Colleges shift focus to students ROI of their education
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Students' quest for post-grad payoffs grabs colleges' attention.
When the stock market tumbled in 2008 and touched off the Great Recession, the newest college graduates at the time scrambled for work. Six years later, the slowly improving job market has led to a new emphasis on the return on investment (ROI) from a college education by both parents and students.
That had led them to ask more questions while new ratings systems emphasize educational value and how quickly students are employed after they receive their degrees.
That, in turn, has forced schools to rethink at least part of their educational and business models. Some have even realized success from those efforts.
“Across the board, leaders in higher education are well aware that, from the recession on, there has been a heightened concern about whether the investment in a college education is going to pay off, specifically in earnings,” said Debra Humphreys, vice president for policy and public engagement for the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), which promotes liberal arts education.
The AAC&U's 1,300 member schools are well aware of the increased concerns surrounding the cost of higher education, she said.
That concern has been amplified in media rankings of schools.
Forbes magazine, for example, recently placed Clark University, the College of the Holy Cross and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in its ranking of 200 schools that emphasizes return on educational investment.
And, Payscale.com, which has ranked schools for five years based on their students' ROI, placed Fitchburg State University and WPI on its list of the Bay State's top 10 colleges.
The recent emphasis on measuring the ROI of education has influenced schools to refocus to remain competitive, while others have hit their stride as that new focus plays to their strengths.
“Most college leaders and presidents know students are concerned about (return on investment), that parents are concerned about this and that … we need to respond constructively,” Humphreys said. “Everyone in the higher education world is extremely aware of meeting the challenge of helping students succeed (and) make that transition” into the workforce.
In 2008, a group of academics and administrators from Clark gathered to rethink the education it provided. The result? Clark continued with its traditional liberal arts format, in which students are encouraged to explore and pursue their passions, combined with an emphasis on how their education could be applied in alumni's first jobs and subsequent careers.
“We remain very committed to the value of a liberal arts education, but were realizing that the world is changing rapidly,” said Paula David, Clark's vice president of marketing and communications. “The world demands that people know how to work collaboratively, that they can work across disciplines and that they can use their analysis skills to solve problems while bringing a creative viewpoint.”
In 2012, Clark created its Liberal Education and Effective Practice — or LEEP — program, which integrates real-world application with the curriculum while nurturing the skills needed for the workplace. It includes a focus on internship opportunities and developing professional skills. It's apparently helped, as applications have risen 70 percent since LEEP's launch, and 30 percent of this year's freshman class identified the program as a reason they chose Clark, David said.
Framingham State University has also seen a boost following a shift in focus on ROI in 2008. Full-time student enrollment is up 27 percent since, said spokesperson Dan Magazu.
“Parents and students were forced to take a much harder look not only at what they could afford, but how they would pay off their (education) debt,” Magazu said of that shift. “For the public (colleges), we have always been stressing value. We have put a big emphasis on affordability.”
WPI has also ridden the wave of employment emphasis by highlighting ongoing offerings. The school's newest programs, such as robotics engineering and game design, were created to round out the curriculum while lending themselves to a high ROI, Dean of Admissions Edward Connor said.
“We've been fortunate enough to offer the types of STEM programs that do have a strong return on investment, and engaging families in that discussion is important,” he said, explaining that the programs come from a market need.
David, the Clark admissions officer, emphasized that goals for Clark students don't necessarily tie in with money but with personal satisfaction, in which the growing experience of a liberal arts education can set students up to contribute for the rest of their lives, not just their first jobs out of college.
“Our students want to have a life of meaning and purpose,” David said. “If a student focuses too much on getting one job or one vocation I think they will struggle in finding a career in this world.”
A holistic perspective on student happiness and long-term success is included in the inaugural Gallup-Perdue Index that came out in May, said Humphreys of the AAC&U. The study looked at graduates' long-term success on professional and personal levels, not just immediate job placement and salary, she said.
“The aims of a college education extend beyond professional success,” Humphreys said. “The real value of a liberal education is it prepares you for change and the ability to navigate change.”
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