Higher Education: A New & Clear Value Proposition

PART ONE – INTRODUCTION

The value proposition in higher education is lost. It is unclear to its audience or, at minimum, no longer resonates. Traditional pathways in liberal arts, social sciences, fine arts, and the business schools continue to be challenged in articulating the tie between the academic coursework and student outcomes (aka full-time employment). Adding fuel to the fire is public perception.

“College isn’t worth the cost”

“I don’t need a college education to get a good job”

Most students aren’t thinking about the revenue channels of innovation or discovery for higher ed institutions. Those are administrative strategies and are accomplished not through tuition but through research grants and high-paying industry partnerships. Most students are looking to “get a good job” and that doesn’t include the institutional prioritization of revenue through academic research. The value proposition for higher education students is both a marketing problem and a curriculum problem. I encourage higher education to refocus its priority on the relentless and clear mission of preparing and getting students jobs and to implore industry partnerships to fulfill this objective.

First, the value proposition being addressed by institutional leadership must be clear to the student (“buyer”). I found in my research that there are a lot of lofty and beautiful mission statements in higher education marketing. Statements about academic programs and research opportunities and cultural growth. This is all true. The value proposition, though, is absent. There is a marketing problem.

I’ve spoken with hundreds if not thousands of students from large and small and from public and private institutions over the last six years. Universally in mock interviews, the majority struggle to tie what they are actually doing in college to a job. And these are students who have already bought the college dream. What about that drastically dropping number of students even choosing not to go at all … .because it’s a waste of time and money? The propaganda is out there telling them they don’t need to go to college. It’s on social media daily. Propaganda telling them they can learn everything they need from YouTube or Coursera. They see a direct tie from those avenues to jobs (even if it’s not a tangible fact-based tie).

The second avenue to address is providing co-curricular experiences that clearly align to the workforce. This isn’t to say most institutions aren’t doing this. Addressing the curriculum problem must include industry partnerships that go beyond attending a career fair or speaking once a year in a classroom. True buy-in to help guide the curriculum, meaningful partnerships, and relevant job-related student experiences early and often, along with the commitment to developing the technical and soft skills every student needs to master before graduation.

Once addressed, it is imperative to provide faculty and staff guidance for students to understand and be able to clearly articulate those experiences directly to the jobs they are seeking. That guidance (and the adjacent institutional marketing message) needs to be expressed in real words, not academic jargon. Knowing your audience is a pretty basic concept and I feel confident that the marketing, public relations, journalism, and communications schools can help with this. Higher ed already has all the tools to help itself. They’ve just isolated and lost themselves in the industry of academia.

PART TWO – A Few Challenges

The Declining Rate in College
Four-year college is not for everyone. I believe that a four-year institution is not a place to spend $100,000 to party, to find yourself, or to delay your entry into the workforce. In reality, those can be side effects for some or even many students, but not a good reason to choose to go to college. 

College is about learning and learning to learn. College is to expand your curiosity into a lifelong growth mindset, and to learn critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills. College is to innovate, to attain marketable and employable skills, to learn to network and get a good job after graduation (aka a good paying job). 

“The number of high schoolers in Indiana going directly to college after graduation has fallen every year since 2015, when it was about 65 percent. In 2020 and 2021, the college-going rate was around 53 percent.”

WFYI.org
October 2023

Source: Best Colleges

Digital Skills + Higher Education
It’s impossible within the confines of this piece to outline every industry. Data is data and the data shows tech is in every industry and will only continue to grow. This will make it imperative for most of our workforce to be digitally fluent, if not tech savvy; to skill and reskill for the future.

Across all industries, 92% of jobs require digital skills. NSC research shows the digital skill divide growing wider when one considers that one-third of workers don’t have the foundation digital skills necessary to enter today’s workforce.

Besides developing enough talent for future net new jobs, turnover of existing talent has heavy costs for businesses. Research shows that workers want and value opportunities to upskill and clear pathways to advancement within their organizations. The economic benefits for individual income and the broader community and economy are boundless. Focusing on digital skills seems like the ideal win-win-win for the individual, the organization, and the greater economy.

