As new academic year dawns, UNLV continues to change with the times

The future of education will be much different than what exists today, and certainly different from what existed pre-pandemic.

Keith Whitfield,

UNLV president

Editor’s note: As he traditionally does around this time every year, Brian Greenspun is turning over his Where I Stand column to others. Today’s guest is Keith Whitfield, president of UNLV.

Monday marks the start of the fall semester at UNLV. Few things bring me more joy than the vibrancy of our campus during the start of a new term, as there’s a mix of excitement and anticipation about the opportunities that stand in front of us.

Enrollment at UNLV continues to hold steady year-over-year at 30,000plus students. More than 4,300 first-time freshmen will join the UNLV family — and over 80 percent are from right here in Nevada — reflecting the demand to pursue a four-year degree.

Approximately 75 percent of our instruction will be delivered in the classroom, and the remainder of the courses online. That’s more than double the amount of online instruction from a few years ago and reflects an increasing trend in higher education based on students’ needs.

Like many sectors, we continue to remain nimble and adapt to an ever-changing market. This occurred before COVID-19, but it has been magnified since. The future of education will be much different than what exists today, and certainly different from what existed pre-pandemic. As higher education leaders, we have to embrace this change and be responsive to evolving student and employer needs.

Universities will need to evaluate their degree programs and determine which remain relevant. Programs will need to be more interdisciplinary, requiring more — and better — integration between academic disciplines. Students are asking for more online courses and diversified options for classes. Business are asking for programs beyond traditional degrees to ensure students learn leadership and interpersonal skills, problem-solving, collaboration, emotional intelligence and other transferable skills regardless of their career track.

Earlier this month, UNLV hosted the Southern Nevada Leadership Summit with close to 200 industry and academic leaders, as well as state elected officials and local city and county administrators. Representatives included senior management from media, hospitality, health care, construction, engineering,

law enforcement, nonprofit, technology, banking, manufacturing, business, education and the public sector. These leaders represent industries that hire the overwhelming majority of our graduates.

The purpose of the summit was to speak face-to-face with industry and local government to ensure UNLV offers high-demand degrees and certificate programs for the 21st-century economy. We want to continue to integrate workforce readiness into all academic programs and promote active student participation in career planning through a lifecycle approach.

The feedback was informative and eye-opening. Employers asked about teaching courses on location at local businesses, providing more continuing education certifications and certificates, and engaging in “reverse career fairs” where employers go to student organizations to meet students. They stressed the need for referral programs that pre-screen candidates, for expanded internship opportunities offered to students at all levels, and for more opportunities to engage in career-readiness workshops and in-classroom speaking opportunities. Everyone agreed for the need to continue the conversation by having the Southern Nevada Leadership summit at least annually and providing other opportunities for engagement more frequently.

More than anything, what this demonstrated to me is that private industry and the community at large are willing to share their ideas and feedback if we invite them to engage with us. We need to do more of that — ask for input. It reinforces what I heard on my listening tour when I first arrived at UNLV two years ago.

The future of higher education will depend on the ability for institutions to meet the needs of a continuously shifting job market and teach students the necessary “soft skills” to complement their technical expertise. While our university will continue to be focused on groundbreaking research that improves the quality of life, stimulates discovery, generates efficiencies or advances society, we need to be similarly cognizant of our surroundings and on building nationally leading academic programs. This happens through formal events like our leadership summit, through one-on-one conversations with business and community leaders, and of course, listening to our students and faculty as well.

UNLV is an institution that aspires to become one of the nation’s best public urban universities — both for research and student achievement. To get there, we’re working hard every day to identify needs and anticipate opportunities that will strengthen both our academic programs and our connection to the community. Southern Nevada is poised to recover from the impact of the pandemic and be even better than before. An essential part of that revitalization is for UNLV to work hand in hand with the community to find solutions to our new challenges.

I believe in UNLV, in this dynamic and innovative community, and in our collective potential to graduate students who will make a difference in Southern Nevada, the region and beyond, and become the next generation of leaders.