Dr. Bob Habib serves as a Lead Instructional Systems Specialist where he develops training policy for the US Coast Guard, as well as a professor for the School of Business & Leadership at Regent University. With over 15 years of experience in higher education in faculty and administrative positions, he has served as a Senior Director of Enrollment Management and as a Prior Learning Assessment Director. His primary teaching portfolio includes strategic leadership, design thinking, change management, and prototype innovation. ‘Dr. Bob’ also serves as a consultant for innovation initiatives and change management for many national organizations and has spearheaded many projects that have led to millions of dollars in net revenue.
In today’s rapidly changing higher education landscape, the discussion around the value of education is more volatile than ever. Rising costs seem to be at the forefront of these conversations, and facets such as employment pathways, marketability, and relevance are always intertwined. Even though I won’t be able to convince the naysayers that higher education is indeed valuable with this article, I am suggesting that higher education in general terms could be more valuable.
Value is a relative term, but for the sake of this discussion, we’ll use value as a measure of return on investment (ROI). There are many models to consider when attempting to determine the value (or true cost) of going to college. Some examples include:
- Price-to-earnings model calculates the number of years it takes a student to recoup the cost of their education.
- Subtraction cost/potential earnings model subtracts the total cost of education from the potential earnings a student can earn.
- Counterfactual earnings model demonstrates the amount a student would have earned over their life if they hadn’t pursued the degree.
As you note, all of these put financial resources as the core of each model. But what about non-financial ROI? Facets like credibility, development of work ethic, ability to think critically, and commitment to a large undertaking? All are very valuable to most employers. Lastly, let’s consider the value of potential employability once a student has graduated – perhaps the largest perceived value (at least to parents of prospective students).
While no higher education institution can guarantee employment once a student completes an internally awarded credential, earning industry-standard credentials will increase students’ job marketability. If you were an employer at a large tech firm, you’d have to ask yourself, “Which is more important for my next hire?” A college degree (BS in IT as an example) or an industry-awarded certification? According to Indeed: the Amazon Web Services certification, CompTIA certification, Certified Ethical Hacker certification, and Certified Cloud Security Professional certifications are in the top ten most sought-after credentials by companies hiring IT professionals. Their list doesn’t mention a single college degree. This certainly doesn’t dismiss the significant value found within college degrees, yet most hiring managers seek professionals (even entry-level ones) who have a combination of experience, degrees, and industry-standard certifications. The root question boils down to which one of those buckets provides the most value?
If you are leaning toward industry standard certifications, you are not alone. In fact, industry certifications are often a primary requirement for many roles in technology, outpacing the need for a degree. Yes, every industry is different in their approach to trade currency and valuation of various education types, but the trend of certifications is not going away anytime soon. Coursera did a study in 2022 observing that 86% of employers surveyed stated an industry certification significantly boosts a candidate’s job application, 74% stated it would positively impact a hiring decision in choosing between two degreed candidates, and 63% stated the presence of an industry certification would most certainly influence a hiring decision (to the positive). Take away here…it’s likely the combination of a college degree and industry standard certifications will produce the highest results in gaining employment.
How does the higher education landscape tackle this? We need to approach education more holistically than ever before. Using industry-standard certifications as the core of the curriculum where it makes sense seems like a good place to start. In a unicorn world, every course and degree would have certifications embedded within. Imagine graduating with a business degree and as a result, you also were awarded the PMP or Lean Six Certification. How about embedding SHRM within every Human Resource degree? And of course, think of the countless IT certifications that could be embedded with IT-related degrees. The potential here is limitless, and there are already a handful of institutions that have fully embraced this approach. West Virginia University, Kennesaw State, University of Indianapolis, and Pensacola State College are a few institutions that are continuing to push the envelope within this context. Even the United States Army embeds certain certifications within their training portfolios which serves over one million personnel. The Army’s goal is to move its individual schoolhouses (varied by discipline) to a model where at least 70% of the curriculum is based on external industry standards.
If embedding certifications into all applicable courses and degrees is the norm rather than the exception, is it a bridge too far? Let’s adjust the continuum of thought a bit. We’ll start with aligning instead of embedding. In collaboration with WorkCred in 2020, Dr. Valerie Wayda, who serves as the Associate Dean for Student Success and Academic Affairs at West Virginia University, stated “Aligning our curriculum with different certifications has been extremely beneficial. Students can earn a certification from a nationally recognized organization which is important when entering the job market, and there’s quality assurance that our curriculum meets standards within that profession.” This approach provides three essential victories – students are better prepared to compete in the job market, colleges bolster the value of their respective curricula (which means higher enrollment and employment rates), and the industry at large gains higher level employees who are more likely to succeed with the skills/knowledge employers need and desire.
As we consider new course offerings, we must first look to align the core of the curriculum with the industry standards. At a minimum, this makes the curriculum current (at least at the time of launch) and better prepares students to satisfy the CEU and exam requirements once their course/degree has been completed. In many cases, CEUs can be satisfied with select courses, provided the appropriate content is embedded. Lastly, let’s apply this strategy to our current course catalogs. Instead of having two overarching standards (one by the college curriculum and one by the industry at large), courses would be revamped to have a universal standard that satisfies both.
Let’s allow room in higher education for the industry to have a real voice in creating the best value in education. If employers are telling us what they need and desire, let’s listen, let’s react, and let’s provide the value our students and industry truly deserve. Let’s put the industry in the classroom and provide an edge for all stakeholders.