Given the high numbers of recent college grads who are not employed, it's clear that our institutions of higher education need to revamp their educational approach. They must begin teaching students the vital skills that will allow them to meet the needs of potential employers, get hired, and hit the ground running once they graduate.
Our future grads need higher education curriculum that's bursting at the seams with experiences that model and transfer the essential talents demanded by every industry - including communication, collaboration, leadership, innovation, and problem solving. Students must gain classroom as well as practical experience in these areas so that they can contribute and thrive in a diverse, globally-centric environment.
This can be realized in five ways:
- Competency-based assessment and degree structures must prevail and replace old course models.
- Soft skills such as communication, collaboration, and leadership must be promoted, because without them, grads have will very low economic value to employers.
- The pricing model for higher education must reflect graduation and employment outcomes and be driven by ROI (Return on Investment).
- Curriculum must be increasingly delivered in modules and clusters of value where course structures provide students with immediate exposure to relevant and challenging content that corresponds to their passion and career focus.
- Hybrid models that permit a more efficient, and in most cases, more effectivedelivery of curriculum must be offered for such disciplines as entertainment and creative media arts, engineering, IT, and performance or practice-based disciplines. This methodology should gradually increase to other course areas, including business education. These enhancements will improve educational quality and decrease the overall cost of curriculum delivery.
Once these transformations have been implemented, a number of benefits will accrue for students and their ultimate employers, including:
- Employers will begin to differentiate between graduates who are prepared and those who aren't prepared, and will rely less on college brand names to ascertain the quality of potential hires.
- Education and industry engagement will rise, resulting in more productive curriculum and more employment-ready grads.
- Institutes of higher education that embrace competency-based, collaboration-driven, and employer-centric curriculum delivery models will be recognized by students and their employers for the value and innovation that they offer.
This institutional alignment of successful student preparation with the needs of prospective employers will generate improved enrollments for the higher education providers; enhanced career opportunities for students; and better prepared, more productive, and more capable workforces for employers.
Our future grads need higher education curriculum that's bursting at the seams with experiences that model and transfer the essential talents demanded by every industry - including communication, collaboration, leadership, innovation, and problem solving. Students must gain classroom as well as practical experience in these areas so that they can contribute and thrive in a diverse, globally-centric environment.
This can be realized in five ways:
- Competency-based assessment and degree structures must prevail and replace old course models.
- Soft skills such as communication, collaboration, and leadership must be promoted, because without them, grads have will very low economic value to employers.
- The pricing model for higher education must reflect graduation and employment outcomes and be driven by ROI (Return on Investment).
- Curriculum must be increasingly delivered in modules and clusters of value where course structures provide students with immediate exposure to relevant and challenging content that corresponds to their passion and career focus.
- Hybrid models that permit a more efficient, and in most cases, more effectivedelivery of curriculum must be offered for such disciplines as entertainment and creative media arts, engineering, IT, and performance or practice-based disciplines. This methodology should gradually increase to other course areas, including business education. These enhancements will improve educational quality and decrease the overall cost of curriculum delivery.
Once these transformations have been implemented, a number of benefits will accrue for students and their ultimate employers, including:
- Employers will begin to differentiate between graduates who are prepared and those who aren't prepared, and will rely less on college brand names to ascertain the quality of potential hires.
- Education and industry engagement will rise, resulting in more productive curriculum and more employment-ready grads.
- Institutes of higher education that embrace competency-based, collaboration-driven, and employer-centric curriculum delivery models will be recognized by students and their employers for the value and innovation that they offer.
This institutional alignment of successful student preparation with the needs of prospective employers will generate improved enrollments for the higher education providers; enhanced career opportunities for students; and better prepared, more productive, and more capable workforces for employers.
About the Author:
Scott McKinley is the President of SAE USA, a college that offers accredited degrees and diplomas in creative media education, including audio technology and music production. SAE USA has campuses in seven major markets across the country, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Nashville, Chicago, Miami, and Atlanta.
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