “An executive who works with them one-on-one to help develop those soft skills that are not necessarily in the curriculum or the career advising manual,” stated Dr. Donna Carroll, president of Dominican University. That gives them the polish and the confidence to feel comfortable applying to and securing jobs post-graduation, she added.
Joining the Gen Z contingency are older adults who are returning to campus to learn a new skill or industry to adapt to today’s tech-driven job market. Though the stereotypical college student may be fresh out of high school, 37 percent of college students are age 25 or older, according to the Lumina Foundation. For universities experiencing below-average enrollment, this is an important demographic to capture with targeted and proven skills training.
“If we’re not prepared to serve the adult student who has to retool their experience to continue to stay competitive, that’s a big challenge,” according to Dr. Nivine Megahed, president of National Louis University.
2. Global forces are affecting campuses
In an increasingly interconnected world, it’s more important than ever that students be exposed to a diverse range of ideas, perspectives, and cultures. And one of a college’s most important assets for creating a culturally diverse campus experience is its international student population. This group is also an economic boon—international students contributed $45 billion to the U.S. economy in 2018, and these students often pay full tuition prices.
“About 85 percent of our funds are tuition-driven, so not allowing foreign students to come would hurt our human capital,” said Dr. Mohammad Khan, president of East West University.
But international student enrollment in the U.S. is dropping. New international enrollments have fallen every year since 2016-17, a decline attributed to a variety of factors, including the tightening and increasingly uncertain nature of U.S. immigration policy, a declining availability of H1-B visas for international graduates, and educational competition from countries like Canada, Australia, and China.
Regardless of why these numbers are down, the decline is concerning for institutions that rely on international academics not just for filling their classrooms, but also for teaching them.
As a result, universities have been challenged with creating thriving, multicultural campuses while battling these systemic policy challenges. Making this happen is vital for a student’s workplace success, as employers demand soft skills like cultural competency, diversity sensitivity, and the ability to navigate global business relations.
“Most of us in higher education believe that this world is turning into a global community,” said Bahls, president of Augustana College. “We hear from businesses that the competencies that they need from students are diversity, equity, and inclusion. Part of that is the ability to understand and work with people from different cultures.”
Universities are finding creative ways to foster this cultural exchange, through study abroad funding, spring break trips, and multicultural campus events and academic departments. Even if students have no plans to leave their hometown or country, these experiences are proving formative.
“The international and diverse students from across this country are all living and working together and learning how to develop and exercise leadership in those contexts. That is going to be incredibly important in times ahead.”
Stephen D. Schutt, president, Lake Forest College
At Governors State University, President Dr. Elaine P. Maimon explained that they typically make overseas excursions part of the curriculum. “We do everything we can to give them some experience because it’s essential that they develop intercultural competence,” she said. For now, at least, no students are traveling overseas due to COVID-19.
3. Digital disruption is changing education
In the age of rapidly changing industry and an increased need for skills training, online and tech-augmented learning programs are on the rise. According to a 2019 report from Quality Matters, 84 percent of large universities, 60 percent of mid-sized schools, and 48 percent of small schools reported an increase in enrollment in their fully online courses.
Online learning, when done well, provides a number of advantages for both educational institutions and their students: They can be a more cost effective, flexible, and faster way to operate a class. This can be especially appealing to students who are worried about accumulating student debt, or who plan to pursue higher education while working full time or caring for children. And for administrators, it can be a way to boost enrollment numbers with a new category of students interested in alternative learning options.
Even traditional, in-person courses can benefit from the addition of new technology and online elements. Investments in new technology can help augment learning for in-demand STEM fields, from engineering to healthcare. Virtual and augmented reality provides hands-on problem solving that would otherwise be unfeasible, and teleconferencing tech can allow for guest lectures from experts around the world, without the added cost of a plane ride. Plus, by setting up a tech-oriented infrastructure now, universities can future-proof their learning offerings for new developments.
Digital disruption is making its way into most coursework as well, no matter the major. Computer science majors aren’t the only ones exploring AI—even English majors are seeking to learn about it.
“People are seeing they can do a lot more with AI,” said Dr. Matthew Turk, president of Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago (TTIC). Still, institutions shouldn’t just focus on teaching students everything they can about AI in the interest of advancing technology to the hilt—along with logistics, they should be teaching students to look at the repercussions. “We need to discuss ethical and legal issues of these technologies,” he added “For example, one cop looking at people is different than cameras everywhere looking at people all the time. We have a duty to consider the implications of what we’re building.”
Generation Z, having grown up with a digital device always within reach, are keenly aware that technology impacts every facet of their lives, explained Stephen D. Schutt, president of Lake Forest College. It’s no surprise that they see the benefit of balancing digital with real life. “Gen Z students are more focused on person to person communication than their millennial forebears,” he stated. “They’re all digital natives. But they’re aware of some of the risks of that more than maybe some older students are.”
“Prepare students by giving them foundational skills that will make them bulletproof critical thinkers. Don’t abandon your humanities. Make sure that students have an experience where they are engaging in history classes that teach them critical thinking and research. Then bring in data programs so that they know how to use data to give problems a voice.”
Zaldwaynaka Z. Scott, president, Chicago State University
The ultimate goal, then is that universities should continue to invest in the latest technology so students will be equipped to work with it once they graduate, while helping them figure out how to deal with it responsibly.
4. Corporate engagement is vital
For higher education institutions that are nervous about delivering the skills needed for their students to be successful, corporate partnerships are a vital tool. By fostering mutually beneficial relationships with local employers, universities can provide a pipeline of qualified internship and job candidates, while receiving feedback, or even funding, for their educational programming.
“We moved a film company from Chicago to Rock Island, Illinois, to partner with us in our media studies program,” said Bahls, president of Augustana College. “We provide the space for them, they provide teaching resources for us, including equipment. We’re trying to work with the business community, especially in competencies that are otherwise hard to gain.”
These programs are often a multi-way win, improving recruiting efforts for companies, programming for universities, and career opportunities for students. Industry partners can also be a great place to find instructors, making sure that students are trained by experts for the fields they intend to enter.
Bahl’s explained: “We have a category now for professional faculty, or faculty members coming from business. “We may excuse the requirement of a Ph.D. because they have so much valuable experience in business.”
Industry connections are especially vital for first-generation and low-income students, who may not have the kind of networking or industry know-how needed to land an internship or find a mentor on their own.
“We can’t just give our students good career advising,” explained Dr. Carroll from Dominican University. “We have to help them build those relationships with those initial employers.”
But to create a true partnership, the flow of information must go both ways. Universities are looking to business partners to provide feedback about the types of skills they need, now and in the future. In a business environment that’s rapidly changing, this dialogue is more important than ever.
“If you want us to design programming that will respond to your needs now and in the future, help us understand what those needs are,” said Schutt, from Lake Forest College, of his expectations for industry partners. “But secondly, don’t prematurely restrict what it is you think you’re looking for. Some of what we teach is necessarily general in nature. It is learning how to read critically, how to communicate well, how to develop the soft skills that people need to succeed and lead in the future. If a student is bringing those skills plus a range of experiences, in the long run that will be helpful to you and your company.”
