Transforming the “3 Rs” of Higher Ed into Real Impact
At the start of 2023, I reimagined RELEVANCE, RETURN ON INVESTMENT, and RAMPS ON & OFF as the new “three Rs” for higher education . This framework, I believe, can help educators overhaul old-school ways of thinking about how we meet adult learners’ diverse needs today.
Half a year later, the publication of 2U’s 2022 Transparency & Outcomes Report , which is centered around the large-scale impact of the edX platform, has me excited about the three Rs all over again. That’s because the meaningful effect that our university, employer, and government partners had last year on learners and society overall underscores the real progress we’re all making together by applying these principles.
Here’s how our report really shines a light on the importance and value of the three Rs to me—and why I can’t wait to see where they guide higher ed’s collective efforts next:
More High-Quality Content & Sought-After Skills = RELEVANCE
When I talk about learners’ demand for relevance today, I think it boils down to high-quality educational content that 1) connects learners to their interests and goals, 2) equips them with today’s most sought-after skills, and 3) anticipates what employers will be looking for next.
2U’s report mentions that on edX.org alone, we welcomed over 100 million visitors last year and reached over 4,000 digital offerings, from free courses to boot camps to full degrees. These numbers show the deep commitment that top institutions around the globe—universities, businesses, even Dr. Deepak Chopra —have made to fuel the ambition of all kinds of learners through engaging online content. Learners are asking for quality and variety, and the world is answering the call!
The report also reflects the future-forward investment these institutions are making in teaching skills that help learners stay market-competitive and that match what employers are looking for. Take one look at LinkedIn’s most in-demand skills for 2023 (1) and you’ll find that our top 10 searched skills on edX and top 10 courses leveraged by employees with access to edX are deeply aligned. They include soft skills like leadership, project management, marketing, and critical thinking and problem solving as well as hard skills like Python, data science, finance, Java, SQL, and cloud computing.
Of course, with technology’s rapid pace driving the expectation that up to a quarter of jobs will change in the next five years (2), the need for learners to continuously upskill and reskill is greater than ever. Nothing speaks more loudly to this than the explosive growth of interest in AI (3) this year. Together with our partners, we’ve been quick to help learners stay on the cutting-edge through AI boot camps and MicroBootCamps (TM), free online ChatGPT courses , and a $10K online AI master’s degree —not to mention AI baked directly into the edX platform . The more that higher ed can give learners the tools they'll need for the future today, the better.
More Affordable Access & Career Support = RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Relevant content may be king—but if it’s not made available to learners at an affordable price and it doesn’t empower them to turn their new-found skills into sustainable outcomes, then its ultimate value is zero. Educators can no longer be in the business of teaching for teaching’s sake; Learners today want proof of results before they commit to a program. To ensure ROI, the cost of education must come down and the career connection process must be made an integral part of the learning experience.
2U’s report reveals how more universities are embracing the benefits of public/private partnership to defy the continuously rising cost of traditional higher education (4). By the end of last year, nine of our university partners offered 20 disruptively priced online degrees. For example, the average MBA program costs $61,800 (5), but Boston University 's online MBA is only $24K. edX for Impact has also launched 18 Access Partnerships, aimed at providing learners from underserved communities with free or reduced-cost access to programs that prepare them for successful tech careers. Like I’ve said many times before: Everyone should have access to education like the air we breathe—and this particular initiative is delivering in spades.
With the number of available U.S. jobs falling to its lowest level in over two years, (6) I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for learners to not only acquire new skills—but also be provided with better ways to maximize their job search efforts and stand out in the candidate pool. One key way that many universities are guiding students to strong post-graduate outcomes is by giving extra funding and attention (7) to their career services offices.
2U is doing the same on an even greater scale with its Career Services team logging approximately 2.4 million touchpoints with edX learners in 2022, from one-on-one coaching to job referrals to employer networking. And more recently, edX launched its free Career Resource Center . With students’ use of career services equating to nearly 25% more job offers (8) last year, just think about how many more rewarding careers that could mean for the over 78 million people we connect to online learning through the edX platform!
More Flexible Options & Stackable Pathways = RAMPS ON & OFF
This final “R” refers to online learning programs that 1) serve as their own valuable “bite-size” credentials but can also incrementally stack onto one another, 2) offer credit toward future learning without requiring learners to start over, and 3) help learners achieve a degree over time, if they choose, on their own timetable and terms.
All of this optionality supports the reality that people come from all different backgrounds and levels of experience. And as we all know, “life happens”—so learners today are demanding more flexible ways to start, stop, and restart their education as needed. Just like those “hop on hop off” bus tours you see in big cities!
On the edX platform, I see more and more institutions building these kinds of flexible certificates, degrees, and microcredentials into their programming. That’s because stackable credentials continue to show promise (9) in increasing access to higher education, providing more career pathways, and benefiting diverse learner populations.
For example, by the end of 2022, Morehouse College had attracted nearly 600 students to its new online program designed to help Black men complete their undergraduate degree at half the cost of its on-campus program. The George Washington University created a fully stackable online degree pathway in public health by adding a MicroMasters® program and doctorate to either side of its online master’s degree. And Southern Methodist University gave its data science boot camp graduates the ability to earn credit if they continue on with the online master’s. It really is incredible to see institutions coming up with so many innovative ways to help learners find the path that works for them, keep learning, and achieve their goals.
The Bottom Line? Impact on Learners
At the end of the day, the three Rs would mean nothing if there wasn’t proof of them making a difference in learners’ lives. Want an example of RELEVANCE in 2U’s report? Check out edX learner Alice Ndung'u , a human rights lawyer who is helping juveniles gain access to free legal services. For RETURN ON INVESTMENT, discover the career opportunity that cybersecurity boot camp graduate and single dad Moses Athias landed. And for RAMPS ON & OFF, longtime stay-at-home mom turned software engineer Claire Davies is a true inspiration.
Between all of its in-depth data, insights, partner case studies, and learner spotlights, 2U’s 2022 Transparency & Outcomes Report makes the three Rs feel more REAL to me than ever. (Fourth “R” alert!) But now it’s your turn: Read the report and let me know how the three Rs show up for YOU in the comments below.
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