Stephen Handel, ECMC Foundation: Redesigning Higher Ed for A Changing Student Body

Van Ton-Quinlivan

Welcome to WorkforceRx with Futuro Health, where future -focused leaders in education, workforce development, and healthcare explore new innovations and approaches. I’m your host, Van Ton-Quinlivan, CEO of Futuro Health.

Boosting completion rates at higher education institutions in the US has been a hot topic for years, with particular concern given to the relatively low 43% rate for community colleges. We’re going to take a look at one dimension of that issue today — the equity gap in completion rates — with Dr. Stephen Handel, director of strategy for Post -Secondary Education Transformation at ECMC Foundation. In that role, Steve focuses on systematic and widespread improvement of students’ post -secondary education outcomes, especially students from underserved groups, thereby advancing their social and economic mobility.

Prior to joining the foundation, he served as senior strategist at the College Board and was chief admissions officer for the University of California system. He’s also the author of many books and articles on higher education and is a sought after speaker in the sector. Thanks very much for joining us today, Steve.

Dr. Stephen Handel

Great to be here. Thanks for inviting me.

Van

Absolutely. So, tell us a little bit about ECMC Foundation and its goal to eliminate equity gaps in post -secondary completion by the year 2040.

Dr. Handel

So, ECMC Foundation hasn’t been around for a long time, but its impact has been rather large, I think. I’ve been with the foundation for about three years. Our president, Jacob Fraire, along with the board of directors, have always been focused on closing completion gaps in higher education, especially for students from underserved groups.

In particular, they wanted to have a “north star” goal that would guide the organization, not just today or tomorrow or next year, but for the next sixteen years. We know that higher education completion gaps are a huge challenge in many parts of the country. We wanted to devote resources and amplify the talents that are already out there to close those gaps, but it’s going to take some time.

So, they set this very ambitious north star goal to essentially align with students who are beginning K -12 this year. So, sixteen years from now, we’re going to see those men and women become young adults, go to college, and hopefully by then we will have learned how to serve them better in colleges and universities so that they earn a college credential or a degree.

Van

So what are some of the biggest obstacles to eliminate the equity gap in completion rates right now that you see?

Dr. Handel

You know, it’s multifaceted. It’s interesting. We have, over the decades, I think, done a remarkably good job of providing access to higher education and access at many different levels, whether that’s at the elite college level or whether that’s via community college or work training or whatnot. I think the United States has done enormously good work in opening up post -secondary education to men and women across the country. But, we struggled a bit ensuring that the people that we bring into our institutions ultimately leave with a viable credential or a degree.

Now, many of those reasons, I think, are clear. For many men and women, leaving high school, for instance, or taking a job immediately after high school, is a far more viable sort of option for them, and that’s fine. At ECMC Foundation, we don’t say everybody needs to go to college. We don’t say everyone needs to get a post -secondary credential. We do say, however, that if an individual does want to earn a credential, then we have to do a better job, meaning post -secondary ed, of ensuring that we provide the services and the support to get them that credential. A lot of what we’re doing at the foundation is sort of focusing on the external incidents, the external factors that affect students’ ability to complete a degree.

So you’ll see, for instance, we have a number of initiatives. One of them is in basic needs. We know that many students come to college from low income backgrounds and oftentimes don’t have the kinds of support in housing or even food insecurity that prevents them actually from studying while completing a degree. So it’s multifaceted and we think it depends on a lot of different factors and we’re hoping through our work at the foundation to address those factors in this North Star.

Van

Well, let me combine two things. Steve, you came from the University of California system, so you came from a big system. And then in the last three years, you’ve learned a lot of things about what it takes for students to persist and get the credential if they want the credential, get the degree if they want the degree. If you were to go back and design a public system, for example, what elements would you change? I’m going to put it back to you about design thinking. How would you design the future of learning?

Dr. Handel

Well, it’s interesting you should say that because it takes me back to my own trajectory in terms of going to college. I’m a California boy. I’m a product of the California Master Plan. I started at a California community college, I transferred to Sacramento State and then went on to do my master’s and my PhD at UCLA. What I benefited from back then was a coherent master plan in California that was fully funded. In other words, there was never a time when I was going to school where my ability to complete my studies, frankly, was compromised by some of the issues that students face today.

