Students who would benefit the most from career mobility often face time and financial constraints that are unaccounted for in institutional efforts and public policy.
A growing focus for colleges and universities is to equip students for the future of work, whether that’s providing a credential to launch them directly into in-demand industries or developing students’ interpersonal and technical skills to be successful after a bachelor’s degree program.
However, many of these efforts lack strategic prioritization which recognizes the needs of modern learners, ultimately falling short of serving students well.
Workforce alignment efforts often assume students have the time, financial stability and flexibility to fully participate in postsecondary education and training. Early findings from Trellis Strategies’ Student Financial Wellness survey and the Some College, No Degree population suggest workforce strategies work best when institutions design around real learner constraints, rather than idealized assumptions.
Time
Today’s college students are incredibly diverse, with students increasingly experiencing postsecondary education in a non-linear fashion and arriving on campus with responsibilities beyond just being a student. With these diverse personas come competing priorities; fewer students are focused solely on their educational pursuits but rather juggling personal, family and work responsibilities.
Over two-thirds of college students are working for pay while enrolled, according to Trellis’ 2024 Student Financial Wellness Survey (SFWS). Of these learners, 43 percent are working full-time and an additional 24 percent hold more than one job. Working students can often prioritize their identity as an employee, as well; 36 percent of employed survey respondents said they consider themselves “a worker who goes to school,” as opposed to “a student who works,” which presents additional opportunities for institutions of higher education to reach these learners with workforce advancement.
When work schedules clash with courses or work-based learning opportunities, employed students can be at a disadvantage and less likely to plug-in. Trellis’ SFWS found only nine percent of students who work while enrolled log fewer than 20 hours of work per week, meaning the majority of students work full-time or nearly full-time schedules while completing their classes.
Similarly, nearly one in five respondents said they were caregivers or legal guardians to children or other dependents. Parenting students are more likely to experience time poverty, or a lack of discretionary time to support themselves in their studies. Students with dependents are more likely to make difficult decisions about prioritizing their studies or caregiving responsibilities. If, hypothetically, they lost childcare, over one-third of parenting students said they would need to drop or take fewer classes, according to the SFWS survey.
SFWS data also shows working students spend as many as 40 hours per week at their job, and over half of parenting students spend more than 40 hours a week fulfilling caregiving duties.
Financial Stability
A top motivating factor for students to enroll in higher education is workforce training, or preparation for a desired career after graduation. Research shows college graduates have higher earnings and lower unemployment, but paying for college can be the greatest barrier to completion. When individuals cannot afford tuition and cover basic expenses, they miss out on gaining the skills and credentials employers require
New data from Trellis Strategies found a significant share of students who left college without a credential cited financial instability as a critical hurdle to finishing their degree. Over one-third (35 percent) of stopped out students said they left higher education because of personal financial reasons that they needed to address—ranging from a general lack of funds, to paying bills or living costs. Another quarter of respondents indicated that the high cost of attendance and tuition pushed them to leave college.
Among those currently enrolled in higher education, 58 percent experience at least one form of basic needs insecurity and 48 percent said they had difficulty concentrating on their academics due to their financial situation, per the 2024 SFWS.
Basic needs resource support can help students remain enrolled, but students are often neglected in public benefit programs, which can further deter completion. Federal and state policies require individuals receiving food or housing support to be working or not enrolled in higher education, despite the long-term advantages a college credential can provide Americans seeking socioeconomic mobility.
Flexibility
While many colleges and universities provide in-person curricular or work-based learning experiences, data reveals many learners may be better served by flexible scheduling options, asynchronous or self-paced learning.
Trellis’ Online SFWS found students completing courses remotely were more likely to be working or parents and were also more likely than their in-person peers to believe investing in their education is a worthwhile pursuit. Eighty percent of online learners said they believe the cost of college is a good investment for their financial future, compared to 73 percent of the SFWS general survey.
For students who have left higher education and returned, flexible pathways that allow for credit for prior learning or other forms of appreciating work-based learning can expedite time to degree and reduce costs associated with degree completion.
Workforce strategies at colleges and universities can better serve modern learners through recognizing their various identities and priorities, creating tailored resources to address barriers to completion as well as creating flexibility in how educational content is structured and delivered.
Ashley Mowreader is a freelance data journalist. Previously, Ashley worked for Inside Higher Ed covering barriers to student success nationally, with a focus on evidence-based solutions. She holds a bachelor’s in journalism from Pepperdine University and is currently pursuing her master’s in journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.