At 2026 ASU+GSV, American College of Education (ACE) joined education, workforce and innovation leaders to discuss the next evolution of higher education. Across panels, roundtables and community events, ACE shared the ways that we are tailoring the college experience to serve the needs of nontraditional, working adults and work toward solving critical workforce needs.
Smarter Education That Strengths the Workforce
In recent years, higher education has finally started to shift its focus toward a subset of the student body that has always been large but has never dominated the conversation: working adults. At the same time, some industries – such as education and healthcare – are struggling to create stable talent pipelines, resulting in workforce shortages that could lead to dire consequences for the communities they serve.
ACE sits at the confluence of these two things. Through affordable programs designed especially to serve the needs of working adults, ACE provides busy professionals with a path forward in their careers. Through these career-relevant educational opportunities, school districts and other organizations can develop their employees and fill workforce gaps.
ACE leaders had a chance to share their thoughts and strategies on these topics throughout the ASU+GSV Summit.
Turning Experience Into Opportunity
ACE hosted a session during the conference that highlighted the growing popularity and power of “grow-your-own” educator programs. These programs can help school districts solve teacher staffing shortages by harnessing the talent and passion of existing employees, helping them take the next step into teaching through providing educational opportunities and other paths to educator preparation.
During this session, ACE showed district leaders how to design a grow-your-own program around paraprofessionals. A common barrier to paraprofessionals transitioning into credentialed teaching positions is the time and cost it takes to complete a degree. To tackle this barrier, ACE has created a portfolio-based assessment credit that may allow paraprofessionals to earn undergraduate college credit by demonstrating college-level learning gained through certified professional development, certifications, applied classroom experience and professional training. With this undergraduate college credit in hand, paraprofessionals can complete a degree in less time and for less money.
This program is an example of how ACE continues to explore opportunities in credit for prior learning and, ultimately, our broader belief that higher education should meet working adults where they are, recognizing their experience and reducing barriers to continuing education.
Leadership Lessons From the Superintendent’s Seat
In another conference session, ACE was joined by Dr. Barbara M. Jenkins, the former superintendent of Orange County Public Schools and ACE board member. Jenkins explored what sustainable district leadership looks like in practice, emphasizing the importance of professional development and both teacher and leadership pipelines.
When the conversation turned to district budget constraints, Jenkins stressed the importance of retaining or finding alternative funding sources for professional development. “It sends an important message that we still are making a special effort to invest in the growth of our individuals,” she said. “And my goodness, if you don’t, you’re going to see an incredible deficit in talent. Just give it a few months.”
Pursuing advanced degrees and credentialing is one way to help educators advance their instruction and leadership capacity, but Jenkins mentioned the importance of finding the right partner for those education pathways. She spoke about higher education institutions offering her employees 10% discounts which, when you looked at the overall cost of the degree, didn’t make a meaningful impact. She also advised cultivating multiple partnerships to meet the needs of different educators at different stages of their career.
Similarly, Jenkins urged school leaders not to delay investing in their leadership pipeline, even if they know the need won’t arise for another two to three years. “We’ve got some lead teachers in your schools who may not be excited about going into administration, but we need you to kind of encourage them, engage them,” Jenkins said, “because we need really strong, superior teachers to consider the pipeline.” Just as with educator pipelines, Jenkins suggested that districts cultivate multiple pathways – grow-your-own programs, higher ed partnerships for advanced degrees and more.
Once again, the session made clear that higher education plays a crucial role in solving for workforce shortages but is only effective when it’s designed with intentionality – to support busy working professionals at a cost that won’t burden them with debt for years to come.
Higher Education for the “New Majority”
So, what can higher education do to better support working adults? ACE President and CEO Geordie Hyland participated in a panel on that very topic at ASU+GSV, where he took a deep dive into this “new majority” of nontraditional students – discussing who they are, the barriers they face and the educational models they need to succeed – alongside other industry leaders.
Adult learners are working professionals who are already juggling many responsibilities – they are parents, caregivers and community members who need education that fits into their already full lives. This is why flexibility is one of the most important considerations for adult learners looking to go back to school.
Not too far behind in importance is cost. The high price of higher education is one of the largest barriers for adult learners. “There are a lot of surveys right now that show a lot of disillusionment with higher ed,” said Hyland. “But I think when higher ed can show hard data and show the value proposition in future career earnings, that’s very meaningful.”
As an example, Hyland shared that ACE analyzes its data to determine if the education we’re providing is helping our graduates move their careers forward. What we found is that 87% of our students graduate without student loan debt* and for every $1 ACE students invest in their education, a Lightcast study estimates $19.20 in higher future career earnings. When adult learners see affordably priced programs that they can pay for term by term, not to mention that have demonstrated positive return on investment, they feel more able to go back to school.
Finally, Hyland stressed the importance of aligning curriculum with workforce needs. One of the ways ACE does that is by listening to the needs of our partners and regularly reviewing our courses to ensure learning outcomes are aligned to those needs. “We apply their feedback into our curriculum, but then we also help them with tactics for recruiting, retaining and upskilling their employees,” shared Hyland.
One of the biggest areas of focus for employers today? Artificial intelligence. “We have infused AI into our curriculum over the last couple of years,” said Hyland. “We’ve also provided credit for AI professional development into our programs to help to try to, more broadly, facilitate the learning of AI.”
With a focus on affordable programs designed with flexibility and career-relevant skills in mind, ACE is proud to have successfully served working adults since its inception and will continue to lead the way in higher education.
Key Takeaways From ASU+GSV
Whether it was sessions on literacy instruction or leadership development, serving adult students or AI’s role within education, the conversation at ASU+GSV centered around how to make higher education more accessible to and career-relevant for working adults, which plays a huge role in filling workforce shortages and strengthening talent pipelines.
Takeaway 1: Experience Should Count Toward Advancement
Giving working professionals the opportunity to earn undergraduate college credit through demonstrating college-level learning gained through certified professional development, certifications, applied work experience and professional training makes higher education more attainable.
Takeaway 2: Affordability Is Central to Access
Cost is the biggest barrier to higher education. By using a debt-conscious pricing model and focusing on return on investment like ACE, colleges can break down this barrier for adult students.
Takeaway 3: Adult Learners Are Central to Higher Education’s Future
Working adults represent a significant and growing share of higher education students. It’s time to focus on designing programs that meet their needs.
Takeaway 4: Employer Alignment Is Essential
Programs must connect to workforce needs, containing career-relevant skills and strategies. They should also meaningfully and responsibly facilitate the learning of AI.
Takeaway 5: Innovation Must Remain Human-Centered
Data, AI and online learning are huge focuses for higher education today. But the strongest models keep students, faculty and communities at the center.
Evolving Higher Education Into Smarter Education
It’s clear that higher education as a whole needs to evolve to better serve working adults and the workforce. ACE is demonstrating that this type of smarter education is possible, and we’re also committed to continued iteration of our student- and employer-centered model through one of the most vital things a higher education institution can do – listening.
“We’re asking our students and district leaders to join us in the conversations, to give us insights and perspective on what we can do to better serve them and meet their needs,” said ACE Chief Academic Officer and Provost Dr. Jodi Feikema on her panel at ASU+GSV. “And I think that’s where it starts, is being able to have those types of candid conversations and coming together to create solutions.”
American College of Education is a fully online college with affordable degrees designed with the flexibility that working adults need. Through over 2,500 partnerships, ACE is helping school districts, hospital systems, businesses and more invest in their employees and build strong talent pipelines.
*Internal research completed in November 2025
