As we emerge from the global pandemic, with all its paradigm shifts and reshuffling, there is one institution that still holds tremendous value: higher education.
While the market for talent continues to evolve, along with workplace norms and expectations of job seekers, a college degree still offers a distinct advantage to individuals, to our democracy, and to society.
Technological innovations fuel the knowledge-based economy, which demands critical thinking and creativity. Rapidly changing industries need employees who understand fundamentals of research and development. Given these dynamics, it is no surprise that the Georgetown University Center for Education and the Workforce has found that two out of every three jobs require training beyond high school.
As college enrollment declines nationwide post-COVID, boards must help their institutions recognize that the way they deliver education must evolve with the market they serve. Now is the time for boards of trustees and other college and university leaders to think critically about how their institutions can meet the needs of the new landscape, starting from the inside-out.
Understanding Today’s Students
The average college student is no longer an 18-year-old from a middle-class family leaving home to live on campus to attend a full slate of in-person classes. In fact, 18- to 21-year-old students now make up just a third of the college population, according to the Lumina Foundation. Nearly 40 percent of today’s college students are over 25. They are more diverse. In Florida, more than half are the first in their families to attend college, according to the Helios Education Foundation. Many students work full time; over a third take classes part time. At least 25 percent are parents. They have different needs and goals from traditional students in the past.
In the pre-COVID world, many professors still lectured to rooms full of students. Student financial aid still follows the credit hour, a measure of time over competency. Students in short-term programs may not be eligible for aid because their programs don’t align with traditional associate or baccalaureate program standards.
The pandemic presented an opportunity for institutions to innovate, faster than we ever could have imagined, and some states and boards seized the opportunity. For example, the Florida Department of Education deployed federal dollars for colleges to increase capacity in short-term programs leading to workforce credentials, an effort dubbed Rapid Response. These programs, from two to 20 weeks in length, are often not eligible for traditional aid. Yet with the federal dollars, more than 1,200 Miami Dade College students gained credentials, at little or no cost to themselves, in programs connected to in-demand jobs. These included jobs such as graphic design support, help desk support technician, digital marketing management, business entrepreneurship, accounting technology operations, emergency medical technician, network security, and translation and interpretation. Many of these short-term programs are connected to longer-term pathways that can help individuals continue to expand their skills without losing precious time or credit.
Understanding Our Offerings
Boards must help their institutions understand that students want to learn content faster, in modalities that meet the needs of their lifestyles. But boards also need to ensure that institutional leaders realize that for students to stay competitive in the future economy, they need academic skills; technical or job skills that include hands-on experience in chosen fields that help develop “soft” skills such as critical thinking and the ability to innovate; and digital skills competencies that enable global connectivity and efficiencies. Even jobs in the skilled trades now have digital components.
At Miami Dade College, the Advanced Automotive Service Technology Program offered in partnership with Tesla START is just one example that shows how these competencies work together. Students apply academic skills to think about the future of transportation and energy. They use technical skills to learn the basics of auto mechanics. And they use digital skills as they work on the computer interface of the vehicles, diagnosing issues and understanding the implications of technology on performance.
Understanding Board Responsibilities
It’s one thing to understand the market and our product offerings, but bridging the gap between what we should do and what we can do starts with a look in the mirror. Are our institutions ready for this new future? As higher education leaders and board members, we must start by rethinking the enterprise itself.
First, in an environment of nationally declining enrollment yet a clear need for higher education, colleges and universities have to differentiate. Are boards helping leaders to recognize that every institution cannot be all things to all people? While open-access institutions have an important place in the landscape, all institutions would be well served by understanding how to specialize. Are boards helping institutional leaders understand the areas that are growing in demand? And are they encouraging investments in those areas? Such conversations are at the forefront of Florida A&M University’s comprehensive academic program review. The university is looking at each program in relation to industry demand, program productivity and mission alignment in order to prioritize future investments.
Secondly, we must invest in students while expanding the skills of faculty and other institutional employees so that they can serve as the engines that inspire the evolving workforce of the future. At Miami Dade College, for instance, last October we provided specialized training in artificial intelligence to more than 400 faculty so they could integrate principles of artificial intelligence into their curricula.
Finally, as leaders setting strategy at the board level, how are we making sure we’re looking around corners and anticipating market shifts? Are we engaged with business and industry on a sophisticated level? And are we bringing that expertise into our boardroom conversations?
The future of higher education will be determined by those who can practice what we teach— those who not only react but also innovate and evolve from within.
Nicole Washington is the founder of Washington Educational Strategies LLC, which works to expand postsecondary education opportunities for students. She is vice chair of the Miami Dade College District Board of Trustees and also serves on the Florida A&M University Board of Trustees, where she chairs its Academic and Student Affairs Committee. She is a member of AGB’s Board of Directors and the AGB Council of Board Chairs.
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