The big picture:

Unlike traditional Pell, Workforce Pell targets people already in the workforce or seeking to reenter it. Many are not enrolled anywhere today because long-term programs were never a viable option. Short-term credentials can work for these learners, but only if quality and outcomes are central to the design.

Who this impacts most:

• Working adults seeking advancement or a career change
• Learners in applied fields such as IT and healthcare
• Individuals who need fast, affordable pathways tied to jobs

What they’re saying:

Access alone will not be enough. Institutions, states, and employers all have a responsibility for making sure learners know these options exist and can navigate them successfully. Quality safeguards matter, but they need to be informed by data, not fear of innovation.

What to watch:

• Stackable credentials that can build toward larger goals
• Hands-on learning through labs, simulations, and real-world scenarios
• Competency-based education that lets learners prove what they can do
• Employer collaboration to validate skills and hiring outcomes

Bottom line:

Workforce Pell has real potential to expand opportunity, but its success depends on maintaining quality while designing programs that reflect how working learners actually build skills and careers.

Why it matters:

Higher education is not in a temporary disruption. It is at a structural inflection point that requires presidents to build new systems that match how learners actually live, work, and learn.

The big picture:

The Presidents Forum positions itself as a community of leaders designing the future of higher education through accountable innovation. The focus is on access, quality, mobility, affordability, and outcomes for nontraditional learners.

What to watch:

The Forum plans to accelerate impact this year by advancing a student-centered policy agenda, deepening collaboration across member institutions, and prioritizing meaningful in-person work that translates strategy into action.

Bottom line:

This is a call for presidential leadership that moves from reacting to change to shaping it, with students as the clear priority.

Weber State shows what early-college innovation can deliver. Their dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment programs give high school students access to real college courses for just $5/credit—and a faster, more affordable path to opportunity.

Why it matters:

Early access to high-quality college coursework is one of the most effective levers for increasing affordability, accelerating completion, and expanding workforce pathways.

What’s happening:

• 16,000+ high school students earned Weber State credits last year.
• Courses are true college classes—not high school courses with optional credit.
• Students can complete general ed, career pathways, or even industry-recognized certificates before graduating high school.
• Weber State places advisors directly in high schools to guide students into coherent, stackable pathways.

The impact:

• Families save thousands each semester.
• Students build confidence, explore majors early, and avoid excess credits.
• Utah employers gain a stronger pipeline of talent—some graduates enter the workforce with credentials in fields like advanced manufacturing, automotive tech, and cybersecurity.
• Students who continue to college arrive with momentum, clearer goals, and less debt.

Bottom line: 

When colleges meet students where they are, remove cost barriers, and align coursework with real pathways, learners accelerate—and communities benefit.