Pathways to value in higher education

As tuition costs continue to rise and debate swirls about whether college is worth attending, many higher education leaders have understandably shifted their focus to the concept of value. Although value can be difficult to measure and quantify, there is growing recognition across the field that the issue of return on investment must be addressed if confidence in higher education is to be restored.

It is no longer enough to focus solely on getting more people into college or increasing completion rates. The focus now should be on preparing learners for the next part of their learning. But how can you ensure that your investment in higher education opens the door to a well-paying career and provides opportunities for economic mobility?

Last week, the Strada Education Foundation proposed a series of new ideas designed to help higher education leaders address this issue. Their State Opportunity Index focuses on value and identifies strategies and metrics that can redefine what success looks like for states and universities.

As the State Opportunity Index reveals, there are encouraging signs across the country, but there is significant room for improvement in every category.

The report establishes two criteria that should guide universities in their pursuit of value. First, are states adequately measuring and publicly reporting the link between higher education and employment, or what Strada calls “clear results?” Second, to what extent are higher education programs aligned with the high-paying jobs available in the labor market?

Strada has the highest performance among states in the distinct outcome categories. This is important to help university leaders make decisions about program improvement and to help students and families make informed choices about which opportunities to pursue.

Currently, about half of states are rated as “advanced” or “advanced” in their data collection and transparency practices. While this is a good start, more states need to embrace their role as hubs for critical data and information sources that are often disconnected, siled, and underutilized. For example, only a few states have enhanced wage records to gain insight into the occupational outcomes of high school graduates. and This is critical to understanding the success of the entire education and training pipeline. Even fewer people are able to disaggregate this information by demographics, limiting their ability to understand unbiased outcomes.

At the other end of the spectrum is coordination with employers. From a labor market perspective, the value of higher education can be measured, at least in part, through a supply and demand analysis. To what extent does the education system provide the talent needed to meet employer demand? Or, from a learner's perspective, to what extent are higher education programs leading to well-paying jobs within the region? Is it available?

According to the report, there is a general lack of coordination. No state meets the criteria to be recognized as “leading” in this field, and most states do not have the qualifications needed to get well-paying jobs in high-growth industries such as IT, business, health care, and advanced technology. Not enough students graduate from well-prepared higher education institutions. Manufacturing industry.

This mismatch presents an opportunity for the higher education system. If postsecondary leaders want employers to look to their institutions as talent pipelines and economic development partners, they must prioritize the use of data to better respond to labor market needs. We need to produce the talent that employers are looking for to fill key roles. According to Strada, Rhode Island and Utah currently lead the nation in meeting demand for what are called “opportunity jobs.” These states are particularly important because these are entry-level positions with high wages, low supply, and potential for advancement.

The report also identifies two other important elements of students' higher education experiences that, if delivered effectively, can lead to increased economic opportunity and mobility. . These include students receiving high-quality career coaching and advice and access to work-based learning experiences such as paid internships.

Universities in most states must go to great lengths to make these experiences the norm for students. Nationally, only a quarter of community college graduates and a fifth of four-year college graduates have experienced personalized career coaching. And when it comes to paid internships, only one in four four-year students and one in 10 community college students were able to participate. As Strada points out, career coaching and paid internships are both highly correlated with students' future career satisfaction and ability to make progress toward their goals, so increasing the availability of these supports and experiences This goes a long way in addressing issues of values ​​and values. Return on investment.

And finally, the report spotlights college affordability, recognizing that for higher education to deliver on its promise, the cost of college must be within the reach of all students. Masu. Recognizing that much research has already been done on this topic, Strada takes a somewhat unique angle to the question of how many hours a student must work per year to cover the net price of a university education. I am. In other words, can students afford to study through university?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, community colleges outperform four-year universities on this metric, but the report found wide variation across states. California and Washington are the least expensive states for students to attend college, according to the report.

By delving into five measurable dimensions of value in higher education, Strada's analysis raises important questions about how to value value across the broader education-to-career continuum. .

This means building a strategy with the ultimate goal of career and financial value at every level. This will move K-12 education from a narrow focus on high school graduation rates as the primary indicator of success to more meaningful measures of student readiness tied to postsecondary success. means. It's a shift from higher education leaders' perspective on the impending population cliff to the lack of 18-year-old education, as John King, president of the State University of New York and former U.S. Secretary of Education, said at the Strada report launch event. It means changing from a fixed mindset. This includes adults aged 25 and over who would benefit from learning new skills and gaining valuable qualifications.

“Value” in this case means not just whether students graduate, but how well their education prepares them for what’s next.

Shifting the focus to delivering value at every stage of the employee education pipeline can have significant benefits for both individuals and the economy. Strada's State Opportunity Index provides a quantifiable framework for implementing change in higher education. Other stakeholders involved in preparing students for meaningful careers can draw on this approach to shape their own application of values.