Gen Z's take on Higher Education
Since the publication of the book, The Fourth Turning in 1997, by William Strauss & Neil Howe, I have been fascinated by the ever-changing impacts of different generations’ roles over time. Strauss and Howe, however, stopped their analysis as the Millennials hit the college/work scene around 2001 ish. No one followed through by following the Millennials AND studying Generation Z coming behind them. Until now.
After searching for years for a sequel, I stumbled on a book that builds on The Fourth Turning with a focus on having up to five generations on a work team. The book is deliciously titled, A New Kind of Diversity, by Dr. Tim Elmore, a prolific author, and speaker on leadership. Right after finding Diversity, a great book titled Sticking Points by Haydn Shaw surfaced. It focuses on the 12 generational sticking points in the workspace and is a great bookend to Diversity.
Here are a few startling facts about Gen X according to A New Kind of Diversity.
They grew up ONLY in the twenty-first century, with smartphones, not just cell phones.
Since preschool, they’ve done their childhood AND adolescence on a smart tablet/device.
They are the most overwhelmed and anxious yet most savvy & entrepreneurial generation of hackers.
Their sense of the world ranges from cautious to expecting the worse. Their coming-of-age event was/is the Covid Pandemic.
Elmore offers an acronym, the word FOREIGN, to help us remember key descriptors of Gen Z.
F- Fluid. This includes their identities, terms, and descriptors. They are constantly experimenting to find themselves, and this may represent new clothing, values, beliefs, and orientations. Expect change often.
O-Overwhelmed. They have had way early access to adult content in all forms, resulting in mental health issues going from fringe to front and center.
R- Reinvention. While previous generations accepted the evolutionary change, Gen Z wants an overhaul. They will switch tastes, approaches and even their direction to a “cause de jour” approach. They are Alternative everything; music, clothes, beliefs. You should expect this to be a benchmark behavior.
E- Entrepreneurial. A HUGE portion of this Gen Z is already in the “gig” world, and a huge number have already launched their startups. They use their devices for information and their elders for interpretation.
I-Independent. They learned to be alone with their devices. While Millennials remain true team players, Gen Z is more competitive, independent, and individualistic.
G-Geek. Their tech capabilities and their individualistic, “hacker” mindset combined with a DIY mindset make them a terrific point person for all things smart tech and internet savvy.
N-Networked. Their online connectivity and numerous platforms have fostered a huge sense of tolerance for all lifestyles. They see themselves more as global citizens, with online relationships that cross borders, barriers, and ethnic identities. They likely have online peers all OVER the world.
So what do these characteristics mean for colleges and universities? Trouble and lots of it. Colleges are NOT focused on delivering higher ed to this very different cohort, with a significant “ I don’t think so” mindset. Think Gen X on steroids! Here are some other characteristics.
A. They are a smaller generation, which automatically means fewer college-age students in any given year.
B. they MAY follow the herd to college; keeping Gen Z in college AND engaged is a whole other issue.
C. Their challenges with mental health make the stress of going away to college and finding new friends in a new and strange place, overwhelming. The freshman retention rates are going south fast.
D. IF they decide to “do” college, they will seek the easiest, electronic-based, multi-option process they can research on their smartphones. Don’t think for one minute SNHU, the University of Phoenix, and Grand Canyon University aren’t aware of and already capitalizing on this trend. They are advertising heavily.
E. Back to the first word- FLEX. Gen Z EXPECTS flex admissions, flex courses, and flex classes with the delivery of content WHEN it is convenient to this generation. They may work their startup during the day, and crank out two weeks of 2 college classes all day Saturday. Or tackle them 3 nights a week. Whatever. They want options, and most universities are not ready.
Gen Z will question this lack of preparedness. Look at them- They can get their food delivered, shop online, do teledoc medicine, and work from just about anywhere on the planet in the information service economy. Why not do college “on demand”, too? They are the first fully on-demand 21st-century students. Why put up with in-person lectures on a college campus? They say, package, deliver, and I will consume and process college when and how I want to do so.
This “on demand” concept could entice the 30 million people in our country who have SOME college credits, but no degree in hand to see a path they can do in their lives. That is a HUGE cohort to figure out. Combined with the Gen Z propensities, the market for online, asymmetrical coursework has never been better. But, our professors, education system, and pricing models are not in sync with this new world and needs.
A clash of systems, culture, and opportunity is starting in earnest. You might call it a higher education revolution- evolution. And, frankly, only the fittest educational systems will survive.
Until Next Time,
All My Best,
Bonnie Burkett
