When western Nevada College launches its new cybersecurity program this fall, it will have spent about $ 130,000 for the planning and construction of a advanced computer laboratory.
The college projects that 70 students will end up registering for the certificate program. Until now, five have engaged. West of Nevada hopes that a total of 20 will appear for the inaugural class, but will not know before the start of the semester.
The administrators of universities and colleges across the country spent the summer in the same level of suspense that they invest rare resources in a large number of new programs that they hope will strengthen registrations.
Unnoticed Federal figures Show that, even if their finances have become more and more tense and their students have decreased, public and private higher education establishments have added 41,446 degrees or certificates programs since 2012. This represents a 21% increase in the number which existed when the dramatic slide of registration began.
Some, like cybersecurity, seem to be good bets, which is why more than 400 programs are now offered, with more additions each semester. There is a huge request for cybersecurity experts, with more than 300,000 well -paid job offers in the past year, according to The Burning Glass Market Studies and the Technology Industry Association ACCTIA.
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But criticisms warn that many of these programs and major are added in a hurry and with little strategy behind them, stretching teachers and other resources while waiting to attract students who never materialize.
“It is quite clear that it is a panic reaction,” said Robert Zemsky, principal researcher at the Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. “He only spread a thin thin.”
The 15 universities and colleges of the country who responded to the expansion of the legalized game by rushing to add programs in the management of casino, for example, produced the 34 graduates in 2016, or approximately two graduates per program, an analysis By the education consulting company, Eduventures was found.
The small colleges and universities in particular, which were the hardest affected by a drop in six-year registrations, are “really scratching for students,” said Zemsky, co-author of a new book entitled Making Sense of the College Curriculum. “Their answer is therefore:” We will give students what they want “. (Colleges) cannot afford it, but they don't understand that.
In the case of western Nevada, the major in cybersecurity was caused by the demand of employers and the legislative fiat, but it is also true that “in each major meeting that we have, we have questions where we are registered,” said Georgia White, director of vocational and technical education of the college. The program takes students from one to two years to finish, depending on the number of conditions they already have.
The federal government only follows the total number of baccalaureate, partner and certificate programs, not the subjects they cover. But the new programs reported by universities and colleges include a minor hip-hop studies (Columbia College Chicago); a major in sports communication With an esport minor, the field of competitive video games (Emerson College); and a master's degree in sports (University Temple).
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Elizabethtown College added a master's degree in peace educationUniversity of Richmond A certificate program in Political campaign managementFordham University A master's program in Humanitarian studiesand Goddard College a concentration in Realization studiesdescribed as “honor (ING) the intelligence of the body and its capacity for insight and liberation with regard to lived bodies, social bodies and living earth”.
Forty-eight percent of academic programs develop 10 graduates or less per year and, collectively, represent only 7% of all diplomas.
New programs are often linked to social, demographic and economic trends. There is a new certificate in food studies (Dickinson College), for example, which covers subjects such as globalization, art and culture, ecology and health and religion and sustainability; and a new certificate program in Social entrepreneurship and aging (Farmer School of Business of the University of Miami) for people who wish to exploit the potential to serve the growing aging population.
The Central University of Michigan has launched a certificate program in beer fermentationDakota County Technical College A certificate program in Steward and beer steward technologyFerris State University A diploma as a partner in Professional infusion managementand Lake Michigan College a diploma as a partner in Wine and viticulture technology.
Some of these initiatives seem to be used to at least create an interest among potential students. The major in sports communication in Emerson attracted 130 candidates last year and 168 for the academic year which will start this fall, reports the university.
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It is important at a time when there are almost 3 million students less to do than at the last summit in 2011, thanks to a drop in the birth rate and a recovery economy that aspired people in the labor market, According to the National Student Clearinghousewhich follows this.
“With a drop in registrations and a more competitive market, the institutions are trying to find new perspectives,” said the main analyst of Edventures, Johanna Trovato, who studied the increase in the so-called niche degrees.
Certificate programs in particular, which are often marketed with adults who work and generally take less time than to obtain diplomas, can generate very necessary income. The number of certificates offered since 2000 in public universities and colleges has doubled and in private non -profit establishments that it has increased by almost 40%, the US education department reports.
Among the otherwise dark projections of the Agency for Obligations for Higher Education, Moody's assesses the meteoric growth of certificate programs as “positive for credit” development.
But Trovato said that some new programs could target a “small market, even nonexistent”.
“It is quite clear that it is a panic reaction. It only spreads a thin thin.”
Of these 130 candidates for the new major in sports communication in Emerson last year, 19 of the 72 which were admitted presented themselves. Of the 84 students accepted this year, 18 have so far deposited deposits. The University says that teachers work hard on recruitment and have launched a pre-university Esports Institute for Secondary Students to stimulate interest.
It is a high success rate compared to the results of the new programs of certain other colleges, according to experts in registration. “The more a program area specialized, the less students are ready to register,” said Trovato. “The two to 10 additional students per cohort be really enough to cover costs and add income?”
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In fact, in an industry that has struggled to improve efficiency and productivity, 48% of academic programs discourage 10 graduates or less per year and collectively represent only 7% of all diplomas, an analysis By Gray Associates, another education consulting company, found. And although they continue to add new programs, the CEO of Gray Associates, Bob Atkins, said that colleges have rarely closed unproductive schools.
Meanwhile, he said, some new majors often simply poacched students from old majors. “There is an assumption that if I have 10 new students in this class, I had 10 new students for the school. What you did was to keep eight students away from the programs that you have already had and added two.”
It is also difficult to predict students' demand, said Atkins. “People don't really know if someone will show up for this program,” he said. It is a bet with high risks. This is because, although the cost of making a mistake on a new program depends on the program, Atkins said: “You add an engineering program and you are wrong and it's a few million dollars.”
Even in high growth fields such as cybersecurity, data analysis and data security, headlong race to add programs threatened to dilute the market, said Trovato. “At one point, the pioneers entered these areas early and were very successful with it, but now a lot is reactive. There is already competition around these students. ”
In the western Nevada, White said, the rules of the state requiring business registration projections add to the stress of the launch of the new cybersecurity certificate program this fall.
“It is expensive in terms of resources to start a new program, so you rely on the data you can get,” she said. “Some of this is an intestinal feeling and a game is to count on your advisory advice which says to you:” Yes, this is what we consider the trend. “”
This story on the challenges of registration in colleges and universities was produced by The Hechinger reportAn independent non -profit press organization has focused on inequality and innovation in education. Register here For our higher education newsletter.
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