What Does a Learner-First Workforce Model Look Like in Practice?
What does a “learner-first workforce model” actually mean in practice?
A learner-first workforce model starts with who today’s students are and designs education around their realities, not institutional convenience.
At Purdue Global, this means recognizing that:
- Over 60% of students are age 30+
- 78% have family responsibilities
- Most are working while enrolled
Instead of treating these as constraints, the model treats them as design inputs.
Example:
Purdue Global awarded over 1 million prior learning credits in 2024–2025, translating real-world experience into academic progress.
Why it matters:
This approach aligns directly with the Presidents Forum mission to “reinvent higher education around learner success” and expand opportunity for nontraditional students.
How are programs designed to align with workforce needs?
Programs are built starting from labor market demand, not academic tradition.
At Purdue Global, program design integrates three inputs:
- Employer partnerships (real-time workforce needs)
- Faculty practitioners (active in their industries)
- Strategic foresight teams (future skill demand)
Example:
In advanced manufacturing, Purdue Global partnered with an industry employer to co-design curriculum tailored to specific workforce gaps, then validated that design directly with the employer before launch .
Why it matters:
This reflects a broader Presidents Forum priority: connecting education directly to opportunity and employer demand through collaborative innovation.
What role do employer partnerships play in shaping programs?
Employer partnerships are not advisory. They are co-design partners.
They influence:
- Curriculum structure
- Skill prioritization
- Credential pathways
- Delivery formats
Example:
Employer input shaped a manufacturing pathway that includes:
- A 2-credit entry course
- A flexible 3-course micro-credential
- Direct pathways into bachelor’s degrees
Why it matters:
This ensures programs are “true, relevant, and legitimate” in the labor market, reducing the gap between education and employment.
How do stackable credentials improve student outcomes?
Stackable credentials turn education into incremental, career-relevant progress rather than a single high-stakes degree.
At Purdue Global:
- Micro-credentials are embedded inside degrees
- Each step delivers immediate labor market value
- Students can stop and start without losing progress
Example pathway:
- Introductory course → entry into field
- Micro-credential → targeted skill building
- Bachelor’s degree → long-term advancement
Even partial completion delivers value.
Why it matters:
This aligns with the Presidents Forum’s focus on “credentials at scale” and stackable pathways that connect learners to opportunity faster.
How are programs designed specifically for working adults?
Programs are designed to remove friction, not add it.
Key design principles include:
1. Predictable learning experience
Every course follows the same structure, so students don’t waste time relearning systems.
2. Continuous start dates
Students don’t wait for semesters. They start when ready.
3. Policies built for real life
Flexible options account for:
- Work disruptions
- Family responsibilities
- Military deployment
4. 24/7 support ecosystem
Includes advisors, coaches, and AI-enabled assistance.
Example:
Military learners can continue coursework during deployment with faculty trained to support their context.
Why it matters:
This reflects a core Presidents Forum principle: education should adapt to students, not the other way around.
What is the role of innovation leadership in driving these models?
Innovation is not a department. It is a cross-functional capability.
The “innovation catalyst” role at Purdue Global:
- Connects academic teams, employers, and system partners
- Challenges existing models
- Identifies new delivery and credential approaches
Example:
Innovation leadership enables rapid program iteration based on industry shifts (e.g., technology changes in nursing or accounting).
Why it matters:
This mirrors how Presidents Forum institutions operate collectively, using shared insight and collaboration to drive system-level change beyond any single institution.
What does this model signal about the future of higher education?
The learner-first workforce model signals a shift from:
- Degrees as endpoints → degrees as pathways
- Time-based learning → skills-based progression
- Institutional control → student-centered design
Presidents Forum institutions are leading this shift by:
- Serving working adults, military learners, and underserved populations
- Embedding skills and workforce alignment into program design
- Partnering across institutions and industries to scale innovation
Bottom line:
Higher education’s future belongs to institutions that design for real lives, real jobs, and real outcomes.
Transcript:
00;00;05;14 – 00;00;29;03 Shalise Obray Welcome to the President’s Forum podcast. As part of our April Focus on the Learner First workforce. We’re highlighting how member institutions are designing programs that connect directly to opportunity. Today, I’m joined by Marcelle Lawrence, who serves as innovation catalyst at Purdue Global, an institution that has been deeply intentional about aligning programs to high demand industries while supporting working learners.
