2 min read December 2022 — The business model for high-quality higher education will only become more complex going forward, Vanessa Beasley, president of Trinity University, told Invest:. The best responses to keep education affordable will be targeted philanthropy and partnerships with businesses outside of academia. Beasley also discussed the current education landscape and people’s expectations of higher education.
What is your overview of where higher education is now?
As an ecosystem, we now know how online higher education works, and it will never go away. That’s a positive on the whole because having more educational options available to more people at different price points will benefit everyone. We will have a better society if we have better-educated people at all levels. Now that we’ve seen the delivery model can be flexible, appropriate, and appealing to different learners, you’ll continue to see a lot of differentiation in the market.
Moving forward, you will see some higher education institutions invest more in the development of very purposeful and targeted online programs, perhaps for later-in-life learners or people who want to switch careers. As those programs increase, you will also continue to see Trinity and other universities that put residential education at the core of an undergraduate college experience think more strategically about how to make the most of that differentiation. For example, to improve the excellent classroom education Trinity and other selective liberal arts universities are known for, you will see more emphasis on “hands-on” experiential learning, internships, and career preparedness. There will also be more emphasis on athletics and the performing arts, experiences where students learn important lessons from coaches, instructors, and peers. Then there is also the matter of spaces for social development and interaction – opportunities to have fun! We know our students increasingly want outside-of-the-classroom experiences.
Do you think people now have different expectations of higher education?
You are probably aware of something that’s been called the “demographic cliff” in higher education. That means that the total number of 18 to 22-year-olds in the United States is declining rapidly. We’ve all known about that and have been preparing for it. As multiple institutions compete even more fiercely for the same students as the overall population decreases, the need to differentiate your university increases. The trend that leaders in higher education didn’t see coming is a result of the disruption in the labor pool following the onset of the global pandemic. Now there are students we would have previously put in that category of potential recruits, those we would have identified as highly likely to go to college, saying that they can get a job without a degree from higher ed. They see jobs in multiple fields where they can get on-the-job training and get paid pretty well as entry-level employees. As a result, these students are reconsidering their plans. Thus, the important conversation that was happening before COVID about affordability and access to higher education now also has a new dimension: how to define the value proposition in a more compelling way to people who are telling us they are not sure they need a college degree right now and maybe are not sure they will ever need it. That tells me that the previous expectation of an undergraduate degree for career readiness may be changing. It is also an important trend for institutions that offer graduate and professional degrees, as Trinity does, to monitor as they think through the implications for their students and curriculum.
In all cases, many of the proof points are the outcomes. That’s why I’m so proud that 98% of Trinity’s undergraduate class of 2021 reported being employed or in graduate or professional school within six months of graduation, a rate well above the national average. When I talk to employers of our graduates, they tell me that Trinity students often emerge quickly as leaders in their fields and point to the ways that a foundation in the liberal arts improves communication and analytical skills.
How would you analyze the progress that’s been made overall in keeping education affordable?
In some ways, it helps to think of the cost of higher education like any quality product or service you’re offering to a market. It’s expensive to offer a high-quality education, and the cost will increase as the level of quality increases, even if we think of our facilities as fixed costs, which is not true. I want to be in the best position to recruit talented faculty, especially those who value working with undergraduate students on research; that’s part of our mission at Trinity.
At the same time, higher education must be responsive to important questions about affordability and access. Part of the answer comes from helping people understand that when they contribute to scholarship funds that enable students to come to Trinity, they are also investing not just in those students’ futures but also in the region and in fields of study that can benefit larger economies.
We have data that suggests that since Trinity opened in this location in San Antonio, one-third of our graduates have stayed in San Antonio. The investment in the region becomes even more clear when we invite first-generation students who otherwise might not be able to afford the kind of education we offer here. As a result, we’re also contributing by creating diverse workforces with very advanced skills.
How does the university work with the local business community?
One important way is by offering internships. More than 80% of our undergraduates engage in experiential learning, including internships at local companies or companies in the region or, in some cases, back in the student’s hometown or a third region. Experiential learning might also include community engagement or doing research with professors. These types of contexts for practical problem-solving can also benefit local business communities if a business wants to get some research done in a new area it is developing. Whatever their interests, we want students to have these experiential learning opportunities at their fingertips. Employers tell us this type of work directly relates to career readiness and that they see that Trinity students are ready to lead because they come to the job with analytical skills as well as “soft skills” involved in effective communication.
What is your outlook for Trinity for the next three to five years and what are your top priorities?
My outlook for Trinity University is incredibly positive. Trinity has so many unique attributes and differentiators already built in, such as our talented faculty and our location. We are in a part of the country that is growing rapidly, and we’re the gateway to the Americas. Trinity is the right place for students not only from the United States but from other countries who want to do business internationally and become engaged global citizens. This ability to think about how you are going to contribute to something larger than yourself is my goal for everyone on our campus, regardless of their status as faculty, students, or staff. As a result, that’s also one of my top priorities: creating better ways of learning and problem-solving as we create tomorrow’s leaders.
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