No education sector is limited to the kinds of credentials they award as schools—from K12 districts to four-year colleges and universities—broaden their efforts to swiftly upskill the emerging and mid-career workforce.
No academic credential is resigned to a specific education sector anymore as schools—from K12 districts to four-year colleges and universities—ramp up efforts to swiftly upskill the emerging and mid-career workforce.
Denver high school students can now earn an associate degree from an accredited technical college when they participate in a registered apprenticeship program and complete transferable general education courses.
Denver Public Schools proclaimed itself in a statement as “the first pK-12 public education system in Colorado—and one if not the very first in the entire United States—to be able to issue higher education degrees.”
While dual enrolled high school students can earn an associate degree from a neighboring community college, Denver’s school system is one of the first to offer the degree directly from the district.
“By removing barriers between high school, college, and career, we’re reimagining what it means to truly prepare students for the future,” said Denver’s superintendent Alex Marrero.
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In Arizona, high school students who begin dual-enrollment classes at Yavapai College during their junior year can earn a bachelor’s degree just one year after graduating high school.
The rural community college’s new, three-year bachelor of science degree in business is tailored toward students limited by locale, finances and family and work obligations. The sub-$10,000 degree does not come with any textbook costs or additional hidden fees.
While 25 states authorize community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees, Yavapai is among the first to run a three-year program.
“The workforce is super excited about getting a hold of our students earlier,” Yavapai College President Lisa Rhine says. “They need employees like never before, and it’s going to impact the economic vitality of our region in a way that is really important for us.”
Alongside efforts to propel young adults into the workforce, four-year institutions are also discussing how they can quickly re-skill mid-career adults impacted by AI and other emerging technologies.
Industry certificates, once a staple of community colleges, are now being adopted by some of the nation’s preeminent research universities, including Georgia Tech’s College of Lifetime Learning and the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s College of Emerging and Collaborative Studies.
The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center identified a 19.1% increase in student enrollment in undergraduate certificates from fall 2022 to fall 2024.
Why workforce relevance is skyrocketing for higher ed
The “Silver Tsunami” or “Graying Workforce” are terms used to describe the wave of late Baby Boomers and early Gen X adults aging toward retirement in the mid-2020s. More than 4.1 million Americans will turn 65 over the next two years, according to the Alliance for Lifetime Income, a nonprofit focused on protected retirement.
Job opportunities are rising along with retirement rates. Of the 15.2 million jobs predicted to be created through 2031, 85% will require some postsecondary credential, according to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.
“Employers have a double whammy going on and they’re having trouble getting entry-level employees,” Rhine says.
Higher education faces further pressure from the Trump administration to prove that colleges and universities are providing students with a commensurate ROI by rewarding workforce-relevant credentials.
How your institution can remain competitive
With education sectors beginning to offer more than the traditional credentials they’re known for, institutions must align their offerings with their distinct mission and distinguish themselves through marketing, says Joe Sallustio, vice president of industry engagement at Ellucian.
“Four-year institutions truly believe in the purity of the four-year learning experience, particularly for your student still finding themselves at 18 years old,” he says. “Some community colleges may be more interested in the adult learner who wants to get in, get out and start working faster.”
