Looking Forward

By Jenny Barnett, February 15, 2023

Panel discussion focuses on the next decade in higher education.

(From left) Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Melanie Stein, who served as moderator; Carleton College professor Nathan Grawe; college access and enrollment expert Adrienne Amador Oddi; and Ithaca College Board of Trustees member Jeff Selingo ’95.

(Photo by Adam Baker)

Members of the Ithaca College and local communities heard from distinguished higher education thought leaders during a discussion on “The Decade Ahead: Trends in Higher Education” held in Emerson Suites last week.

Panelist conversations centered on the shifting demographics in the college cohort, debate over the value of a degree, and the way work might impact higher education in the next 10 years—and what steps educators and institutions can take to mitigate those changes.

“It is an understatement to say that these are challenging times,” said Ithaca College’s Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Melanie Stein as she opened the event as moderator. “But we all believe passionately in our mission as educators, in the mission of our institutions—so we are grappling with these issues.”

The panel was composed of three speakers: Ithaca College Board of Trustees member Jeff Selingo ’95, who is the New York Times best-selling author of Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions; labor economist, author, and Carleton College professor Nathan Grawe; and college access and enrollment expert Adrienne Amador Oddi, who is vice president of strategic enrollment and communications at Queens University of Charlotte. Their expertise brought different perspectives to bear on the topics.

“What does a traditional undergraduate degree mean in 2023 when the workforce is changing drastically, the world around us is changing in many ways, and when the skills needed to keep up in any job are churning at an ever-faster pace? That’s the piece we need to figure out as an industry.”

Ithaca College Board of Trustees member Jeff Selingo ’95

Opening the discussion, Stein asked the panelists to name a critical issue facing higher education that institutions may not be thinking enough about.

For Selingo—whose best-seller provides an in-depth analysis of the admissions process and advice to college applicants—a concern is that students and parents have begun to question the value of a college education, and a bachelor’s degree in particular.

All three panelists brought a distinct area of expertise to the discussion. (Photo by Bob Wagner)

“What does a traditional undergraduate degree mean in 2023 when the workforce is changing drastically, the world around us is changing in many ways, and when the skills needed to keep up in any job are churning at an ever-faster pace?” he asked. “That’s the piece we need to figure out as an industry.”

Grawe—whose books focus on how recent demographic shifts are likely to affect demand for higher education while providing examples of how proactive institutions are grappling with these shifts—highlighted how recent substantial declines in fertility will impact the college student population in the coming years. U.S. births peaked in 2007 but had fallen by more than 15% by 2020. That peak will reach traditional college age in 2025.

Oddi is known for creating practices that actively include different voices and views while building communities on college campuses.

“We have to be focused more on creating nimbleness and agility as institutions,” said Oddi, urging institutions to harness creativity and the breakthrough mindset that developed during the pandemic to combat these challenges. Oddi also talked about the importance of supporting students—and their family members—throughout the college experience, from the enrollment process, through their time on campus, to their transition after graduation.

"It was all about the people—the faculty, the staff, and others that I met here who helped me along the way.”

Jeff Selingo ’95

Belonging and purpose are key factors for Selingo. In referencing his time at IC, he said, “It was all about the people—the faculty, the staff, and others that I met here who helped me along the way.” He recalled having a rough first semester. But he went on to make lifelong friends through his work for the college’s student newspaper, The Ithacan, and credits his academic advisor with helping him understand his next steps, and why. “Then I found my purpose,” he said.

Selingo believes that helping students find their own sense of belonging and purpose will help keep them engaged—and enrolled and graduating—well into their early years after college. He sees many who struggle immediately after leaving college.

“I think helping students launch in their first couple of years is a critical piece of what prospective students and parents are looking for,” he said.

Another barrier is the perception that liberal arts colleges are not seen as preprofessional. “The workplace talks about skills, and higher education talks about learning outcomes,” said Selingo.

Areas of conversation included helping students find their belonging and purpose and the need for institutions to be agile.

(Photo by Bob Wagner)

Despite these challenges, the panel was optimistic about the future and shared a number of innovations they have already seen being implemented. Grawe cited institutions thinking about the admissions process more holistically, not just in the admissions office but also across campus, recognizing that retaining students is a big part of the solution. One institution gave students a 90-minute advising conversation before they stepped foot on campus in the fall and subsequently saw their retention rate increase by 8%, according to Grawe.

“Enrollment is really all of our jobs,” agreed Oddi.

All the panelists spoke about the value of developing partnerships—both with other institutions and with business and community partners. They also provided examples of programs that have pivoted to meet changing demands of their student body—creating new bachelor’s/master’s programs, introducing two-year associate degrees, experimenting with three-year degrees, and essentially redesigning from the ground up.

“The panelists did a good job of balancing the real challenges we are facing with examples of institutions that are doing some different things. I think people were excited to hear the conversation.”

Nicole Eversley Bradwell ’02, executive director of admission at Ithaca College

Oddi sees the power of partnerships first-hand. Thanks to a new initiative at Queens University of Charlotte, local companies are funding student scholarships and providing additional career coaching, mentoring, and internships. These mutually beneficial partnerships are helping to address the support services needed for the institution—and the talent needed for the city.

The landscape of higher education is shifting, according to Selingo. A recent report found that there are over a million different credentials in the marketplace, with the majority offered by nonacademic institutions such as LinkedIn Learning or companies offering internal education. He feels that, while competition may be increasing, so is the demand for higher education. He sees this as an opportunity to serve a segment of students that are not currently being well served.

The University of Texas recently examined the return on their investment of all their degrees one, two, and three years out. Having found inequalities, they are now embedding credentials in the curriculum of lower-performing majors, providing students with a very specific skill that they can talk about, and increasing the payoff in the job market.

“There are a lot of interesting experiments going on right now,” said Selingo.

Nicole Eversley Bradwell ’02, executive director of admission at IC, attended the event with some of her team and came away impressed: “The panelists did a good job of balancing the real challenges we are facing with examples of institutions that are doing some different things,” she said. “I think people were excited to hear the conversation.”