“People who qualify for jobs that require even one digital skill can earn an average of 23 percent more than those working in jobs requiring no digital skills”

National Skills Coalition
February 2023

There is a trend right now for organizations to move to skills-first rhetoric in job requisitions, especially in tech. I am a fan of this for a few reasons: (1) It is more inclusive and less intimidating. Data shows year over year the high percentage of folks who will opt out of applying for a role because they don’t feel they meet every checkbox in the job description. A college degree could be one of those checkboxes. Having a large top-of-funnel creates a more diverse and potentially qualified pool. (2) You just might find that unicorn, which describes nearly every job requisition out there.

I don’t believe, however, that this will ultimately change much of the knowledge and experience gained through a college education nor the jump start on that knowledge and experience that a college-educated individual may acquire before applying for that early to early-management role. That experience comes with a college education. It is an advantage and, in most cases, it will show in the evaluation and interview process.

Fastest-growing careers will require a college degree
All will have a tech or digital skill component.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

“Jobs with the highest projected growth by the Bureau of Labor Statistics are those that have some form of college degree, such as healthcare practitioners and equipment technicians. Meanwhile, jobs that are expected to decline — construction, manufacturing and security — typically require their workforce to have only a high school education.”

Herald Times
December 2022

A note on Bootcamps vs. Higher Education Degrees
There are many pathways into tech and many pathways for different people at different times in their lives. Bootcamps are a great way to learn early entry-level skills, add to existing skills, and layer on to a traditional 4-year degree., Bootcamp alone, though, may not be the long-term education that will get our workforce where they want or need to be. In most cases, a degree from a higher education institution will be needed to advance in a field or organization. Though there are many factors, here is a look at the income potential alone.

In 2021 in the U.S., Course Report stated the average bootcamp graduate earns a starting salary of $69,000.

Mid-career average earnings: $99,229
(NerdWallet, July 21, 2023)

Emsi Burning Glass reported a median salary of $98,300 for a software developer/engineer with a bachelor’s degree.

Mid-career average earnings: $147,524
(ZipRecruiter.com, February 6, 2024)

PART THREE – SKILLS ALIGNMENT

a·lign·ment
/əˈlīnmənt/
noun

1. the act of aligning or state of being aligned especially: the proper positioning or state of adjustment of parts (as of a mechanical or electronic device) in relation to each other

In my backyard, a 2022 survey from the Indiana Chamber of Commerce found that 83% of businesses struggle to meet their talent needs, with a skills mismatch being a primary driver. The message is clear. There is undoubtedly a skills alignment issue between academia and industry; a misalignment in preparing the workforce for the jobs of the next decade.

“This demand for technology skills stretches across every industry in the U.S., and nearly every occupation, including entry-level and frontline workers. Gone are the days when only software engineers or white-collar workers needed digital skills. Today, job ads seeking janitors, food service workers, and agricultural workers also cite the need for digital skills.”

National Skills Coalition
February 2023

Top-Demand Technical Skills (CompTIA, 2024)

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
2. Technical Support
3. Networking
4. Cloud Computing
5. Linux
6. Programming Languages
7. Web Development
8. Quality Assurance
9. User Experience (UX)
10. Machine Learning (ML)

Top-Demand Soft Skills (Forbes, 2024)

1. Strategic Thinking
2. Negotiation
3. Persuasion
4. Presentation Skills
5. Critical thinking
6. Mentoring
7. Emotional Intelligence
8. Innovation
9. Financial Management
10. Resilience

“The socio-emotional attitudes which businesses consider to be growing in importance most quickly are curiosity and lifelong learning; resilience, flexibility and agility; and motivation and self-awareness—evidence that businesses emphasize the importance of resilient and reflective workers embracing a culture of lifelong learning as the lifecycle of their skills decreases,” 

Forbes
Future of Jobs 2023 Report

Some institutions are making solid efforts to bridge the gap between industry and academic demands. Those institutions are working diligently to understand what needs to happen for a meaningful industry partnership and how those partnerships create a win-win-win.

• Students’ wins include relevant developmental experiences in both technical and soft skills (think about developing specific job skills and also think about networking, and the nuances of communication). 
• Industry wins with the exposure to early talent and the impact of developing that talent for their respective future needs (while still getting projects done). They also are creating relationships with academics that can provide outside expert knowledge to their industry. 
• The institution wins in ways such as student outcomes (and being able to speak to those clearly) and revenue channels. This is not to mention that an industry partnership in one channel can easily become a partnership in other channels of higher ed such as innovation and research.
  

