Key points:
- Students desperately want to connect classroom learning with real-world relevance for their future careers
- Digital credentials help students build job-ready skills, motivating them to complete their education
- See related article: Employer demand for microcredentials is on the rise
If it seems as though college students aren’t as motivated to learn as they used to be, you’re not imagining things. According to a recent report from Wiley, students report they’re “struggling to remain interested” in their classes as the disconnect widens between what they learn in college and what they need for an entry-level job. Higher-education qualifications are no longer the passport to a great job they once were, making it difficult for students to see the value in pursuing a degree.
To further complicate the matter, the rise of generative AI is causing confidence in education to waver, especially as it disrupts knowledge workers’ jobs. It may also be compounding students’ lack of motivation; they see the technology as a way to shortcut their education, minimizing effort – and thereby, minimizing learning.
That said, many universities are rising to the challenge of this next wave of digital transformation, choosing to adopt these technologies to enhance the learning experience, rather than shy away from them.
These two trends connect directly to another major shift happening in the higher education space: the rise of skills-based learning, wherein skill-specific courses and digital credentials are serving as a supplement to a traditional degree. By providing job-ready skills, these credentials further prepare students for successful careers in an ever-changing world of work.
Danny King is the CEO of Accredible.
- Higher education needs better AI experiences, not more AI tools - August 12, 2026
- Beyond a keynote speaker: A strategic roadmap for AI in higher education - August 10, 2026
- How we recovered student trust after big Wi-Fi challenges - August 5, 2026