On June 20, 2019, Emily Bouck West, deputy executive director of Higher Learning Advocates, spoke with Spectrum Bay News 9 on proposals that would help today’s students repay their federal student loans. Watch the full interview below.  

The accelerating pace of workplace change raises the specter that formal degrees no longer meet workplace demands and might not be providing the skills and competencies that employers require and workers need. This sense of urgency has shined the spotlight on short-term credentials. Short-term credentials—such as certifications, certificates, and...

Flipping the Script: Making sure all learning counts. “I was worried I would not be able to find a job due to my lack of experience, inadequate resume and now, time away from the workforce. I continued to apply for work. To my dismay, my resume did not demonstrate that I was a strong enough…

Elon University serves as one of the leaders in experiential education, expanding students’ knowledge beyond the classroom to the real world. These experiences, ranging from internships to study abroad, have become strongholds of an Elon education and is what drew us to pick Elon as the college we both wanted to attend. But we both…

Tony Carvajal was born to immigrant parents who came to the United States from Cuba pursuing opportunity. They had no money and no idea where they might land, but knew they were headed to freedom. Growing up as a first-generation Cuban in Miami, Tony spoke Spanish before he spoke English. While he struggled with reading…

Insights & Outlooks: What are the most important education and training priorities for the manufacturing sector today? Manufacturers across the country are facing a workforce crisis.  Surveys of the members of the National Association of Manufacturers have shown finding and retaining a qualified workforce to be the top concern for nearly two ...

For better or worse, we live in a society in which credentials are currency.  A credential is a signal that the bearer has participated in and successfully completed some type of formal learning. Some credentials are broad and encompassing while others are highly specialized.  In spite of the vast number of credentials awarded by an…

Today’s students—who are more likely to be workers, parents, returning adults, veterans, and more—may have postsecondary education experiences and pathways that don’t fit traditional molds. They no longer follow a single and consistent pathway to a degree. Today’s students need access to more flexible higher learning pathways and delivery...

Less than half of Americans now believe that going to college will pay off with higher lifetime earnings. And employers, faced with seemingly endemic skills gaps, are beginning to look beyond the degree as a proxy for skills that matter in the future of work. Earlier this year, JPMorgan announced it will end the practice…

Princeton economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton documented the shocking increase in “deaths of despair” – the rising mortality rates for middle-aged White Americans with a high school education or less. While conversations continue about how best to prepare people for the future of work, the Case and Deaton data reminds us of the human&hellip...

Today, Higher Learning Advocates and Advance CTE released a 101-level explainer on career and technical education (CTE)—a type of learning that prepares individuals for college and careers by providing academic and technical skills needed to succeed in the workforce. This new 101 provides a quick overview on who participates in CTE, outcomes from...