Education and Work


Yesterday’s siloed and archaic structures that fail to reflect the lived experiences of today’s students on a path to earning tomorrow’s credentials. These structures force institutions and individuals to conform to a single, idealized path experienced in isolation as a lock-step sequence - from K-12 to college to the workforce - when we know that for many this is just not the case. 50% of students nationally worked while enrolled, 20% earned more than full-time minimum wage for the 30 week school year ($9,600).

And, as the potential for more students to re-enroll in college after debt forgiveness is on the horizon, its an open question if they will stop the jobs they currently have. Surely, many of them are a part of the 39 million adults with some college but no credential who often face financial barriers to return that have been lessened.
Yet while we know that time can be the enemy, for adults it is more rigid in terms of the particular points in the day they can participate. Graduate programs have figured this out and offer virtual classes during the week and a longer in-person course on a couple weekends - just ask any executive MBA or ED.D student. In short, institutions need to be (adult) student ready which means they need to do a few things different for this population.
So, when it comes to these adult students (who are not part of a college's first-time, full-time graduation rate cohort), let's break the lock-step framing of a direct production pipeline to validate, honor, and reflect the lived experiences of today’s students pursuing tomorrow’s credentials along their holistic learning journey. A journey that recognizes individual perseverance rather than institutional retention, growth rather than gains and careers rather than jobs. This must be done with the words we use, the frame we deploy that allows education and work to occur simultaneously and the core believe that each and every student is valuable.

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