What are some of those issues? Well, I mentioned earlier, honestly, just basic needs. In other instances, we have a lot more adults returning to college. Nearly a quarter of all students in higher education have dependent children. Our institutions are not set up well to accommodate working adults or adults with children. We also know that the transfer process between a community college and a four -year institution is often complicated by credit mobility problems…whether the courses they take at one institution will transfer for credit at the other institution. So if I was going to design a new system, and thank you for letting me do that, if I was going to design a new system, it would be with that in mind.

In other words, we have a greater diversity of students now coming to college. They’re not simply the 18 -year -old graduating from high school. In fact, we know from a lot of demographic data that the population of recent high school graduates will decline in the next decade. But in fact, higher education will be increasingly populated by adults with a variety of responsibilities and a variety of commitments and so we’re gonna need to change that frame, the way in which we’ve even constructed our campuses, to accommodate better the needs of individuals who lead very different lives right now.

That’s gonna be, I think, the important lesson. It’s the important lesson we’re trying to learn at ECMC Foundation. What does that new institution look like? How do we take our current institutions — some which are absolutely brilliant at serving the needs of young Americans — how do we translate that into institutions that accommodate a much broader range of students and student needs?

Van

So do you think the solution set lies in establishing new structures, or do you think it’s feasible to retrofit existing institutions into this student-centered experience that you’re talking about?

Dr. Handel

You know, I think it’s a little of both. One of the things we’ve been thinking about at the foundation, and others I’ve been thinking about as well, is what are the incentives right now for colleges and universities to advance themselves institutionally? How do they stay productive? Most of the rewards right now are around the number of students that we admit. California community colleges are like that, Cal State, UC as well. They are funded based on the number of individuals that are going to come through their door. But what if we also funded colleges and universities around the number of students who left with a credential, who left with an associate’s degree, a bachelor’s degree, what have you? How would that change the structure of the institution? We think it might change that structure radically, that in fact colleges and universities, like all organizations, are going to pivot to the ways in which that sustain their institutions.  So, a lot of our thinking, and thinking from a lot of people who are smarter than me, is around what we can do currently with institutions by simply changing the incentives.

But let’s get to that other question of yours. What’s the new institution of the 21st century? Well, I think we learned a little bit during the pandemic that this online digital environment is an extraordinary player in a variety of things. The very fact that we’re having this conversation right now is testament to that. We also know that in that space of time, colleges and universities, as well as business and industry, were able to switch on a dime, had to switch on a dime, in order to meet the need of that particular crisis. What we learned in there, however, is we can reach a lot more people, potentially, if we make good on that kind of digital connection.

Some research has said — and I think it’s pretty compelling — that a lot of folks don’t do well with online learning. That in fact, they’re not as successful. And I’m certainly not arguing that college should be completely online. All I’m arguing for, I think, is different modalities of teaching, different contexts of teaching that I think will be more flexible for the variety of students, as I mentioned earlier, who are going to be coming to our colleges and universities in the coming decades.

Van

So I wonder, as you’re doing your design thinking, what are some practices that you’ve uncovered in improving the relationship between community colleges and four -year institutions? Because in terms of ubiquity, the community colleges would be the system that touches the most lives, so the most impact could be gotten there.

Dr. Handel

Absolutely, and you know that better than most, given your important work there at the California Community College System. Yeah, I mean, community colleges are — and this is just me talking, my research, my background — one of the great progressive educational experiments in American history. Nowhere else in the world do we allow any individual who is willing to work to come to college — regardless of their previous particular background — come to these community colleges, excel at these community colleges, and then have access to, honestly, the most elite institutions in America.

As you mentioned earlier, a good portion of my career was spent at the University of California, and a part of that master plan was that UCLA and UC Berkeley and UC San Diego and your other very popular campuses had to carve a place out for talented community college students as well. I think the systems have worked well in carving out that pathway, but we need to do more.