Here are a few examples of industry partnerships with great potential from my backyard in Indiana:

Ball State University

The Ball State University Faculty Externship program invites faculty members to apply for a paid summer experience within an Indiana business. Faculty members are selected and must first complete a Skills Infusion Program to aid them in aligning their academic coursework directly with the skills employers are seeking in new hires. This coveted externship includes 40 hours of on-site learning at an Indiana employer. Post-shadowing, faculty members must submit a written summary, and a final narrative, and deliver a presentation on how they will add or modify the curriculum to address “explicit recommendations regarding the implementation of new processes, procedures, or curricula to be enhanced or developed within the next academic year as a result of the industry exposure and skills needed for success in that industry.”

61 faculty members have participated with 47 unique employer partners since program inception in 2015.  

Indiana University Indianapolis

With 90% of IU Indianapolis graduates pursuing a career in Indiana, a new partnership with the global pharmaceutical giant headquartered downtown Indy is creating pathways for students in the Kelley School; the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering; and the School of Health & Human Sciences. 

This co-op-style partnership will include experiential learning, team building, volunteer opportunities, and events with place-based learning and networking opportunities. Opportunities will be available in Lilly departments such as finance, human resources, and information technology with the goal of career readiness.

IU hopes for this partnership to become the model for similar organizations across Central Indiana.

WGU

WGU (Western Governors University) is an online university with an innovative approach to competency-based learning. They are, basically, ahead of the curve as traditional universities are scrambling to figure out competency-based programs of their own. WGU’s innovation doesn’t stop with its academic structure, however.

WGU  is intentionally creating pathways for upskilling non-traditional students through industry partnerships. Recently, a partnership was formed between WGU and the KFC Foundation. KFC workers across the country are eligible for 100% employer-paid-tuition while attending the online university. This program is designed to upskill workers and break down barriers to entry.

Another program WGU deployed is with Central Indiana-based Nine Star Connect. The partnership provides for NineStar’s nearly 130 employees to pursue personal goals through upskilling. NineStar provides 100% tuition assistance to its employees and provides them with high-speed internet access at a discount. 

Source: Dell Technologies and the Institute for the Future

The challenge may not be higher education’s ability to create meaningful programs and pathways for students to get that good-paying job. Rather the challenge seems to be that higher education is just not good at articulating its value proposition.

PART FOUR – A NEw VALUe PROPOSITION

Higher Education needs a new value proposition. The value proposition doesn’t resonate with the buyer. Students (and parents in some cases) are the buyers. They are buying education and what they want the result of that education to be is a good paying job.

“It is important to communicate the value of the college experience, including personal and professional development, life experiences, support systems, and student engagement, in addition to academic learning.”

– Jim McAtee, AVP, Executive Director for Career and Professional Development
Ball State University

A value proposition that tells the buyer what they are getting and why it’s worth it.

What’s in it for me?

This value needs to be clear and concise and written to that 15-18-year-old (“buyer”) evaluating whether or not to go to college and, subsequently, which college (“seller”) to attend (“pay”).  They want and deserve to know what’s in it for me? 

The answer they want is a well-paying job.

“88% of college freshmen say that “getting a good job” is the main reason they enrolled in college.”

– Gallup Poll, 2018

Academia can no longer afford to work on its island. Students (and parents) are losing faith in the system. We can simplify it by saying higher education is too expensive. It’s more than that. It’s the detachment between academia and industry and the cloudy path between the two. 

I suggest that higher education adapts a few industry attitudes to help formulate its new and clear value proposition. Primarily move quickly with agility.

Compounding the cliff challenges and waning interest is the short half-life of technical skills. Skills, especially specific tech skills, may only have a 3-5 year shelf life, plus employers struggle to anticipate the evolution of skills themselves. For example, while Python is now a standard programming language for data science, the standard was R just a few years ago, and SAS or other object-oriented programming languages before that. As a result, universities must make a best guess about what competencies will be in demand (and find experts to teach those competencies). If this is the case, a university can spend 3 years developing a program along with an industry partner. By the time the program has been developed, accredited, and staffed, those skills are outdated. 

