Who Sets the Agenda in Higher Ed, and Why It Matters
Over the past few years, I’ve found myself returning to the concept of agenda-setting, a theory I studied during my doctoral work in political communication. At its core, agenda-setting suggests that while media and institutions may not tell us what to think, they are highly effective at shaping what we think about. By elevating certain issues and allowing others to fade, they define the boundaries of public conversation. While I once applied this lens to political media, I now see a similar dynamic shaping how we talk about higher education.
In recent years, the national narrative has been framed as a choice between skills and credentials, as though learners, employers and institutions must pick a side. But for students moving between education and the workforce, that false choice does not hold. Colleges that integrate academic learning with workforce development are helping learners build both broad knowledge and job-ready skills, creating stronger pathways to opportunity, mobility and long-term success.
Where the Narrative Falls Short
These narratives shape expectations long before a student ever sets foot on campus, influencing where students apply, what they study, and whether they believe the investment is worth it at all. This matters at scale, where today nearly 37.6 million working-age adults in the United States have some college but no degree, and the majority of students are balancing education with work and family responsibilities.
Yet the dominant narrative often fails to reflect how people move through education and the workforce. Across the country, a more connected reality is already taking shape, where learning and working are not separate phases but overlapping experiences.
How Employers Are Redefining Readiness
Too often, public discourse suggests that employers have lost confidence in degrees altogether, but the data points to something more nuanced: Employers are signaling that skills and credentials are not competing forces but complementary ones. Rather than walking away from degrees, they are expanding the definition of readiness.
Findings from Workforce Decoded: AI, Skills and the Future of Hiring, a recent report from Western Governors University (WGU), offer a broader view of job readiness, one that includes degrees alongside applied skills, experience and adaptability:
86% of employers see non-degree certificates as valuable indicators of readiness
78% say work experience is equal to or more valuable than a degree
This shift is about building a fuller picture of what it means to be prepared because employers are looking for individuals who can apply what they know, adapt to change and contribute in real-world environments from day one. In that context, credentials remain important, and they are most powerful when paired with demonstrated capability.
Reframing the Conversation
If agenda-setting shapes what we focus on, then when the conversation is reduced to degrees versus skills, it narrows how we define value and limits how we understand solutions. A more accurate conversation reflects that learners are building skills while earning credentials, employers are evaluating candidates through multiple signals, and institutions are evolving to meet both needs.
The question should move away from whether higher education should prioritize skills or degrees and focus on whether we are asking the right question in the first place.
Because the way we define the problem ultimately shapes the solutions we pursue. And if we want a system that expands opportunity, supports economic mobility and reflects how people live and work, it is critical to be just as intentional about setting the agenda as we are about responding to it.