For instance, we recently funded a grant to a highly selective liberal arts institution. Now, liberal arts institutions are not well known for taking a lot of transfer students and one of the arguments is that liberal arts education is a four year thing. It’s hard to come in in the middle of one’s academic career and in many instances, you know, I respect that. I understand how they’ve crafted that curriculum and why that might look difficult. But in this case, this particular institution is seeing the future. They’re arguing that, no, as creative as we have been in creating a four -year curriculum for students coming right out of high school, we’re now going to apply some of that creativity to thinking about curricular on -ramps that will provide a pathway for community college students.

So, here’s a tradition -bound institution that is really thinking about what their students are gonna look like in the coming decades and wanting to develop opportunities for those students in the future.

Van

Well, that bridge sounds very important because I would imagine that many liberal arts colleges are struggling with making a case for themselves, especially given the student loan level that is incurred to finish the four -year degree.

Dr. Handel

Yeah, you’re absolutely right. I think one of the concerns on the part of higher education leaders right now is the sort of, I don’t know…fading or ambivalent attitude a lot of students have about going into post -secondary education. And one of those real concerns is, wow, this is going to cost a lot of money. Is there going to be some kind of return on that investment?

I think private liberal arts institutions in particular, although they have a great deal of financial aid, are also thinking about, well, what’s that value statement? How can we talk to parents, many of them low income, that the time that their son or daughter will spend at that institution will be transformative intellectually in terms of their work life and what have you? I’m fortunate to say that I think many of our higher education leaders are grappling with that important notion and trying to create a kind of sustainable model that will allow students to invest — because it does cost money to build and maintain and advance colleges and universities — but to have them better understand what is the social and economic return on investment after the student gets that degree. I think higher education has to do a much better job in terms of documenting that those four years or those five years or those six years, yes, they’re transformative and they will be transformative after you leave college in terms of the kinds of work that you will do, the kinds of citizen that you will become, the kinds of contributions you’ll make to your community.

Van

Steve, have you looked at models like the co -op model where perhaps work is embedded into sequences during the four years that you’re in college? Canada, for example, has more of a co -op model in some locations.

Dr. Handel

Yeah, very much so. And I neglected to mention one of our signature initiatives. Early on, the ECMC Foundation has been very, very interested in creating spaces, creating colleges and universities that link up students’ of academic training with that connection to the workplace and not waiting until they graduate, but in fact, having that embedded in the work they do day to day in college. A number of other foundations, I think, are very involved in this connection.

We do know from a lot of the research that when students are connected in a substantive way through an apprenticeship or internship or what have you, that they not only see what they do and what they don’t like about their future work life, but even more important than that, there’s a certain connection, a deeper connection that comes with the institution itself. And we do know that belongingness is absolutely central to completing a degree. It’s not easy to complete a credential degree. It takes quite a bit of commitment. So, enhancing that commitment by increasing that sense of belongingness and having that trajectory kind of in place via an internship or what have you, I think is a very powerful, powerful thing for students.

Van

Well, since we’re on the topic of connecting that work experience back to the academic experience, let me invite you to design in another area. You had talked about the master plan in California being shaped such that you as a learner never felt you were alone or unsupported, especially financially. So if you were to do a master plan in workforce, what are the elements you would incorporate there?

Dr. Handel

Well, I think one of the things we’re learning from a number of colleges and universities is the thing that you intimated earlier, which is how do we bring the work world into college? Now, it’s always been there in some connection. It’s always been an important part of how colleges and universities have thought of themselves. But I think what’s happening now is they’re making it far more explicit that in fact part of the degree itself will be not simply be sitting in a class, but will in fact be working with others, maybe in an offsite, and understanding what those dynamics are.

Employers repeatedly will say, yeah, we have a good deal of our own very specific kinds of industry -related training. What we need from college graduates is the ability to flex, is the ability to think on their feet, the ability to write, the ability to work well in groups. And honestly, you learn that in college and you can learn more of it — and my argument would be even better — if in fact you learn it in places outside or at least in conjunction with the classroom. So, again, you asked me to design it but folks are already doing this. I’m not coming up with a brand new idea. I think we need to, however, make more explicit as part of our curriculum the extent to which that in -class learning is enhanced by, but also advances, the out -of -class learning as well.

