At Perkins+Will, our learning environments strive to transcend generations and generational trends. And, as a means of future-proofing our higher education buildings and spaces, we attempt to anticipate the needs of today’s emerging student body—currently, Gen Z. In working at various types and scales of higher education institutions across the nation, we believe there are three driving issues behind this next generation: demographic change, behavioral change, and the power to choose.
DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE
First off, we are looking at a smaller pipeline of Gen Z students (those born in 1996 or after) coming into higher education in the next decade, even though they outnumber Millennials by over one million.
Add to that the 65% of students entering school today who will work in jobs that don’t currently exist, and you can see why universities are spending massive amounts of time, energy, and money keeping pace and staying nimble during this unprecedented age of change.
To further demonstrate these demographic changes, lets a look at community colleges–a higher education segment that has seen a 10% dip in enrollment over the last 10 years, and down 17% since the Great Recession. Interestingly, there is growth seen in a unique type of student: the “non-traditional,” aka students over the age of 25. These students are usually lower income workers seeking additional education, or who are motivated to attend school to increase wages and get more skills-based training. The other segment of the non-traditional student are corporate employees looking to re-skill or re-adapt themselves for their current career. Both segments are spiking in growth which is changing the landscape of who comprises the student body at higher education institutions, influencing how we embrace and incorporate multiple generations.