Here’s What Voters Want the Next President to Do for Higher Ed

Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent shoutout to apprenticeships and other alternatives to four-year college degrees may have surprised those who are accustomed to the Democratic Party’s longstanding promotion of “college for all.” Her call on employers to focus more on the skills applicants have acquired than the diplomas they’ve earned further signaled a shift in the Democratic Party’s messaging on the value of a college education. Those messages, delivered during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania last month, likely drew more grimaces than cheers from higher-education leaders already worried about enrollment declines and increasing skepticism about the value of a four-year degree. But they probably resonated with registered voters who responded to a survey commissioned last month by Jobs for the Future, a national nonprofit working to better integrate education and the work force.