Earlier this month, our team headed to Portland, Oregon for CIC’s Chief Academic Officers Institute. While headlines shout questions around the value of a college degree and demographic shifts are intensifying pressures on institutions, the resounding sentiment at the conference was one of hope for higher education. The college path remains a popular choice for nearly two-thirds of US high school graduates. What’s changing, however, is why students choose higher education and what they expect to achieve from it. During the conference, our CEO, Kevin Harrington hosted a roundtable discussion on how to address the shifting student expectations. Below we share some of the key insights from the discussion focused on bridging the gap between career-readiness and the liberal arts paired with key questions to discuss on your own campus.
According to a recent survey by Anthology, career outcomes are a primary motivator for today’s students: more than half of students reported that their number one reason for enrolling in college is higher earning potential. Four out of the top five reasons were career-related, with the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake being the exception. This shift underscores a critical question for colleges and universities, particularly those rooted in the liberal arts: *How can we integrate career-focused skills into degree programs while preserving the integrity of a broad-based education?*
In recent decades, liberal arts education has been pitted against career training, but these paths don’t need to be mutually exclusive. Rather, integrating career-relevant skills within a liberal arts curriculum can enrich student outcomes without compromising the core values of critical thinking, communication, and adaptability—skills increasingly vital in today’s workforce.
A recent study by Preston Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), demonstrates the value of liberal arts on ROI when paired with career oriented majors. On average, degrees from liberal arts colleges can be riskier in terms of ROI for graduates with 35% of degree programs providing negative ROI, meaning that graduates are worse off financially after attending college. The opposite is true for graduates who majored in fields with a clear professional path like engineering, computer science, and nursing. Liberal arts college graduates in these programs earned more than their peers from other college types.
To maintain the integrity of a liberal arts education, institutions don’t need to completely overhaul existing programs. Often, adding a small selection of career-focused courses within a degree program can create a second, specialized track with strong career outcomes. For instance, a college offering a Business Management degree could add a few courses in Supply Chain Management to offer a specialized degree. Given that only 6% of Title IV-eligible institutions offer a Supply Chain Management program, adding such a track could set your institution apart, particularly as 93% of SCM graduates secure employment within three months.
The first step to aligning with today’s labor market is understanding where student demand intersects with employer needs. Tools like Lightcast or Gray Decision Intelligence can help institutions analyze local labor market trends, identifying skills and roles in high demand. By pairing this data with an institution’s current program offerings, colleges can pinpoint gaps and opportunities for program development. A proactive approach to monitoring market demand allows institutions to remain competitive while ensuring programs support students’ career aspirations.
Questions for Campus Discussion:
- How does your institution currently approach incorporating career-focused skills and programs within a broader curriculum?
- How do current career-relevant programs perform relative to traditional liberal arts programs in terms of enrollment and graduation rates?
Building industry partnerships is essential for bringing real-world applications into the classroom. These relationships can enhance curricula by aligning skills with current industry standards, yet small colleges often find this challenging due to limited resources. Rize has developed a model for industry collaboration, partnering with leaders like Google and HubSpot to ensure program content remains current and career-relevant.
When considering partnerships, who you engage is as critical as how you engage. Institutions should start by leveraging alumni networks, local businesses, and faculty connections to identify relevant skills and competencies. Partnerships can be developed gradually, beginning with guest speakers or project judges and building up to more integrated curriculum co-design.
In Rize programs, curriculum committees that include industry experts and academic leaders evaluate content before it reaches students. This collaborative approach ensures that skills taught are applicable to desired career outcomes—a model that could benefit many colleges considering industry alignment.
Questions for Campus Discussion:
- How does your institution currently engage industry partners, and which departments oversee these relationships?
- How are insights from industry partnerships brought into the classroom?
The liberal arts have a perception problem. As educators, we understand the importance of a liberal arts foundation in shaping analytical and critical thinkers. But for an 18-year-old student without this context, especially for a first generation student—the connection between liberal arts and career success can be hard to see. It’s our responsibility to bridge this gap.
Career Services teams can be an invaluable ally in communicating the employability benefits of a liberal arts education. Studies show that students who engage with Career Services are 21% more likely to secure job offers and 2.8 times more likely to feel their degree was worth it. Yet over half of students visit career services only once or less during their college experience. Institutions should encourage faculty to partner with Career Services to identify and map course competencies to career skills and share student success stories. Last fall we conducted a study to uncover the biggest obstacles for students in career navigation at every stage of their academic journey. Download the free resulting report here.
Alumni engagement can also bring credibility to the value of a liberal arts education. Alumni who can speak to the impact of their education on their career trajectory provide current students with real-life examples of how liberal arts studies translate into career success.
Questions for Campus Discussion:
- How do you communicate the career value of a liberal arts education to current and prospective students?
Integrating career-focused skills in liberal arts education may face resistance from faculty members concerned about compromising educational values. Addressing these concerns is essential to building a cohesive academic strategy. Faculty development workshops that show how career skills complement critical thinking can help bridge this gap. Additionally, examples of successful hybrid programs and alumni success stories can illustrate the positive impact of integration without loss of academic rigor.
For many institutions, the liberal arts represent the heart of their educational mission. But to continue attracting and serving students effectively, it’s crucial to blend this mission with a responsiveness to evolving career landscapes. In an increasingly polarized society and with the rise of automation, the unique competencies fostered by a liberal arts education—creativity, empathy, and critical thinking—are more valuable than ever. By adopting a “both/and” approach to education, we can help students realize the value of a broad-based education alongside the career outcomes they need.
How are you approaching this balance at your institution? Connect on LinkedIn to join the conversation.