Van

Trust in institutions have been declining for a period of time now and more recently, higher education institutions have gotten onto that list. I was wondering if there are additional ideas for turning around the erosion in the perceived value of higher education that’s been happening in the last few years?

Dr. Handel

I’ll give you my opinion, and I think it’s a little simplistic, but I think it’ll go a long way towards restoring some of the credibility that higher education, I think, lacks in the minds of many individuals, and that’s completion. We have forty-one million Americans right now who have some college credit, but no college credential. So at some point, they entered into our colleges and universities and found it wanting. In other words, departed the scene. Now, that could be because of family responsibilities or other things — I’m not saying it’s all just because they were upset with the quality of the education they were receiving — but the plain fact of the matter is that it wasn’t compelling enough for them to complete that credential. And so I think if we can turn that around, we’re going to be in a very good place.

In other words, when we demonstrate more convincingly that going to college and getting that credential is a key part of being a full -fledged member of the American middle class, I think the middle class is going to respond in concert. Right now, the six -year completion rate is, if I’m not mistaken, 64%. That’s better than a coin flip, but not much.

You know, I think part of the work that ECMC Foundation would like to do, as well as higher education leaders across the country, is figure out ways to improve that completion rate in substantive ways, particularly for students who we might not predict initially would have the wherewithal to complete a degree. How do we change the structures that we currently have built for different set of constituencies in a different age? How do we revamp those structures to accommodate those students fundamentally? And if we can do that, I think confidence in the institution is going to grow.

Van

So, aside from changing the institutions that serve the students that are there, I’m wondering, do you have some projects that invest in or have some best practice for bringing those forty-one million no-credential adults back into an education pathway?

Dr. Handel

You know, the trajectory of the work in this area has been going on for well over a decade. We saw some initial work in trying to encourage students who had, for instance, all but a core, say, of their associate’s degree to invite them back or to send their transcripts into their originating institution and then that college or university would automatically issue that associate’s degree. So if you had already transferred and you didn’t get your associate’s but you were only a class short, maybe that course you took at the four -year institution would complete those requirements. So there’s been work in trying to address that kind of situation.

The larger issue, though, is more difficult, I think. You know, those 41 million Americans already have pretty busy lives. So to tell them,” You know what, it’s important to get a credential. Yeah, we don’t know what you’re gonna do with the kids and yeah, we don’t frankly know what you’re gonna do with your current job, but you should come back to college.” You know, that’s absurd. So a lot of the efforts right now are focused around what we talked about earlier, online on ramps that provide students with the wherewithal to access the information, but on their terms, right? To be able to tackle that course when the kids are asleep or when they’re not working or something along those lines. So certainly, increasing the digital bandwidth of our colleges and universities is going to be key to bringing those folks back.

Cost is also going to be a factor as well. Costs in higher education have risen. So, how are we going to control those costs in ways that are going to make it allowable for folks who have jobs and kids already to be able to come back and to afford the additional training that they desire? Here’s the other thing…although a lot of public opinion polls will say we have less confidence in higher education, there is still a great deal of confidence in the need for post -secondary credentials and training. People in the workplace, even students in high school…I think everyone believes and understands that that post -secondary life is key to economic advancement. We haven’t figured out, I think, the on -ramps, the structures for students to return to college or come to college in ways that are cost -effective for them.

Van

So, I’m gonna give you a curve ball question here and it more relies on your background as an admissions officer. As you know, last year’s Supreme Court decision outlawed the use of race and ethnicity in college admissions in order to reduce inequities in higher ed. I was wondering if you have some thoughts on how it’s all shaking out?

Dr. Handel

Well, none of these questions, by the way, have been softball questions. They’ve all been really, really good questions. It’s not really a curve ball. Again, my personal view is Californians passed Proposition 209, gosh, how long has it been now, thirty years ago?  I was a fledgling policy analyst at the UC Office of the President at the time when the UC regents prohibited affirmative action in admissions processes and then California itself made a constitutional amendment. So California has had to grapple with the lack of that particular strategy for decades.

