CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The president of the University of Charleston believes it’s a challenging time for higher education.
UC President Marty Roth said the dynamics of those seeking college degrees has changed dramatically and to survive, schools need to be able to adapt to those changes.
“It’s a demographic cliff. Our core audience of students is getting smaller and there’s a lot of supply in the market, but decreasing demand,” said Roth in a recent appearance on 580-Live on MetroNews Flagship station WCHS Radio in Charleston.
West Virginia specifically has some unique challenges for higher ed. The Mountain State features an aging population and the state produces fewer children than it once did. Therefore, the pool of potential students for a traditional college degree at U-C or any other school, is vastly smaller than it once may have been.
“Some of the things we’ve done to address that is broaden the type of student we serve,” said Roth. “Now, over half of our students are working adults, they’re not traditional college age students.”
He added more than half of their students are engaged with the university’s programs on-line and may never set foot on campus until it’s time for commencement.
Roth said they are constantly looking at ways to serve students who are already established in their field, but need specific programs to help advance further.
“Programs that require a body of knowledge and certification and licensure which help folks advance their career are the type of programs we’re keenly focused on,” he explained.
He said some of those programs are already happening like a new masters in nursing program and the masters in occupational therapy. He said they’ll soon launch a doctor of physical therapy program. The programs are designed to fit the needs of those potential non-traditional students and can be done largely on-line or with a blend of on-line work and weekend clinical lab work on campus.
“It’s all about being innovative and being creative. If you just stay focused on a traditional high school market in today’s higher ed environment, it’s going to be a tough road because there are just fewer students graduating each year,” he said.