Just because it’s hard, doesn’t mean we don’t try. 

t does indicate there is a better way. A better way to let the students (“buyers”) clearly understand that they will be prepared for the workforce with the time-tested skills of a continual growth mindset, solid soft skills, and the agility to adapt to new technical skills as their career grows.

Here are a few ways this can be accomplished from the academic side: 

1. Overlay digital fluency onto all non-tech majors.

Digital Fluency is defined by Franklin College (Indiana) as the ability to effectively and ethically interpret information, discover meaning, design content, construct knowledge, and communicate ideas in a digitally connected world. The term “digital fluency is gaining enough traction to be listed at the top of the “Power Skills” list, according to a 2021 report from LinkedIn.

A liberal arts education, for example, provides a wealth of opportunities to learn and practice communication and presentation skills, and continual exposure to complexity, diversity, and change which helps train for an agile mindset. Overlaying digital skills for a History, English, or Philosophy major is not only practical but a great piece of the puzzle in a well-rounded education.

“Digital fluency is the capacity to go beyond using technology for prescribed tasks. With digital fluency you can use your digital know-how to uncover meaning, to communicate ideas, or create something brand new. It is an essential skill for today’s world.”

University of Arkansas, Grantham

2. Overlay soft skills onto all technical majors.

There might always be room for those who smash code all day. The code may change, but the ability to stay highly focused on lines of code for extended periods of time takes a mastermind in its own right. The skills, though, that are never outdated and are key to upward mobility in a career are critical thinking, communication, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence. These are skills widely practiced across liberal arts majors and often neglected or relegated to that 1-hour technical writing or speech classes within a tech major. An overlay of team projects that require communication and collaboration with different business units (aka college majors). They require skills in presentation, and persuasion may feel uncomfortable to some but are essential transferable skills that will better prepare and accelerate the career of a new grad.

These skills won’t be mastered in the 1-hour speech class required for a tech major or, vice versa, the one business class teaching you all things Microsoft Office. Industry demands more (Please don’t consider this an advantage when your students are up against other college grads for a job. In industry, it’s assumed they all know how to use these basic tools.). 

Executing these overlays will take significant commitment. Adequate development of these skills won’t happen in the 1-hour speech class required for a tech major or, vice versa, the one business class teaching you all of the Microsoft Office products. Industry demands more. 

Note to academia and especially those career counselors in the business school that consider Excel adequate tech prep: Industry assumes that if your students are interviewing for a job, they know how to use MS Office. Please don’t consider this an advantage when your students are up against other college grads for a job and please don’t sell them on this. It’s not enough and it’s not enough of a value proposition for a student to spend $100k. MS Office actually is something they can learn on Coursera for free.

Speaking of Value Proposition. What is that and which institutions did I find to have clear, concise value props out there?

val·ue prop·o·si·tion

noun

(in marketing) an innovation, service, or feature intended to make a company or product attractive to customers.

I spent an afternoon searching for Value Propositions for the student (“buyer”) and came up short in the realm of clear alignment to what’s in it for me? (aka a good paying job when I graduate) and what is being offered. There are many mission statements. There are lists of Core Values. There were Vision Statements. I was inspired. I was overloaded with aspirational dreaming.

However, clear value propositions seem to be lacking in the higher education marketing equation. If I struggled to find it out there, then the odds of a high school student finding an easily digestible value prop is unlikely.

Here are a few I did find:

Butler University Value Proposition (Big East)

Our experiential approach ensures that graduates excel in their professions and postgraduate study. Our strong grounding in liberal arts inspires graduates for civic engagement and leadership in their careers and communities.

GRADE: B

Justification: I know from this statement that if I graduate, I will excel in my profession (or grad school) and be a leader in my career. 

Grade Justification: At age 18, I’m not sure I knew what the word experiential meant or meant to me. I’m all for lofty mission statements, but want to see clarity for the intended buyer.

Western Governors University (Online)

Bridging the Gap Between Talent and Opportunity

The surest way to opportunity is education. The transformative effect of education impacts individuals, families, and communities to improve social mobility. Our mission is to change lives for the better by creating pathways to opportunity.

GRADE: B

Overall University Value Proposition: WGU does a pretty good job here. They directly tell their audience that they know talent (the student “buyer”) gets the opportunity (job) by way of education and WGU is the education.

