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Earlier this year, serious conversations continued to swirl around the fate of many American colleges and universities. It’s no secret that Gen Z is shaping the future of higher ed.
Schools have seen significant drops in enrollment and retention since the pandemic turned colleges into “Zoom Universities.” Though many have returned to in-person or hybrid classes, institutions are left worrying about what the future landscape of education is going to look like.
The new “Zoomers” on today’s college experience
According to a recent pulse survey conducted by creative marketing agency Fuseideas and partner Destinations Analysts, there are a few key issues shaping Gen Z’s attitudes toward the college experience.
People of all ages are pandemic-weary, but it’s Gen Z that’s fueling the shift from promoting “hustle culture” toward prioritizing mental, emotional and societal wellness. Today’s youth are more in tune with issues like depression, anxiety and social injustice. They think, feel and dream bigger than generations before them ever felt allowed to do.
The Great Resignation is causing rising doubt about the strength of college degrees. While Gen Z hasn’t completely ditched the idea of paying for a two-, four- or six-year program, many are weighing whether a college degree will deliver true ROI and provide them with advantages entering the working world. They’re also finding value in self-created, on-demand learning journeys with pieced-together training through their counterparts coming up in the creator economy.
They’re empowered consumers who want more from their college education than what’s learned in textbooks. Many are looking past a university’s name when seeking out schools and setting their sights on study abroad opportunities, experiential learning and entrepreneurial and trade programs offered alongside traditional education tracks.
How colleges and universities can embrace the new norms
Refocus your value chain. That’s a tough thing for many rooted in the tradition and legacy of academia to imagine.
However, it’s time to embrace that today’s incoming students look at more than just how a college name will look on their resume. They want social mobility and opportunity, see potential profitability in “solopreneurship” and small business and are extremely attracted to the concept of being their own bosses.
Colleges and universities need to look at how they’re preparing students for the future. Those leading the charge are introducing more mentorship mapping, professional advancement identification and sustainable business-building capabilities.
These skills will help students see a true return on the financial and emotional investment of a college education. Schools like Suffolk University in Boston are putting more emphasis on experiential learning and entrepreneurship course concentrations that help students visualize, launch and build their own business or carry on the sustainability of family-built ones.
Paint a bigger picture. Gen Z thrives in this socially driven, self-expressive economy and is always looking outward and in for inspiration to ideate, express and engage in every experience they encounter.
They want to be immersed in their communities, both online and off, and it’s important for colleges and universities to make today’s students feel seen and celebrated, like they’re being woven into the fabric of the future. Schools like UNC Charlotte have seen success repositioning their brand strategy toward storytelling campaigns that focus on centering the student body as fearless and ambitious drivers of progress in the city’s economic and environmental future.
Embrace their activism. Today’s youth are passionate and want to take on any and every issue from racial injustice to social inequity and climate change.
Like other empowered consumers, Gen Z finds power in being part of communities that share their core beliefs. They look deeply into whether the colleges and universities they’re considering create safe, supportive and welcoming communities.
They’re specifically looking to higher ed to help them make a moral impact on their lives and the lives of others. Schools across the country should find ways to spotlight their commitments to building a better future through the promotion of courses and programs centered around social change, such as Tufts’ Leadership for Social Change program and Smith University’s Community Engagement & Social Change concentration.
The next few years are undoubtedly going to be a bracing period for many universities and colleges across the country. But they don’t have to be ones of looming doom if they do what many businesses had to during the pandemic: pivot, get creative and bring it back to what’s truly important to your audience and at the core of your mission.
