As community college administrators and politicians wonder why younger students are bypassing community colleges, some things come to mind. Generational differences are playing out right now, and community colleges may not be prepared to serve Generation Z.
Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) is the largest generation on the planet. In the United States, Zoomers are second behind the Millennials, the prior generation. And they are not enrolling in community colleges. The reasons are unclear but looking at the characteristics of Gen Z might explain a few things.
According to research conducted by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, seven essential characteristics describe Gen Z.
- Healthcare
- Mental Health
- Higher Education
- Economic security
- Civic engagement
- Race equity
- The environment
Community colleges off to a rocky start with Gen Z
So, right off the bat, a community college like WCC will be in bad shape with Gen Z. The cost of healthcare is alarming. It is a crazy train that no one seems to be able to stop. The oldest Zoomers will soon become ineligible to retain the Obama-era provision that allows adult children to remain on their parents’ insurance until the age of twenty-six. They are worried about how they will find coverage (and pay for it) when they drop off their parents’ policies.
WCC does not offer on-campus healthcare to its students. Offering on-campus healthcare would be a major bonus and would attract students who otherwise have little reason to enroll. Instead, WCC has 13 Vice Presidents.
Mental healthcare is a subset of healthcare that is conspicuously absent from community college campuses. For Gen Z, it is another reason not to enroll in a community college.
Higher education is especially important to Gen Z, and they are stepping over community colleges to get it. Politically, Gen Z is very progressive. Outdated academic programs, limited enrollment options, and training programs that push $12/hour jobs are not going to cut it.
Economic security is also big among Gen Z students. Right now, very few community college degrees can offer economic security following graduation. Their degree programs simply do not net sufficient income. For Gen Z, that is a huge reason NOT to consider a stint at a community college. No amount of salesmanship is going to get Gen Z to move on that, either. Financially, they are very savvy in terms of their spending decisions. If the numbers do not line up, Gen Z will move along.
Watering down the soup will not attract Generation Z
Based on the first four generational characteristics, community colleges are doing Gen Z all wrong. Community colleges have done nothing to understand or address the needs of the newest adults. With Zoomers, there is no such thing as “business as usual.” Any outreach to them must be more than window dressing; they will sniff that out right away. It is no wonder Gen Z will not be enrolling in post-secondary courses at a community college.
Community colleges do not need more marketing gimmicks; they need to adapt their courses and programs to accommodate Gen Z. That could be a tall order when you have cut the budget for instruction, are only hiring replacement faculty, and have stuffed the administration with anything that has a pulse. The strategy of watering down courses to the point of academic bankruptcy while simultaneously raising prices has no appeal now.
If community colleges want Gen Z students on their campuses, they need to return the value to a community college degree.
Photo Credit: Mary Hockenbery , via Flickr