Grade Justification: This isn’t really a value proposition, hence I give WGU a B. They use the word “opportunity” as a synonym for “job”. Using more lay terms like “career” or “profession” may resonate better with the audience. 

Sometimes, we all get stuck in the lexicon of our own profession and forget we are talking to folks not in our industry.

Harvard University Value Proposition (Ivy League)

Why Harvard?

Before you can change the world, you need to understand it.

Harvard’s liberal arts and sciences philosophy encourages you to ask difficult questions, explore unfamiliar terrain, and indulge your passion for discovery.

Harvard students have access to courses, research institutes, and faculty mentors from all parts of Harvard. With world-renowned faculty, state-of-the-art resources, and individualized instruction, it’s the perfect place to pursue your favorite and still-to-be-discovered academic interests.

GRADE: C
Justification: No mention of the job you get upon degree completion. Though, it’s Harvard. Do they need to justify their value? They’re brand is Ferrari.

University of Michigan (Big Ten)

We create conditions that provide everyone an opportunity to thrive. We welcome, acknowledge and appreciate our similarities and differences. We promote creativity and curiosity to tackle challenges and inspire new ideas.

GRADE: D

Grade Justification: When I returned to find a link to this statement, I couldn’t find it anywhere on the U of M website. I searched the internet and still couldn’t find it to reference. If it’s that hard, it may not matter what it says. I hope all institutions create an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. I’m sad that isn’t a given. Yet, there is no mention of future careers here. 

Overall, higher education is great at creating value propositions that inspire using words like transformative, innovative, and excellence. I’m just not sure those are resonating with the student (“buyer”) audience. These are corporate words or MBA terms and can probably be put into a bucket on the side for talking with industry. An 18 year old, though?

I found few that could clearly articulate “this education will get you a good-paying job.” This messaging to the prospective student and the respective employers out there needs some tightening up, to say the least. The mission statement can hold all of the inspiration and aspiration we love about higher education, but it’s time to cut to the chase on the value proposition. If I can’t understand from your value proposition that a degree from your school will get me a good-paying job, I find it hard to believe a young person is figuring it out.

NOTE: If you are one of these institutions and can send me your value proposition, I am happy to update this content and include a link. If I got it wrong, let me know and I’ll fix it. If you want to be considered in updates to this content and you have a clear and concise value prop > send it to me.

Industry must play a part in creating the value proposition of Higher Education and Higher Ed needs to seek the Input.

Partnerships between higher education and industry are crucial for addressing the expanding talent demands. They provide a dependable and consistent method for employers to develop a skilled workforce. Despite their advantages, establishing and maintaining these partnerships can be difficult. 

Differences in language regarding timelines, urgency, structure, and governance between higher education and employers are common. Despite these challenges, great things are happening between higher ed and industry across the country. Programs and partnerships that can help answer the value proposition question. 

Some programs and initiatives are working diligently towards the types of academia+industry partnerships that clearly show a pathway to “a good paying job”. Here are a few more from my backyard in Indiana:

The Indiana Connection Lounge
Ball State University – 22,000 students enrolled

Ball State University has uncovered that employers they work with rank students higher on digital competency knowledge than what students think they have, highlighting the need for better preparation of students for the digital economy. The school is working on embedding competencies that employers find important into curricular and co-curricular activities on campus to address the skills misalignment between industry and higher education.

Recognizing the importance of creating a space for authentic engagement with industry partners to connect with students, especially underrepresented populations, has resulted in a dedicated space called the Indiana Connection Lounge.

The Indiana Connection Lounge creates opportunities for students to connect with industry partners and learn about potential career paths in a casual, non-intimidating space.  The lounge is part of a full-day or multi-day experience for industry partners to step into classrooms, give presentations, mentor real industry projects, and spend time in the lounge. 

The significance of providing mentorship and guidance to students in higher education is emphasized in each opportunity, as it accelerates the personal and professional development of the students, preparing them for the workforce and contributing to the state’s economic growth. This includes creating opportunities for students to connect with industry partners and learn about potential career paths. Unlike the pressure to perform at a career fair, students come as they are to the lounge and ask basic questions of industry professionals. Questions like: What jobs are in your company? 

