Why 2019 was a pivotal year for the degree | Digital Learning - Inside Higher Ed

The traditional university credential faces growing competition and criticism, but postsecondary institutions around the world are responding with new designs and delivery models, Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO at Coursera writes.

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A recent New York Times article examined the need for the “60-year curriculum” at a time when people are living and working longer. As workers move across jobs and careers, they will constantly need new skills -- over many decades -- to remain employable. This pace of change, fueled by globalization and technology, is fundamentally reshaping the future of work and creating a need for a new kind of lifelong learning.

In that context, the university degree is facing growing competition and criticism, but 2019 saw significant innovations in the design and delivery of degrees that promise to meet this need.

Higher education institutions are making the university degree more accessible, more affordable, more flexible and more relevant to a global audience of lifelong learners...

Increasingly, online degrees are finding a place in employers’ learning and development strategies. Companies are looking to create deeper, foundational expertise as they upskill their talent. Enterprise AI provider C3.ai announced it would cover the total cost for employees to earn a master’s degree in computer science online -- developing skills in-house to offset the industrywide AI talent shortage. In a step toward building advanced data science skills it needs for its business, Novartis recently decided to offer employees a fully-funded online master's degree in data science from the University of Michigan and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

So what does the future hold for degrees? A study by Northeastern University found that 64 percent of employers believe the need for continuous lifelong learning will demand higher levels of education and more credentials. Leading universities are responding by offering degrees that are more accessible, more affordable, more flexible and have currency in the workplace. The innovations we saw in 2019 herald a future where top universities create lifelong learning partnerships that serve the needs of all learners everywhere in the world and hold the promise to end educational privilege.
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Source: Inside Higher Ed