Consumer Voice

Most people agree we need to improve economic mobility in this country. How to do that is another question entirely. Join Strada Education Network’s Ruth Watkins as she talks to educators, employers, and innovators about their best ideas for the future of education and work.

Over the past 15 years, the number of student loan recipients has increased by 51 percent and the debt associated with those loans has more than doubled. More Americans are borrowing more money to go to college.

We asked alumni nationwide who had borrowed money to go to school if their loans were worth it.

In the earliest days of the pandemic, researchers at Strada Center for Education Consumer Insights realized leaders across our nation would need a real-time understanding of how people were experiencing, thinking about, and feeling about work and education. The research team launched a regular survey, Public Viewpoint, to make these insights widely available — ultimately including more than 25,000 survey participants over the course of 2020.

Workers can’t rely on promises alone to advance. They need clearer paths from training to career opportunities.

Earning a degree should help you advance in the work you love — not get in the way of it. Learner-centered programs fit learning into the rest of life.

Life’s curveballs can make our plans go awry. Better options can help us finish what we started.

Committing to education, alongside all of life’s other commitments, takes coordination, determination, and dedication. Financial support and a flexible work schedule can make it all come together.

All the planning in the world can’t guarantee success. Learners need opportunity and support to put their plans into action.