Why Higher Ed Needs a Strategic Shift

As far back as 1636, with the founding of Harvard College in Massachusetts, the United States has been a leader in higher education. As Adrian Wooldridge points out in his Bloomberg column, in many respects the US is still considered the global pacemaker for higher ed. After all, he says, “American universities occupy 19 of the top 30 slots in the 2023 Times Higher Education Supplements’ ranking of the world’s universities. The US has by far the largest concentration of Nobel Prize winners. Nine of the top ten richest universities are in the US.”

Behind those numbers, however, US higher education is experiencing a crisis. A decline in population, complex geopolitical issues playing out on college campuses, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, administrative bloat, student loan debt and even the fallout from the 2008 recession have each contributed to diminishing enrollment. But perhaps the most corrosive of all to university life is that young people are experiencing a crisis of confidence about the need for higher education. The risk of investing time and significant money into an education that may not yield quality or long-term employment has many young people rethinking their future plans. It doesn’t help when research highlights that a majority of Americans—of all ages—no longer believe a college degree is worth the cost.

Alongside the $1.7 trillion in student loan debt that plagues the country, the graduation rate at 4-year institutions is only 60%. Of this ‘some college, no degree’ cohort (a whopping 41.9 million Americans), 87% cite cost as a critical factor in their decision to leave school, but additional significant contributors include “work conflicts, stress and insufficient flexible learning modalities.” A simple look at the numbers tells us that traditional higher education is failing to meet a substantial portion of students.

Ted Mitchell, the president of the American Council on Education, told the Wall Street Journal that “[higher education needs] to do a better job at storytelling, but we need to improve our practice, that seems to me to be the only recipe I know of regaining public confidence.”

To be clear, higher education isn’t going anywhere. Colleges and universities serve critical functions for society and most do it quite well. Rather than advocate for a complete overhaul of a system that has worked effectively for centuries, why not consider reasonable modifications that can improve the way an institution is run, how it communicates, and how it meets students’ needs and expectations? In short, it’s time for higher education to disrupt itself.

Start by asking what students want

For too long higher education institutions have competed on too-similar grounds. As well known author, journalist and higher ed expert Jeffrey Selingo put it, “… the way college leaders have long defined differentiation is simply by tweaking the same product offered by thousands of other institutions for the same type of student (i.e. the 18-year-old, well-prepared high-school graduate whose parents attended college).”

Colleges and universities can do a better job of differentiating themselves with nontraditional students by thinking outside the box when it comes to education opportunities. Offering appealing options to a wide variety of learners, giving varied experiences, rethinking the degree track and accounting for neurodivergent approaches are all ways that institutions can attract and retain students.

Working to create more robust online learning experiences can also appeal to nontraditional students. The pandemic showed us that we can make adaptations to meet individual needs, goals and pacing. As Shane Topping, senior director for higher education at Workday suggested, “We need to make sure we’re getting more people through college and completing key outcomes rather than just focusing on getting learners to college.”

Align with the changing nature of work

Most students aren’t in college simply for the thrill of learning. They are there to get the education they believe is necessary for the job they want. Employers, meantime, are not necessarily looking for well-educated employees, they are looking for well-skilled employees. According to Harvard Business Review, “The future potential of the workforce will depend on its ability to cultivate learnability, rather than displaying lots of college credentials.”

A big reason why individuals are opting out of higher education is because the job market is strong and companies are willing to train. Colleges can benefit themselves by helping prospective students draw a clearer line between the education they receive and the practical preparation it gives them for the real working world. With over half of students not using their degree post-college, teaching adaptability and how to acquire new skills may be even more beneficial than diving deep into a degree track.

Think strategically

As any industry that has been disrupted will tell you, failing to think strategically is simply failing. Many a top-of-the-heap company crumbled to its demise for ignoring clear indications that times were changing. It may be easy to focus only on the ongoing need for higher education and believe that recent obstacles are temporary. However, that thinking would be shortsighted. 

Students will continue to want to learn beyond their primary education, and top tier universities will likely continue to thrive. But with colleges now closing at the rate of one per week, there is a significant portion of the higher ed universe that could disappear if changes aren’t made.

At StrategyBlocks, we help many colleges and universities think strategically about their future. We work closely with our schools to support their planning, set them up to have greater transparency both internally and externally, and offer necessary insights so they can see how they can best adapt to changing market dynamics. There is vast potential unlocked for most schools, once they align their program with strategic planning and management. Contact us today and let us show you how to meet the needs of today’s students and improve outcomes for tomorrow.