We’re seeing a shift in perspective as we talk to academics, administrators, deans and leaders at higher education institutions across the country.
Everybody, it seems, shares a sharper interest in student outcomes.
The reasons for this renewed interest are many, and they extend beyond the fact that a new academic year is underway.
First, there’s the money. Almost everyone’s now aware that the federal government expects colleges and universities that receive its funding to provide more detailed, measured outcomes for graduates of specific degree programs. This initiative goes well beyond the broader-based outcomes data higher education institutions have long provided.
Second, there’s the reality of an enrollment cliff. In recent years, enrollment numbers have largely been flat across the country. Higher education leaders understand that a smaller pool of prospective students means more intensified competition to attract them.
Third, there’s the desire among prospective students and parents to know if their investment with a particular higher education institution will pay off. The traditional view that a college degree is necessary for career and professional success isn’t as widely held as it used to be. In some cases, prospective students and their parents want to know the return on investment they can expect before they set foot on campus.
It’s an environment that some administrators, deans, faculty and leaders say they find challenging and unsettling.
But here’s the good news: Advances in technology and tools are helping colleges and universities find their way in this increasingly outcomes-driven environment.
It’s now possible for higher education institutions to identify and understand the level of career, financial and social success graduates from their schools achieve. They can more easily know how well specific degree programs shape graduate career paths compared to competing institutions. They can map the specific employers, industries and marketplaces where their graduates’ success stands tall, or doesn’t.
We’ve been inspired by the different ways higher education leaders, across the C-suite to deans of degree programs to alumni offices and career centers, are using the new technologies to gain a clearer, more holistic view of student outcomes. It’s exciting to see how these outcome insights are re-shaping the strategies they use to attract students, shape classroom courses and curricula, and provide the measurable, degree-specific ROI today’s higher education environment requires.
We look forward to sharing these stories in upcoming posts. Stay tuned.