Preparing students for post-pandemic success | Inside Higher Ed

Three ways universities can help students stand out, according to SAS Institute.

Photo: Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

When COVID-19 hit last year, students who were just months from graduation faced uncertainty not only about their studies but also their prospects in an uncertain labor market. While some optimists hoped things would turn around by summer, the pandemic has continued to ravage communities and the economy. Still, there’s reason for optimism for students entering the workforce this summer, especially for those pursuing degrees with programs that closely track trends and needs of industry. Universities can help their students become more competitive and enhance their own degree offerings in the following ways.

Ensure students’ skills are aligned with trends in the labor market

The pandemic has had an uneven impact across the economy, both in terms of sector and geography. Travel, tourism, mining, transportation and employment services have suffered, while certain professional services, information technology, and non-store retail have held up. Likewise, geography has played a pivotal role, with tourism-dependent cities like Las Vegas and Orlando lagging knowledge-based locations like Washington, DC.

To understand movement within the labor market, professors like Uzma Raja, the Gayle Parks Forehand Professor in Business Analytics at Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business, uses a variety of techniques. By mining texts and scraping data, Raja is able to examine job postings and message boards to determine which skills are most in demand...

The Harbert College of Business also has program champions—full-time employees tasked with managing student placement, internships and recruiter relationships. “If the students we are producing are lacking in some skills, we get immediate feedback through our external network and can make the needed changes to rectify any issues.”

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Source: Inside Higher Ed