Dive Brief:
- Valencia College in Orlando is seeking to lessen the focus on success in enrollment at the school and instead put learning at the foundation of success on campus, President Sandy Shugart told Campus Technology.
- Shugart said that students entering higher ed institutions were innately distrustful of institutions, given how those institutions had consistently “depersonalized” students and their struggles. He said it was a constant struggle to ensure that throughout its five campuses, Valencia's students felt they mattered to the school.
- Shugart said a major challenge the school was facing was helping to find methods for upward mobility in the city of Orlando, saying that while it was not difficult to find low-paying jobs, it was harder for graduates and others to find footholds in rungs higher up the ladder.
Dive Insight:
Shugart’s concerns that graduates of the school may find themselves unable to advance beyond the first rung of the ladder were countered by the school offering a selection of skills training done in “selective, short bursts,” which sound reminiscent of boot camps and other alternative modes of classes and tutorials that non-traditional students increasingly gravitate towards. As debate continues on the efficacy of these programs, it remains clear that students are more concerned about workforce development opportunities during the course of their college career.
The programs point towards some intriguing opportunities for students and institutions post-graduation. Perhaps colleges can put more emphasis on continuing relationships with students in the form of tutorials, boot camps and classes as needed to meet the needs of a student seeking a particular skill set. Such an approach could change the relationship between graduate and college, and move the emphasis from “completing” a degree to continuing a continuing relationship of learning. Additionally, if a college is based in a particular area, it could be a way to help instill community trust and integrate a school more naturally into its surrounding area, a need higher ed experts say is vital.