What the University of California did, at least when I was involved, was really three -pronged. Part of it was greater outreach to communities that we weren’t reaching to say to them, you do have a place at the University of California. We do have a campus that’s available for you and education is available to you and that we have financial aid available as well. California has been enormously generous, I think, over the years in providing the kind of financial aid that allows men and women to come to school.

The other part is we changed our admissions requirements, I think, in very thoughtful ways. You know, even the Supreme Court never said that one’s background can’t be mentioned on a college admissions letter or that you can’t bring your particular background, your particular life experience into that discussion. And that’s true also with 209 as well as what the Regents passed. So what we tried to do, at least when I was there, was to try to create an application that allowed students to talk about their lives. Now there’s always been that application essay that you had to write and as far as I know, that’s still there. But the topics have changed a little bit. Why are you interested in the University of California? What in your background has made you think that this is an important step for you? Many of the applications, for instance, that I saw over the years were from students who are working in the family small business and that gave them a good perspective on how hard life can be and how they want to make a better life for themselves via college.

So I think part of the answer is trying to be open to individual instances, not so much of disadvantage, but of diversity and the ways in which that background is connected to, is a part of, what California stands for and what the University of California stands for. After that, I don’t really have much more because it’s a very fraught area, as you know.

But it remains right now the law of the land. So I think it’s really incumbent on all colleges and universities who haven’t had to grapple with this right now to, yeah, take a look at their admissions processes and make sure they’re asking the kinds of questions that are important for the admissions of men and women who come to their colleges and universities.

Van

I would be so interested to be a fly on the wall as the admissions officers read through all of the essays these days, especially with chatGPT as a tool being commonly available out there.

Dr. Handel

Yeah, you raise a good point. Yeah, yeah. And I would be remiss if I didn’t say admission isn’t based on answers to questions. It’s based on how well did you do in high school, and did you challenge yourself, and, you know, are you ready to be in college in terms of having the intellectual skills as well? But, another part of that application process, of course, is understanding the individual. I mean, if you’re going to do a holistic admissions process, you have to take a look the entire individual. You have to at least make that attempt and then make the best decision that you possibly can. But yes, the rigor and the sorts of courses needed…those remain the same and those are also, of course, very, very central to college admission.

Van

So, let’s wrap up with this final question. Of course, we’re going to continue to push you into in your answers.

Dr. Handel

I hope it’s an easy one. (laughs)

Van:

(laughs) What makes you most optimistic about the future of learning?

Dr. Handel

Well gosh, you’re talking to a guy who has spent his entire career in higher education, so you’re not gonna get anything other than an unbiased response. But what I am cheered by, and what makes it so much fun to work at ECMC Foundation, is the number of people from all walks of life and from all industries and from all educational sectors who are thinking so creatively. I don’t think there’s been a more creative time to think about what post -secondary education curriculum transmission is gonna look like. I think it’s a really heady time. And then as well, although people talk about the dangers around AI, for me, it has some wonderful applications if we do it right.

But the thing finally that does cheer me is honestly every study that I have ever seen done about outcomes related to individuals who earn post -secondary credentials and degrees versus individuals who do not…it’s all very positive across the board. It doesn’t matter what the major is. It doesn’t matter, honestly, what the credential might be. That there is value in post -secondary education and that it can help families move themselves into the middle class, which I think is hugely important for this country, especially right now. That everyone feels like that they’re a part of the larger economic and social equation, that they are full participants in that. Honestly, when I was growing up, I think we did have that and I think we have less of it now.  I think post -secondary education, frankly, is the main lever to provide that and to advance people in their lives and their careers and in the families they raise.

Van

Well, thank you for doing the good work that you do, Steve.

Dr. Handel

Well, thank you. This has been a great conversation. I really appreciate it.

Van

Glad you were with us today. I’m Van Ton-Quinlivan. Thanks for checking out this episode of WorkforceRx. I hope you will join us again as we continue to explore how to create a future -focused workforce in America.