On May 11, 2022, the Next Level Lab hosted a presentation by Dr. Rovy Branon, Vice Provost for University of Washington Continuum College. Dr. Branon’s presentation, Lifelong Learning and the 60-Year Curriculum, explored the ways advances in instructional design can support learners over the course of their lifetime. The University of Washington Continuum College was used as a case study for the possibilities and future opportunities for adult learning.
While the University of Washington has high output with about 48,000 “traditional” students a year and an 86% graduation rate, there are still gaps in education and skill acquisition and learners who need support, including those who have not pursued traditional pathways to higher education. Continuum College is the extended education unit of the University of Washington, currently serving 60,000 lifelong learners in a range of capacities, both credited and non-credited.
In his role overseeing the programming for UW Continuum College, Dr. Branon has observed a number of changes to their own portfolio that he sees as representative of broader systemic shifts as institutions of higher education increasingly turn their attention to lifelong learning. Dr. Branon identified several reasons why these changes are occurring.
Why would we change?
- Longevity: While lifespans are increasing on average, so is an individual’s expected working life. Current 18-year-olds, on average, have a better than 50% chance to live to 100 or older, meaning they will likely be working from around ages 25-85, or a total of 60 years. Longer life also leads to shifts in when and how people get educated. This shift in lifelong learning can be seen through today’s college demographics, including 65% of current college students being over the age of 25.
- Technology: The web era is largely over, the mobile era is mostly over, and we are already in the world of Artificial Intelligence. The rate of change for technology can help predict the need for continuing education as advances in technology continue to advance and workers are needing to constantly adapt.
- Economic: The nature of work has been shifting, leading to a phenomenon that Dr. Branon has described as the “40-year societal job flip.” Over the past four decades, an increasing number of jobs are requiring bachelor’s degrees and beyond, and while more people overall are getting these degrees, strains on the educational system are limiting how many people can attain the necessary qualifications.
- Fracturing civil society: Lack of education for many segments of society, due in part to a system that is not serving enough people, can has led to interactions between higher education, income, and other factors like trust in expertise and institutions.
- Relevance: Finally, the relevance of higher education is currently in question. Many individuals, especially men, are leaving higher education for roles that can be completed without a degree.
In light of these factors that are catalyzing sweeping changes in higher education, Dr. Branon explored the conflicting perspectives on needing to fix a system that is currently broken versus redesigning the system from its base. Solely changing technology without changing the system that is supports will not ultimately create a change that will flourish. The 60-Year Curriculum, a concept that has been explored in-depth by NLL Senior Researcher Chris Dede and colleagues, encourages a new way to explore the system and redesign it for systemic changes that will have a greater impact and diversification education for learners, across ages, lifestyles and circumstances.
What is the 60-Year Curriculum?
The 60-Year Curriculum entails a lifetime portfolio consisting of the formal education that a person will need over the course of a 60-year working life. While lifelong learning can be defined by what learners must do, the 60-Year Curriculum explores what institutions must do to support those learners. “60-Year Curriculum” is an aspirational term that encourages institutions and practitioners to explore their work in supporting learners through multiple stages of working life by redefining and reimagining based on the shifting needs of professionals. The University of Washington is exploring this new approach through five key areas:
- The “meta” curriculum: In the context of the 60-Year Curriculum, the “meta” curriculum refers to updated learning plans, with multiple entry and reentry points, that support a multi-stage and multi-career life that is non-linear. Specifically, UW Continuum College is conceiving of a varied portfolio that offers degree and certification programs to meet the needs of people who may change careers three or four times across many decades. All of these learning opportunities are supported by relationships, coaching, and services over the course of the updated working lifespan.
- Digital credentials: As credentials begin to move digital, if they are open and transportable between institutions and employers, they can shift current systems of sharing data about the learner and the program. This can include degrees, certificates, and badging systems for credentials not part of a degree program. UW Continuum College is implementing this shift for their own staff as well as externally with students. Through this updated approach, Dr. Branon predicts that job performance will become a credentialed activity, as an attempt to get more detailed, granular information about workers’ skills and as a way of gauging and judging performance.
- The “new academic technology stack”: Dr. Branon described UW Continuum College’s evolving technology picture that anticipates a lifelong relationship with students. This includes a shift from a traditional student information system to a customer relationship management (CRM) approach, as well as introducing new credentialing systems, scaled and highly differentiated learning management systems and student records, and new ways to consider physical space. This stack is an experimentation to rethink the academy through digital systems and find new ways to engage with students and provide ongoing connections over time.
- Learner services: UW Continuum College is exploring how to increase specialization for services that students need beyond great content. These services may include enrollment services, retention specialists, career coaches, a “learning concierge” that helps learners decide when they might need to return for further education, and a “learning record counselor” that guides students in making sense of their own learning. These services will support learners in understanding how to take advantage of opportunities for advancement over their lifetime and stay up to date in a given area.
- Funding and policy: Lifelong learning requires a shift in thinking around student debt and policy. The high amount of student debt suggests the need for shifted polices regarding portability of credits and credentials. Additionally, the “credit versus non-credit divide” can add some confusion, so clear translations of credentials and understanding of what backgrounds and experience people have will help build bridges between institutions and increase learning opportunities. Access and affordability for these growing privatized educational opportunities are crucial for the success of the shifting programs to meet the needs of learners.
Dr. Branon concluded his presentation with the hope that this overview of how UW Continuum College is re-envisioning their instructional approach can serve as a helpful example for other institutions who are considering systemic, innovative changes to meet the needs of learners across the lifespan.
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by Sarah Rosenthal, Ed.M. (NLL Research Assistant)