Differentiating students' motivations, services, and cost

An arm-chair view of higher education in the U.S.A. reveals a vast number of institutions trying to emulate each other, especially the more successful institutions judged by competitiveness of admission standards and number enrolled. A framework was laid out for differentiating student motivations and therefore services at a meeting of the National Association of College & University Business Officers. This could be a game-changer in terms of appeal to discrete populations and it could save every institution money - by allowing each to avoid replicating each other by providing resources and services that mean little to some of their students.

The student typologies identified in the model (from most likely to be currently involved in traditional institutions to least likely) are:

• Wayfinding intellectuals (7%)
• Campus enthusiasts (16%)
• Junior specialists (31%)
• Evolving professionals (23%)
• Mid-career climbers (14%)
• Trajectory performers (9)

It's fairly easy to see the problem - the number of students currently enrolled who want the full traditional experience versus those who have very specific purposes in mind is roughly the same. The first three categories include 54% of the possible population who could be attracted to pursue or return to higher education and the other 46% remain underserved and likely priced out of attendance by the cost of services offered to the other groups.

Many faculty and staff are unaware that they favor the wayfinders and campus enthusiasts, largely due to these students seeking opportunity and responding when offered the chance for enriching experiences. The language used to promote opportunity as well as ongoing interactions can communicate to "less involved" students that they are somehow imposters or don't really belong in the academic world.

The evolving professionals and mid-career climbers seek opportunity to advance in the workplace and, therefore, are likely to place high value on experiential opportunities such as internships. The return on investment of good jobs is a high priority for them and the cost of education may be hard to justify, especially when coupled with lost time working years and the ongoing expense of loan repayment. Student disengagement in learning when classroom content doesn't align with their career interests is a serious vulnerability. Some universities are attempting to address this population with alternative credentialing and enhanced career preparation opportunities. Liberal arts faculty are also beginning to recognize that career interest does not stand in opposition to liberal learning. Advocates for career-readiness criticize one-off innovations that lack broad institutional integration.

A looming problem for students who seek the full traditional learning experience, is access. Many institutions, large publics in particular, have turned to honors programs to offer a richer, fuller experience for the students who qualify for these programs. The problem is - honors programs are also forms of elite hierarchy and the only way to offer more students the quality of experience that honors students receive is to scale them to larger populations.

The "Varying Degrees" report indicates that most Americans see value in higher education but that the percentage of those who endorse it has declined slightly. The compilation of "Measuring the Value of Higher Education" provides other evidence that is helpful in understanding public opinion. Democrats have greater confidence and encourage public support where Republicans are lower on both. Differences in perspective were also found across generations. Advocacy for test optional admissions and for services to support students were  lower among Boomers than among the current generation attending higher education institutions.

An often overlooked issue for colleges and universities is the look and feel of the physical campus. Modernization, cleanliness, and appearance are more important to students than many realize. The Student Voice survey indicates that most students are satisfied with the basics but believe that labs and arts facilities are not as good as students would like for them to be. Use of facilities varies by student motivation and access but whatever spaces are used must be adequately maintained and updated.

As a student affairs educator, these figures and the potential shift of institutions to more lean and focused offerings raises concern. Student affairs generally assumes, and seeks to offer, the full experience to all students regardless of their openness to it. For the institutions that by reputation and selectivity can offer everything, student affairs may be able to continue pretty much the same. However, other institutions are likely to curtail the breadth of offerings in order to remain solvent; in this model, student affairs will need to look very different if it is to survive.

One student affairs educator offered opinion in an essay advocating for universities to "reimagine themselves" by expanding the time-proven wholistic education concept to offer greater access. This is essential for those student affairs educators who champion access and inclusion. And, by the way, a different approach should not be reductionist and therefore lesser quality, but different, qualitatively comparable, and less expensive.

Courting international students requires new mind-set

In a statement calling for a new mind-set toward Chinese international students in the U.S.A., Xiafeng Wan asserted, "The prevalent mind-set of treating Chinese students as cash cows is not only detrimental to U.S. higher education's reputation for academic excellence and quality but also dehumanizes Chinese students and diminishes their innumerable intellectual and social contributions to their host institutions and U.S. society."

