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I’m starting to write this on the longest day of the year, at least here in the Northern Hemisphere. If you're reading this from the Southern Hemisphere, it's the shortest, something I did not always know.
So, what else did I learn this week?
Making the case for lifelong learning
CarringtonCrisp, in collaboration with the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL), UPCEA, and EUCEN, has released a new report titled Making Lifelong Learning Central to University Strategy. While there’s some valuable material in the report, I found it less useful than their earlier publication on The Future of Lifelong Learning and Executive Education, which I covered last year.
The report draws on global surveys conducted in late 2023 and interviews with leaders from several UK universities. Its central argument is that lifelong learning is expanding—driven both by increased student demand and growing employer needs for specific skills training. Although higher education is viewed favorably as a provider of lifelong learning, the report contends that institutions must adapt. This includes rethinking the types and durations of courses offered, as well as improving the support provided to learners.
CarringtonCrisp asked a similar question in the survey I covered last year, though that one focused specifically on business schools. Interestingly, universities score quite a bit better in this broader report, though there’s still plenty of work to be done—particularly around cost, communicating return on investment, and other key concerns.
While the data is compelling, the report falls short of making a strong case for why lifelong learning should be central to university strategy, or what such a strategy might actually entail. At a certain point, we need to move beyond surveys that tell us lifelong learning is important but that people are confused by microcredentials. Instead, we should start focusing on how to address the underlying problems these findings highlight.
