BridgeU In Brief: w/c 20th March, 2023

Hello. We're back after a short spring hiatus, and we've been planning lots of exciting content, resources events for the next few months (more on this in future editions of this newsletter). But for now...

Is the traditional bachelor's degree an endangered species? A new white paper published by Burning Glass and Workday has posed this exact question.

In 'Making the Bachelor's Degree More Valuable: Why the Degree Still Works, Where It Doesn’t, And How To Redesign the BA To Be Worth More in a Degree-Optional World', authors Jeff Selingo and Matt Sigelman warn that colleges and universities in the USA can no longer count on the historical value of the bachelor's degree as they seek to market higher education to prospective students.

While their report does admit that the bachelor's degree still carries value in the job market.

Specifically, Selingo and Sigelman observe that

"Having a B.A. delivers a wage premium worth more than four years of experience for non-B.A. workers. Even degree holdersn B.A.-optional jobs earn a premium of 15 percent compared to those without a college diploma in the same positions."

But crucially the report warns that the US degree programme now faces stiff competition from microcredentials, work-based certificates and jobs that don't require a four year college degree. The onus is now on higher ed institutions to prove the value of the bachelor's degree in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

As ever with reports that are domestic in their focus, we thought we'd pose the same question in the international context.

In the case of international students and international schools, the undergraduate degree seems to be in rude health.

For the majority of students that BridgeU works with, a bachelor's degree is still the most promising route to a higher wage and a more secure and/or prestigious career path (though we also see an increasing number of our counsellors ask us about vocational pathways and micro-credentials too).

But in the post-COVID world, faced with a rising cost of living and uncertainty over visa processes, even some international students are questioning the value of going to a far off country in pursuit of an undergraduate degree.

For example, in our recent series 'How to Build A Localised Recruitment Strategy', we noted that students in the Asia Pacific are now re-evaluating the value of a US higher education, in favour of destination countries closer to home.

It's not just US higher ed institutions that face this problem. In the aftermath of COVID, universities in countries such as the UK and Australia must adapt to the changing preferences of students who are becoming increasingly savvy in their decision-making.

So while Selingo and Sigelman's whitepaper does focus on the US higher ed sector (and the looming demographic cliff that it's facing), are there worthwhile recommendations in their report for institutions in other countries too?

We think so.

So what does the white paper recommend? A number of recommendations resonated with us.

First, the report suggests that the bachelor's degrees which offer the highest wage premium for students are those that combine foundational skills (i.e., skills that are more broadly applicable across fields, such as leadership and negotiation) and specialised skills (which are usually concentrated in a few fields).

Secondly, the report recommends that universities should incorporate more discussions about skills and career planning into the undergraduate curriculum.

These are welcome recommendations. But we'd go further. Where possible, universities need to go further and become part of conversations with international school counsellors and students about skills and career planing as early as possible in a students' time at school.

Because, as Selingo and Singelman's report correctly points out, the skills that tomorrow's undergraduates will need to use in the world of work are changing all the time. Universities can't afford not to adapt.

What's new at BridgeU

• A reminder that later today we'll be running our latest webinar explaining why it's so crucial for higher ed institutions to incorporate international school students into their 2023 recruitment strategy. Click on the image below to register. ??
• Don't forget we're at the PIE Live next week. Our own James Leach and Matt Criddle will be presenting some exclusive data on the future of European student mobility in the aftermath of Brexit.

What's caught our eye this week

• You can read the white paper on the future of the US bachelor's degree here.
• Visa numbers suggest that international student enrolment at UK universities continues to grow, with China and Nigeria continuing to be key drivers.
• Should we continue to look to rankings as one of the primary metrics for quality in international higher ed. We enjoyed this piece for the PIE from Viggo Stacey