We should applaud the new federal “do no harm” standards and other accountability measures that raise the bar. But our nation’s colleges and universities must aim higher by seeking to do good throughout the lives of their learners.

Work experience is the most valued indicator of career readiness. When evaluating candidate profiles, employers that hire recent college graduates rank those with related work experience — such as internships or project-based learning — as most desirable, while a candidate with a 4.0 GPA and academic awards, but no formal work experience, is least preferred.

Critical thinking and communication are valued more highly in entry-level hires than AI literacy. Employers rate AI literacy as the least important skill evaluated, while critical thinking and communication rank as the most important.

n 2023, an estimated 8.2 million learners sought internships, yet only 44 percentof them found one. Even fewer — just 30 percent — had work-based learning experiences marked byclarity, supervision, and skill development.2

Certain types of learning (like degrees from well-known institutions) continue to be valued over others, even when they might not be the best indicator of job readiness

same groups that are going to makethe scale happen can also perpetuate theinequities. We have to be asking the rightquestions with the right stakeholders toensure that we are not recreating anotherinequitable system that marginalizes thepeople we are trying to support