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This blog is part of our Rising Talent series. We define Rising Talent as working adults with limited education and low career resiliency. Our understanding of Rising Talent is based on our analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), which tracks the life experiences of a nationally representative sample of 8,957 American youth born between 1980 and 1984. The survey commenced in 1997 and includes 20 surveys worth of data for each participant. The NLSY97 dataset includes information on a wide range of topics, including education, employment, family and household dynamics, health conditions, and income.
As automation and AI drive the need for faster and continuous skills development, there is greater importance for a smooth, transparent, and supportive learn-work-learn cycle. All students and workers will benefit from such improvements, but perhaps the group with the most to gain are individuals with little or no higher education and working in low-wage, low-stability jobs. We at Western Governors University (WGU) and WGU Labs call this group of people Rising Talent because higher education has great potential to help them change their career trajectory from flat to rising — if the sector can reimagine the learn-work-learn cycle.
Exploring National and Institution-Specific Data About Rising Talent
Building better bridges between work and learning will take collaboration between employers, policymakers, and institutional leaders. We have recently analyzed two sets of data that can help postsecondary stakeholders begin to understand Rising Talent and their educational needs.
At the national level, we analyzed the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97). We have also examined this population at the institutional level using data from students at WGU Academy, the platform and service provider of WGU’s individual course and certificate offerings. This dual perspective of the data sets allowed us to compare and corroborate the key insights from each data set, and better understand how to support these students in an educational setting.
Previous Experiences in Education
Some of the most common predictors of postsecondary success are connected to individuals' younger experiences. Holding a higher high school GPA, having a college-educated parent, and attending a well-funded school are all factors that are connected with higher rates of college attendance and academic performance.
Nationally, people in the Rising Talent group often had lower GPAs in high school. More than a quarter did not earn their diploma before the age of 19.
Rising Talent have also been influenced by their environments and backgrounds. A significant majority (87%) of this population had parents who did not attend college and were least likely to have peers who aspired to attend college, compared to other groups studied.
Rising Talent are also predominantly people who are Black, Hispanic, or LatinX, and consequently, they are more likely to have attended underfunded schools. School districts with high concentrations of Black, Hispanic, or LatinX students receive on average $5,000 less per student compared to majority-white school districts. A lack of funding can cost students access to valuable academic resources, such as high-quality teachers and college preparation like AP classes.
Those influences manifest in many ways among WGU Academy learners. Although over 5,000 Academy students have some college experience, many report that considerable time has elapsed since their last educational endeavor, and that their experience was negative. Students described past learning experiences as “difficult,” “frustrating,” and “noteworthy for all the wrong reasons.”
The experiences of students at WGU Academy align with national data on Rising Talent. Many of these learners are first-generation collegegoers whose parents' highest educational attainment is a high school diploma. They often lack guidance from friends or family on how to succeed in school, and when asked to identify a supporter in their life, a common response was, “I have no one.”
By understanding and recognizing these learner attributes, institutional leaders can consider changes to learning design, available supports, and interventions among these learners.
Access to Technology
Technology is integral to most learning and professional environments, posing more potential barriers for Rising Talent. In the NLSY97 data, we found that 67% of Rising Talent use a computer less than 9 hours a week, and 27% don’t use a computer at all. For reference, the average person globally spends 7 hours a day online, the majority of college students (54%) have taken at least one class online, and 92% of jobs require digital skills.
Contributing to lack of use could be a lack of access. Currently, 45 million Americans don't have broadband services at the threshold speed set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The impact is significant. Online classes, with their flexible schedules, are often appealing to Rising Talent who need to learn new skills while continuing to hold a job and care for dependents. Limited or no access to the internet makes attending online classes or completing online assignments challenging. It may be why 75.5% of Academy learners had never taken an online course prior to enrollment.
Beyond being new to online learning in general, Rising Talent's limited technology use may influence their experience once enrolled. When Academy students were asked what they needed the most help with after enrolling, their top responses were all related to technology.
Institutional leaders can’t assume tech-savviness just because a student enrolls in online education. Learners enroll in online options for many reasons. Supporting Rising Talent will require building in more tech support and guidance to ensure students can access materials, resources, and guidance help to be successful.
Caretaking and Other Responsibilities
Both in the national and Academy data, we found that Rising Talent are more likely to be caretakers. The national data shows Rising Talent are the most likely among all groups to be both single and have a larger household size, serving, on average, as the sole provider for a household of four. Additionally, the majority (52.85%) of Rising Talent are women, signaling the possibility that they are likely single mothers managing several responsibilities.
Many Academy students report similar experiences. They are juggling multiple jobs and/or roles with variable weekly schedules, which makes balancing being in school tricky. Academy students have reported difficulties balancing schoolwork (especially live cohorts or appointments with staff) with being present parents or guardians. Such responsibilities can additionally impact the time, money, and resources available for education.
For institutional leaders, recognizing the competing priorities Rising Talent students face can be an important input for the design of learning experiences and wraparound support services, like childcare. Better support can make a big impact, particularly for single mothers. Not only do single mothers earn higher grades than other student-parents, but an associate degree can help increase their lifetime earnings by an average of $256,000.
Affordability
Higher education is expensive for everyone. But high tuition costs that vastly outpace inflation and wage increases are simply out of reach for Rising Talent. Nationally, Rising Talent have a median household income of $25,000. Among Academy learners, 56% of students have a household income of less than $65,000.
Continuing to explore ways to decrease tuition costs can make postsecondary education more accessible to Rising Talent. But lowering costs isn’t the only option. There are also steps that can be taken to fix the broken student loan system. Research we conducted with Savi, found that currently 43% of all borrowers — and even higher rates of Black and LatinX borrowers, borrowers without a bachelor's degree, and women — struggle to repay loans. Furthermore, many borrowers experience regret, stress, and feelings of hopelessness and delay personal and financial milestones because of loan repayment. Making financial aid more clear and transparent, providing education about scholarships and grants, and developing innovative tuition models can also help make education more affordable.
Additionally, tuition is just one financial component of the student experience. Many students are also juggling housing, food, utilities, transportation, and dependent costs. While many of these students work while pursuing education, their studies reduce the amount they can work — and therefore the amount of money they can put toward these additional costs.
In our research on the impact of Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF) on student outcomes, we found that unrestricted emergency aid — which was largely used for basic needs including food, utilities, and housing — resulted in an 11% increase in graduation rates and improved belonging among students.
The Continued Search for Solutions
Exploration and application of this data in higher education are incredibly important. We will continue to share our learnings through additional blogs, white papers, and research reports. Later this year, we will add the employer perspective to this analysis following a collaborative dialogue we are facilitating between employers, higher education leaders, and policymakers at the Human Potential Summit.