Online: Trending Now

Unique biweekly insights and news review
from Ray Schroeder, Senior Fellow at UPCEA

Higher Ed’s Future at the Intersection of Learners and Employers

The future of higher education is bridging the gap between the expectations of learners and the needs of employers. 

Fewer students started or returned to college last fall — numbers were down half a million below 2019. In understanding those numbers, we should remember that enrollments have dropped each of the past 10 years. Prospective students have been balancing the prospect of launching a career or at least a full-time salary or putting that aside for college benefits such as greater long-term income, campus social life, maturing and finding the right career. It is, as Michael B. Horn and Bob Moesta suggest, “A Not-so-Tidy Narrative.” Nevertheless, as Horn and Moesta point out, “According to the University of California, Los Angeles’s annual survey of freshmen entering four-year colleges and universities, roughly 85 percent say they are going so they can get a job. That is up from roughly two-thirds in the 1970s, although down slightly from its peak in 2012.”

And it is not just freshmen, as nearly 90 percent of those returning to college are seeking to enhance their career prospects and earning power.

While these numbers are not unanimous, they show the vast majority of students are seeking our services to move ahead in their professional lives. The expectation of nine out of 10 of the students in our classes — in return for $100,000, more or less, and going into long-term debt — is to advance and enhance their careers. This is a high-stakes investment for our students.

Employers, on the other side of the college experience, are expecting graduates to be able to hit the road running. “Almost half (43 percent) of employers do not provide on-the-job training. Instead, these employers expect for these graduates to know everything.” Hiring a new employee is also a high-stakes investment in orientation, benefits and socialization of their new staff.

Right in the middle of these two highly invested groups are the colleges and universities. We are adapting to new economic, social and technological environments. In order to meet the desires of our learners and their soon-to-be employers, we need to thoroughly understand the changing environment and constantly adjust our curriculum and learning outcomes to match the needs.

An important driver of change in our society today is the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). This revolution “is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.” And the impact is fueled by technologies such as artificial intelligence that are changing the workforce. No longer are the effects of AI limited to blue-collar jobs, but increasingly the careers of middle managers, accountants and engineers are impacted. Richard and Daniel Susskind, in Harvard Business Reviewproject the market for physicians and attorneys will be impacted. These impending changes must be included in our calculus as we develop our curricula to best serve both learners and employers.

We are at the critical pivot point for learners to form career aspirations that are realistic and founded in factual projections. We have a responsibility to make certain that learners understand the market projections from the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics and other credible sources so that they can make informed decisions about their future career paths.

At that pivot point between learners and employers, we are well served by bringing the two groups together to build understanding and connections. An effective strategy can be to create a panel of top industry and HR leaders who will not only provide input into our curriculum decisions, but also provide occasional forums in which students can probe the preferred credentials, competencies and qualities that are in high demand in their field.

As institutions, we need to closely track the changing aspirations of our entering students as well as the realities and forecasts of employers. This is not a once-every-year-or-two event. Rather, it is an ongoing process of knowing our students before they arrive while monitoring the industries and enterprises for which we are preparing the students. It is irresponsible to prepare students for jobs of the past — ones that are fading and disappearing in the rearview mirror of technologies and trends.

Prior to graduation or certificate completion, we also have a responsibility to prepare our learners with tools and networks to track and forecast the future changing environment of their career field. The advent of smart technologies and evolving nature of demand for products and services combine to make for rapid shifts in the need for expertise and specializations. Our graduates must be able to track these changes for the sake of their own employment and advancement security.

Is your college or university making the close connections with both students and employers that will best serve their needs? Are you partners with both groups in building a success and fulfilling future?

 

This article was originally published on Inside Higher Ed’s Transforming Teaching + Learning blog.

A man (Ray Schroeder) is dressed in a suit with a blue tie and wearing glasses.

Ray Schroeder is Professor Emeritus, Associate Vice Chancellor for Online Learning at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) and Senior Fellow at UPCEA. Each year, Ray publishes and presents nationally on emerging topics in online and technology-enhanced learning. Ray’s social media publications daily reach more than 12,000 professionals. He is the inaugural recipient of the A. Frank Mayadas Online Leadership Award, recipient of the University of Illinois Distinguished Service Award, the United States Distance Learning Association Hall of Fame Award, and the American Journal of Distance Education/University of Wisconsin Wedemeyer Excellence in Distance Education Award 2016.

Other UPCEA Updates + Blogs

New report from UPCEA – 2024 Staffing & Structure Survey Results

Amid growing demand for flexible and career-oriented education, online and Professional and Continuing Education (PCE) units are at the forefront of institutional innovation and revenue sustainability. Whether through degree programs, microcredentials, corporate training, or other non-credit offerings, these units play a critical role in expanding access to education and meeting the evolving needs of learners…

Read More

Which OPM Contract Terms Should Concern Campus Leaders and Why?

UPCEA is pleased to announce the release of a new brief, “Which OPM Contract Terms Should Concern Campus Leaders and Why?,” authored by Jeffrey C. Sun, J.D., Ph.D. and Heather A. Turner, Ph.D., and published jointly by the University of Louisville SKILLS Collaborative, Education Law Association, and UPCEA. When deciding whether to partner with an…

Read More

The Online Overhaul (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

“[…] The pressures to embrace online education aren’t equal across institutions, though. Those needing to retain or bulk up enrollment and those serving diverse, high-needs populations — community colleges and regional comprehensives, for example — are likely feeling more urgency to adapt, sources say. (Nearly 42 percent of the online-related jobs posted by public two-year colleges in…

Read More

UPCEA Co-Signs Letter with ACE in Response to Department of Ed’s DCL | Policy Matters (February 2025)

UPCEA Co-Signs Letter with ACE and Other Organizations in Response to Department of Education’s Feb. 14, 2025 Dear Colleague Letter (American Council on Education) “The stated purpose of the DCL is to “provide clarity to the public regarding existing legal requirements” for colleges and universities under the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair…

Read More

Anticipating the Fall of 2025

In January 2025, the president issued an executive order freezing federal loans and grants, including Pell Grants and other student loans. While the order has since been rescinded, the damage was done. Moving forward, potential students will be wary about the frailty of college loans. There will be uncertainty as to whether college is affordable…

Read More

UPCEA 2024 Research: Unlocking Insights, Solving Higher Ed’s Biggest Challenges

The state of higher education in the U.S. is tumultuous with no clear and obvious pathway to success.  College and university leaders have never experienced what is currently going on regarding higher education, the economy, and the political landscape.  However, information can guide us, just as it did for UPCEA members coming out of the…

Read More

Whether you need benchmarking studies, or market research for a new program, UPCEA Consulting is the right choice.

We know you. We know the challenges you face and we have the solutions you need. We speak your language and have been serving leaders like you for more than 100 years. UPCEA consultants are current or former continuing and online higher education professionals who are experts in the industry—put our expertise to work for you.


UPCEA is dedicated to advancing quality online learning at the institutional level. UPCEA is uniquely focused on excellence at the highest levels – leadership, administration, strategy – applying a macro lens to the online teaching and learning enterprise. Its engaged members include the stewards of online learning at most of the leading universities in the nation.

We offers a variety of custom research options through a variable pricing model.


Click here to learn more.

The Nation's Top Universities Choose UPCEA Consulting

Informed decisions. Ideas that work. The data you need. Trusted by the top universities in the nation.