Today’s high school graduates are increasingly asking whether higher education is worth it, and that’s pushing colleges to rethink the value they bring to students.
This was a key theme I heard at last week’s SXSW EDU conference, where several panels addressed what the current generation of students wants and how universities can respond. It was also a top priority issue for me going into the conference. As a graduate student in Stanford University’s Department of Public Policy and Education, I have been examining the intersection between higher education and the world of work for the past two years.
A survey presented by ECMC Group during a session on “Is college worth it? Regrouping of higher education” noted that today’s students are very focused on the tangible, specifically, maximizing future career outcomes and earning potential and developing enduring technical skill sets. The survey found that 81 percent of students want skills that they will use in the world of work after college. What they are not interested in, however, is paying the ever-increasing price of tuition only to graduate without a job that can pay those debts.
As a sign of how many students care about the return on a college investment, about half of the Gen Zers surveyed believe they can succeed through alternative paths, said Laura Graf, a senior director at ECMC Group. She and other panelists discussed the need to think more deeply about how universities are defining the purpose and value of higher education, especially in the context of the latest generation of students.
A lot of people had ideas about how universities can respond.
Jessica Hinkle, senior vice president of Strada Education Network, said infusing work-based learning into post-secondary education programs, along with comprehensive career preparation supports, can be an effective strategy to meet the growing needs of this new generation of students. . .
These work-based learning opportunities, like “micro-internships,” are already being implemented at institutions like the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Launched in 2022, the university micropractices and mentoring program matches students with paid positions at local organizations for a couple of weeks.
By structuring the program as paid micro-internships, UNL recognizes that many students, especially those from historically underserved backgrounds, may be working other part-time jobs while in college. These students do not have the financial resources or time to pursue a full-time internship. And without internship experience, these students lack resume-building opportunities to develop professionally and jump-start their careers. The micro internship program helps fill that experiential gap, with the goal of improving career outcomes and socioeconomic mobility for underserved students after graduation.
While the program is currently only open to first-generation students and students of color, UNL hopes to eventually expand the effort to give all students the opportunity to develop lasting career skills and build social capital.
Another way that universities are responding to this demand for workplace skills is by building stronger relationships with employers.
Talking on a panel around valuable credentials in higher educationCharisma Edwards, Microsoft technology strategist, noted the importance of creating mutually aligned partnerships between universities and employers, ensuring students have access to the latest career-oriented training. To create those partnerships, Edwards suggests that universities and companies serve on each other’s advisory boards, forming the infrastructure for sustained communication and feedback loops.
Ultimately, incorporating more skills-based learning into college and university offerings will require more transparency around student career outcomes, greater alignment between colleges and industry, and, of course, feedback and support from the higher education community.
“The student is changing,” says Courtney Strayer, a member of the professional services team at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Maybe it’s time for higher education to change along with them.
