3 Ways That Colleges Can Evolve This Fall.
Things Need to Change.
I am all about learning and know that higher education is very important to the success of young people, but man, kids have been taken advantage of for too long. Change is needed for higher education — now more than ever. If Universities want to see growth in their enrollment numbers again, it’s time for them to listen.
So, you’re probably asking who I am, and why am I the one that *eventually* will change higher ed? That’s me!
My Story
I was so ready for college. Senioritis hit me really hard. I got accepted into my dream college at the University of Minnesota and was ready for the next chapter. My plan going into college was to get a really high GPA, network like crazy, get an internship at a Fortune 500 company, meet some awesome friends, and of course, watch Minnesota sports disappoint me once again. If you know, you know.
And that all happened. But one little wrench got thrown in.I found entrepreneurship. It was love at first sight.
After my Freshman year, I had a banking internship and quickly knew the corporate ladder was not meant for me. There was just no excitement in what I was doing. But, my best friend and I started talking about starting a business together. We loved brainstorming different ideas and thinking creatively, so we went for it. And joined literally the most saturated market ever — digital advertising and marketing. 😂 We spent the next 8-months learning as much as we could about digital advertising and marketing, and this is when my perception of college changed.
How could we, as 20-year-olds, learn enough about marketing and advertising that we felt confident enough to start our own company and have people pay us money to do it for them? With no prior advertising experience? Technology, man. You can learn so much applicable knowledge through YouTube, LinkedIn Learning, Masterclass, Coursera, Hubspot, anything and it’s way better than what we learn in a classroom! Plus, it’s practically F R E E (this is where I get passionate). A college education is bad for the price we are paying. I once had an accounting professor who taught me a 300 level Finance class. She literally told us, “I’m learning this information with you guys, it's my first time teaching it.”
This is not good.
78% of Gen Z say that their teachers are “very” or “extremely” important to their learning and development.
Only 22% prefer self-directed learning, A Pearson study found. Yet, I could go on YouTube, watch some dude who makes millions by devoting his life to the stock market, and figure out the best stock-picking strategies and key ratios (that’s what the 300 class was about) from someone who has done it! According to that same study, 59% of Gen Z’ers prefer to learn through YouTube.
So why do people, including me, still go to college?
The experience. Those late-night study sessions with friends, the freshmen year dorm memories, intramural sports, tailgating for football games, living with your best friends, meeting new people, learning more about yourself, etc.
Those are all priceless. You can’t put a value on it. I wouldn’t trade my college memories for anything. But a lot of those could be changing forever, which means people will focus more on the education aspect of college.
The scary part is that Gen Z knows about these alt-learning options. And that’s why enrollment has been decreasing. For 8 consecutive years.
Something needs to change. Starting with their message is the first step. I don’t have all the answers, but they need to start small. Here are some ways that colleges can change to provide value this Fall.
Talk about money
66% of Gen Z listed paying for college as their top concern. So, higher education, you need to help us. Sit down and talk through these numbers with us. Be real with us. If you are going to be $200,000 in debt and are majoring in elementary ed, show us the numbers on how long & how much interest we will pay. We don’t want to go into debt. Help us get part-time jobs that pay more than $8/hr working at the library. Many students lost internships or jobs this summer, which may mean that finances are more important than ever.
Embrace alt-learning options.
At the end of the day, people go to college to learn. Colleges should offer LinkedIn learning for free, give us access to different news subscriptions for free, discounts for Coursera for free, maybe even Chegg? Until higher education embraces that these are viable learning options, we will never fully trust them. It kills their authenticity, which is so vital for Gen Z. Colleges need to do everything possible to help us learn, especially outside of the classroom. COVID-19 has made this even mroe important, as many students will prepare for a much different fall semester than what they are used to.
Personalize the journey.
The idea of a degree should also change. If anyone here knows why it was decided that a Bachelor’s degree should take 4-years to achieve, I’ll Venmo them $5 for a coffee. Not everyone learns at the same pace. Not everyone wants to take a bunch of random Gen-eds that they don’t care about and only focus on taking easy ones to get an A. Each person is different, and we should be able to create our own journey. Degrees should be different between majors, time spent, and other factors.
BONUS: Drop the GPA
Again, college is about learning, not a place to see who is able to memorize information better. Our current grading system is far from the real world. project-based learning is the future and having companies or professionals evaluate their work is much more rewarding than getting an A.
Students have gotten too good at cheating the system — or putting in as little work as possible to get an A because they know all of this information does not correlate to the real world. How many times have you heard recent graduates say “I learned more in my first 6-months working here than I did all of college?” It’s crazy.
Also, college is viewed as a competition that makes it so people get stressed about how they are performing compared to others. Did you know 10.3% of students in 2017 thought about committing suicide because of stress from school? And 23% also said that exams and coursework were the main cause of their stress? These numbers are from the American College Health Association. Drop the competition and help everyone learn more.
Conclusion
COVID-19 has caused a lot of uncertainty for higher education. This is the perfect time for them to refocus on what matters for students — learning and providing value.
