Reckoning with Relevance
Presentation by Christina Hubbard, Senior Director, Research Advisory Services, EAB
February 20, 2024
Each year, EAB produces a State of the Higher Education Sector report that distills emerging changes and perennial challenges into opportunities for universities. The theme "Reckoning with Relevance" reflects the widespread questioning of higher education's value.
The report outlines six priorities shaping higher eduction:
- Public perception of the value of higher education
- Enrollment and demographics trends
- Sustainable business models
- Student readiness and well-being
- Hybrid campus models
- Impact of artificial intelligence
Summary of content for each priority area:
Public perception of the value of higher education
The immediate challenge includes diminishing Return on Investment (ROI) narratives influencing student decisions, while the long-term threat involves their impact on faculty and staff.
Hubbard shared strategies that work to combat the narrative, including messaging that emphasizes to students that higher education gives them more control over their future. She suggested that messages that focus on immediate impacts are more credible, that it's most effective to frame costs as "manageable, and to demonstrate value via economic mobility.
The negative narrative about higher education adds to faculty and staff discontent. The cumulative effect is that faculty and staff question whether their work is doing the good that they had intended and questioning whether higher education is the right fit for them.
Enrollment and demographics trends
Hubbard shared demographic trends and the impact on higher education enrollments for graduate, undergraduate, and non-degree programs. While the graduate market is holding steady, most institutions have experienced enrollment drops at the undergraduate level.
The "demographic cliff" results from a 6.3% decline in the traditional college-age population between 2021-2032.
Hubbard pointed out the UM is beating national trends with enrollment growth, but warned that competitors might see that success and target UM. The key is to continue to drive value and opportunity for our students.
Sustainable business models
There is a need for sustainable business models in higher education that address rising costs, deferred maintenance backlogs, and rising discount rates. Typical cost-saving strategies include program cuts, hiring and wage freezes, voluntary separations and retirements, and restructuring.
Hubbard emphasized that across-the-board budget cuts don't work, and that universities need to make disciplined tradeoffs. He suggested that it was time to embrace a "less with less" mentality where institutions intentionally decrease "productivity" in favor of sustainable operations and a focus on mission-critical activities.
Student readiness and well-being
Hubbard acknowledged the immediate challenge of supporting students through post-pandemic struggles, both academically and mentally, while also highlighting the long-term effects of the pandemic on these issues. She emphasized the interconnectedness of academic readiness and mental health, noting that challenges in one area often lead to difficulties in the other.
Absenteeism and DFW rates are spiking in may introductory courses and faculty report gaps in core knowledge, Hubbard said. She stressed the need for low-stakes assessments to gauge student preparedness, and proactive measures to embed resources and support systems for students.
Hybrid campus models
Hubbard shared that decisions regarding flexible work arrangements will impact operations, productivity, hiring, and space allocation significantly. She noted that hybrid work is becoming the norm in the corporate sector, leading to increased productivity, job satisfaction, and staff retention. However, higher education institutions have been slower to adopt hybrid work policies compared to other sectors.
Hubbard presented data showing variations in hybrid work policies among different universities, ranging from requiring staff to be on campus five days a week to allowing remote work for up to four days. The most common model is 2-3 days in the office and 2-3 days remote.
Impact of artificial intelligence
Hubbard identified five transformative opportunities for AI in higher education, including:
incorporating AI into the curriculum to match societal and workplace changes, improving student success through personalized support, boosting faculty and staff productivity, maximand enhancing research capabilities.
- Incorporate AI into the curriculum to match societal and workplace changes
- Improve student success through personalized 24/7 support
- Boost faculty and staff productivity
- Maximize enrollment and advancement with personalized content generation
- Use AI to expand human capabilities