00;00;29;08 – 00;00;45;07 Shalise Obray Marcelle, thank you for being here. We’re excited to dig into how you’re building these pathways. Let’s start at a high level. When you think about the learner first workforce model, what does that mean at Purdue Global and how does that shape the way you design programs.
00;00;45;10 – 00;01;10;29 Maricel Lawrence Next slide. Thank you so much for having me today. I would like to start by sharing that Purdue Global is Purdue’s online university for working adults. We serve as a vital component of the Purdue University system, leveraging 150 year legacy of excellence to make it an accessible tool, a diverse audience, and to support Purdue’s main brand mission.
00;01;11;01 – 00;01;47;23 Maricel Lawrence So for us, learner first means recognizing that over 60% of our students are over age 30 and 78% have family responsibilities. We value the life and work experience they bring. We are exceptionally good at recognizing this experience through prior learning. So for example, in 2024, 2025, we approved more than 1 million credits through this process. So with that in mind, our program design starts with the workforce needs of today.
00;01;47;26 – 00;02;17;04 Maricel Lawrence We build offerings with a skills first mindset that lead to degrees that employers respect in what we need immediate industry demands. Our strategic foresight team that was launched in 2021 also evaluates possible future needs. This allows us to build a future oriented curriculum that ensures our learners are not just prepared for the next job, but for the long term evolution of their industries.
00;02;17;06 – 00;02;31;18 Shalise Obray That’s really wise. I did want to ask you an innovation catalyst is a really unique title and not something we hear all of the time. How does that how does that work in practice? What does that mean to you to to have that title?
00;02;31;25 – 00;03;01;00 Maricel Lawrence Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for that question. So, what my role does is works across the institution. And so we’re talking about new program development today. And that’s one of the areas that I have been supporting in. And what that means is being able to collaborate with the academic teams, connect with industry partnerships, connect with other stakeholders in the system to be able to support the needs of our students.
00;03;01;01 – 00;03;15;26 Maricel Lawrence And my role is to be able to say, it’s great that we’re doing the work that we’re doing this way. Is there any other models? Is there anything else that we can do to be able to innovate and and support the industry and our students as the world keeps evolving?
00;03;15;28 – 00;03;36;13 Shalise Obray I love that that’s a great that’s a great title and a great, portfolio to have. One of the things Purdue Global does particularly well is aligning programs to high demand industries. Can you walk us through how you identify those needs and how employer partnerships are shaping your program design and delivery?
00;03;36;15 – 00;04;09;08 Maricel Lawrence Yeah. So, Purdue Global, the new program development process can start in a variety of ways. So we rely on school advisory boards for new offering ideas. And I mentioned our strategic foresight team or year to year and emerging trends with academic teams. Now we also leverage our full time and adjunct instructors with deep field expertise. They are active in their fields, understanding real time evolutions.
00;04;09;10 – 00;04;40;13 Maricel Lawrence Think about the shift in technology, in nursing, or how, the current state of accounting is. And so they bring those needs directly to our teams to think about in mapping and evaluate. We also work closely with Purdue online. We collaborated as a system to offer content. This involves deep research with our joint R&D team to identify and explore ideas before bringing them to the academic teams to build.
00;04;40;15 – 00;05;17;13 Maricel Lawrence And, you know, we work directly with employers to support their specific needs. There is an example that we have, in advanced manufacturing sector, where we have partnered with a major industry leader to figure it out exactly how to support their unique workforce requirements through customized curriculum. And I’m happy to share more about that experience once we receive those ideas and we explore them, then we confirm back with industry to build a personal education that is true, relevant and legitimate.
00;05;17;16 – 00;05;30;15 Shalise Obray You’ve also taken a strong approach to stackable credentials. Can you share an example of how learners can start with a short term credential and build toward a degree, while staying connected to workforce outcomes along the way?
00;05;30;18 – 00;05;55;13 Maricel Lawrence Yeah, that’s a that’s a great question. So I would say there are several industry is bad. Because this has worked really, really well. I’ll share that at Purdue Global. We build micro-credentials that are typically embedded within a degree. And this ensures that every step a student take has immediate market value. Now, we don’t usually do this in a vacuum.