Proof of the economic motivations to attract international students is reflected in many places and particularly in the post-pandemic rebound of international students. While they still represent the largest contingent, the rebound includes a sustained drop in Chinese student enrollment. One of the important elements to consider in working with Chinese students is family and their ability to pay. Stereotypes of Chinese students are that they are all wealthy. While many can pay, or sacrifice to pay, there is considerable variation which must be understood if Chinese families are to continue to fund the enormous amounts of money required for U.S.A. degrees.

Richard J. Joseph in his book, Bridging the Gap Between the Abundance of American Higher Education Talent and the Immense Foreign Demand for it, looks at the necessity of U.S.A. institutions to pay attention to the financial bottom line but urged educators to go further. In addition to the financial implications, Joseph recommended remaining true to the altruistic calling of education as a transformative experience and enhancing sustainability while advancing knowledge diplomacy. While these aims are central, it is important not to perpetuate cultural imperialism but, "strive to strengthen a liberal world order in which men and women can pursue the truth freely, without fear and based on their own cultural values."

Joseph's book, although not focused on the humanities, complements a view that the humanities should embrace international perspectives. In fact, internationalizing may be the path to survival of majors beyond the service courses offered by humanities programs. Advocating more in international perspective is not only strategic for survival but is an important element to "help institutions maximize the effectiveness of exceptionally diverse workforces" and prepare graduates to embrace "the anxieties that many individuals feel in environments without well-defined norms, expectations and pathways to advancement."

Franklin & Marshall was unusually successful in maintaining robust enrollment of international students even during the political gyrations of the Trump years and then the pandemic. Shifting to a Shanghai in-person location and on-line learning helped, which complemented the personal touch of a faculty member who was a strong internationalization advocate. F&M President, Barbara K. Altman, attributes their success to fully meeting student need, whether foreign or domestic, and creating a global community from which all students can benefit.

What employers want is not far from what educators cultivate

The ambivalence among many U.S.A. academics about career preparation lingers in many institutions and intellectual circles. The practicality of what students seek, which is a job at the end of the degree, and what employers value in skills for their employees may be more similar than some think. It's practical and economic on everyone's part - students, institutions, and those who hire graduates.

Research on the AAC&U's essential learning outcomes found that what employers uniformly want are critical thinking skills. Line managers versus executives were aligned on some skills and slightly different on others. Critical thinking, inquiry and analysis, problem solving, teamwork, and written communication were top-ranked by both groups. Creative thinking and oral communication were identified as more important among managers while ethical reasoning and integrative learning were ranked higher for executives. Presidents of liberal arts institutions engaged with technology sector leaders in discussion about the balance between skill-based training and generalizable learning outcomes. The conclusion was that both are valued and that liberal arts leaders will be best served to focus on, and more actively promote, the benefits of the learning outcomes previously characterized as "soft skills," which are increasingly being seen as "people" or "power" skills. A confession of a liberal arts faculty member who found that liberal education does not stand in opposition to career interests reinforces this point.

While self-awareness is not on the AAC&U essential learning outcomes list, it isn't difficult to determine that it is foundational to skills such as problem solving and teamwork. It's very difficult to engage in critical thinking and analysis in a group if you're unaware of who you are and how you impact others. With notable public figures lacking and being unaware of themselves, some would say that technical preparation or skills are much more trainable than temperament.

Equally important to understand are what skills employers ranked lowest from the essential learning outcomes. Lifelong learning, global learning, and intercultural knowledge and competence made this list but that's not because they are unimportant. Employers view these skills as being developed during employment as recent graduates mature in their worklife.

An adjoining and critical question is the degree to which work-readiness is actually occurring. It's one thing to align institutional goals and student desires but, if work preparedness is not achieved, everyone suffers. Inside Higher Education's Student Voice survey identified a significant lack of experiential learning to support work-readiness. "Nearly four in 10 (39 percent) college students and recent graduates surveyed have had neither an internship nor an experiential learning opportunity this past year." 

Educators will benefit from attending to what employers seek in graduates; from this research, alignment is not far off. However, employers believe that critical thinking and written communication skills are the most consistently needed attributes and are sometimes not as well developed as they would prefer.