The next evolution of the lounge is looking at regional connections to connect students to workforce needs and industry clusters, such as highlighting the Orthopedics industry and helping students understand the opportunities in the tech industry.

The Data Mine
Purdue University, West Lafayette – 41,500 students enrolled

Part of Purdue University’s Integrative Data Science Initiative, The Data Mine opened as the first large-scale learning community for undergraduate and graduate students from all majors in the fall of 2018. Housed in Hillenbrand Hall and grounded in “Data Science for all”, the key trait for joining The Data Mine is the desire to learn data science in a rigorous, but welcoming environment. 

2023-2024 academic year:

1700+ students
133 majors
20+ communities
60+ companies
17 staff

Corporate Partners work with teams of 5-15 students and are led by a paid student leader. “Each cohort follows an Agile approach, working on data-intensive projects provided by industry partners and mentored by company employees. Students develop professional and data skills throughout the academic year, from August through April. Many students return in subsequent years to the program, increasing their tenure with a Corporate Partner.” (Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews)) The program has been extremely successful and will open a second location on the Purdue University-Indianapolis campus in fall 2024.

“A lot of my classes were just so technical so translating that technical ability into the business world was so difficult. The Data Mine really helped me pull all that together. If I had jumped only from my technical education into a full-time position, I think it would have been a huge switch and almost overwhelming. I’m glad I had The Data Mine to help me transition and get me thinking not just in a technical manner, but from the perspective of business.

– Claudia Franchville, 2022 graduate currently employed with her industry partner from The Data Mine

Franklin College, Digital Fluency Initiative
Franklin  College – 1,000 students enrolled

Recognizing the industry call for both technical and soft skills, Franklin College intentionally set out to prepare its students for the digital workforce of tomorrow. The initiative outlines curricular and co-curricular experiences in five competency areas that require students to develop technical skills as part of their core and major classes.

The initiative isn’t just about the students’ degree pathways, however. The Digital Fluency Initiative also includes:

• The Center for Tech Innovation. The CTI is a hub for the college’s digital fluency program. It provides collaborative workspace for students, faculty and staff to explore new technologies. It’s a space where everyone is encouraged to experiment, fail, and be curious. The CTI opened in January 2023.
• Upskilling all faculty members with digital fluency competencies to overlay into each and every college and in each and every classroom. 
• An active and growing advisory council of business leaders that not only help bridge the gap between industry needs and student preparedness, but actively works to uncover opportunity pipelines for students. The council works regularly with administration, faculty, and is devoted to student interaction. This council was formed in January 2023.

The Digital Fluency Initiative is young and will only grow. Franklin College is currently seeking formalized industry partnerships to advance the learning experiences and pipeline opportunities for its students.

CONCLUSION

These programs and pathways are a tiny sample of the really good things happening across higher education that do, indeed, answer the value proposition question. These programs, however, are not being marketed as the value proposition or at least not clearly. They are a sidebar; a program talked about post-application. With the clear and concise value proposition, these programs could be the launching point of an institution-wide marketing campaign aimed at those as young as junior high. Here is my suggestion for a new value proposition for higher education:

JM University equips individuals with the knowledge, skills, and networks necessary to thrive in today’s complex world. Through academic rigor, industry-led learning experiences, and exposure to diverse viewpoints, students develop technical skills alongside essential skills in critical thinking and communication. A lifelong curiosity will give graduates a long-term competitive edge and a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them.

No mission statement. No aspirational MBA terms. Just a few sentences that tell the prospective student what they get for their money. (1) academic rigor; (2) industry connections; (3) technical and soft skills; which result in a (4) competitive edge to get a good paying job and continue to evolve for a lifetime career.

I have great passion and belief in our future workforce. I also believe in higher education for both workforce preparedness and the pure pursuit of knowledge, understanding, and intellectual discovery. We have curious, brilliant, and innovative young people who will become the leaders we need for our future. But, we are facing a significant challenge in workforce skills alignment and rising tuition costs that have been placed squarely in the “problem for higher ed” corner. It’s a big problem to solve, but if anyone is up for solving the world’s biggest problems, it’s academia. Along way, we might just beat the cliff and convince our future workforce that a college education will get you to that well-paying job you want.

OK, higher education: What’s your new value proposition?