00;05;55;13 – 00;06;26;26 Maricel Lawrence Right. So we work hand in hand with employers to figure it out. The best way for, sort of the best pathway for a specific workforce. And so I mentioned the manufacturing, experience earlier in. So I’ll share that example in more detail and how we have done that step ability approach. So with that, that partner we design two credit introductory course to give us students fast, accessible entry point into the field.
00;06;26;28 – 00;06;51;10 Maricel Lawrence Then we build a three course micro credential that students can navigate in any order based on their immediate job needs. So students will start in the two credit courses to understand the foundations of manufacturing. And then they move through the micro credential in any order that makes the most sense for them. Now, if they complete the micro credential, that’s a win.
00;06;51;13 – 00;07;16;18 Maricel Lawrence But even if they don’t finish the whole sequence, they have gained the specific content that they need for that moment in their career. And now for those ready to move farther, we have a direct path into a bachelor’s in applied manufacturing. Or if they want to go into management, we say they can go into the bachelor’s in business administration and other types of of degrees.
00;07;16;20 – 00;07;42;13 Maricel Lawrence So there, you know, when it comes to industry partnerships, I would say manufacturing is one of those examples that we have seen a lot of a lot of value in in the conversation about stack ability in general as an Indiana based institution. We work very closely with Ivy Tech community colleges to create a seamless, strong pathway from an associate’s degree to a bachelor’s degree.
00;07;42;16 – 00;08;07;21 Maricel Lawrence And so we also provide scholarships for Ivy tech graduates to ensure that they have the support to to keep moving. And so this stackable approach turns education into a series of stable stepping stones that provide real opportunities for more and allows our students to build this experience that fits forward for their lives.
00;08;07;23 – 00;08;33;12 Shalise Obray That’s really smart design. Allowing students to to to have that value at every step of the process. We know that many, if not all of your students are balancing jobs and families, and other life things with their education. What are some of the design decisions that you’ve made? To make sure that these programs are working for working learners.
00;08;33;15 – 00;09;05;27 Maricel Lawrence Yeah. Thank you so much for that question. From our very origins, Purdue Global has been, built specifically for the busy adult learner. We, of course, offer online classes, and we have engineering ecosystem risk critical components. But we consider the minimum standard for adult learner success. One of our most impactful decisions or design decisions in our, work is the standardized course design.
00;09;05;29 – 00;09;38;07 Maricel Lawrence Every course follows the same structure so that students don’t have to waste time learning where content is located every time they start a new term, they can dive straight into their learning because they know where the content is located in our platform, and we don’t make the students wait months for a traditional semester to begin with. Classes starting constantly or learners can begin their program when they are ready.
00;09;38;09 – 00;10;08;13 Maricel Lawrence And I would say another component that I think is critical is that our policies are designed for life’s interruptions. Life happens. Right. And offering list of options when they are most needed is is critical. I always speak about, the unique challenges of our military students. For example, when a student is deployed, they need a university that understands that experience.
00;10;08;16 – 00;10;43;08 Maricel Lawrence Our faculty are specifically trained to work with the students, ensuring their education stays on track regardless of where they are stationed. And, we also provide a series of types of support for our learners, including academic advisors and coaches. And of course, now we’re leveraging AI and technology to ensure we are available 24 over seven media students exactly when they have a question, right, whether it is a noon or a two in the morning.
00;10;43;11 – 00;11;16;25 Maricel Lawrence We need to be there and support them. So we are we we are very critical about how we support different types of learners and the type of needs. So they have, I think about the needs of one adult learner with prior college experience, are vastly different from someone starting fresh. So we develop targeted interventions to meet each learner where they are ensuring all of the different type of audiences have the specific resources they need to reach their goals.
00;11;16;28 – 00;11;38;05 Shalise Obray Well, Marcel, what stands out here is the intentionality in designing programs that don’t just deliver content, but are worked around how learners live and how they need to learn and work. So thank you so much for sharing the work you’re doing. And, for, for talking with us today.
00;11;38;07 – 00;11;40;08 Maricel Lawrence Absolutely. In this match for the opportunity.
00;11;40;10 – 00;11;49;14 Shalise Obray And thank you to everyone listening. These are the kinds of ideas and approaches that are shaping what a learner first workforce can look like. We’ll continue the conversation soon.