Higher Ed Must Market Careers, Not Degrees, Says Aaron Edgell
Higher education marketing must pivot from selling generic degrees and campus seals to directly marketing specific career outcomes, according to Aaron Edgell, chief marketing officer at Alliant University. Prospective students increasingly evaluate schooling based on practical employment prospects rather than traditional institutional credentials.
Why Traditional Degree Marketing Fails Modern Students
Universities have spent decades emphasizing course sequences, credit hours, and diplomas. Yet, research from the Strada Education Foundation shows that job and career outcomes serve as the primary motivation for individuals pursuing higher education. Follow-up findings from the Lumina Foundation and Gallup reveal that roughly nine in 10 associate and bachelor’s degree students expect their programs to provide direct skills for securing employment.
Despite student expectations, a diploma no longer acts as an automatic job guarantee. In the second quarter of 2026, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimated unemployment among recent college graduates at roughly 5.6%. Underemployment hit 42%, leaving more than four out of every ten employed recent graduates working in roles that typically do not require a degree.
Statistical advantages still exist for degree holders over time. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that workers holding a bachelor’s degree earned median weekly wages of $1,543 with a 2.5% unemployment rate in 2024. By comparison, workers whose highest credential was a high school diploma earned a median of $930 weekly with a 4.2% unemployment rate.
Translating Workforce Demand Into Transparent Academic Pathways
To bridge the gap between long-term value and immediate post-graduation uncertainty, university marketing teams must stop relying on internal administrative language. Edgell argues that promotional material should translate labor market projections into clear narratives detailing specific roles, necessary licenses, and required clinical preparations.
Healthcare fields highlight the urgency of this transition. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects roughly 180,800 annual openings for registered nurses from 2025 through 2035, alongside approximately 1.9 million yearly openings across all healthcare occupations. Pipeline constraints complicate recruitment efforts. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing reported that U.S. nursing schools turned away 92,672 qualified applications in 2025 due to budget limitations, clinical site shortages, and a lack of faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, and clinical preceptors.
Similar clarity applies across other disciplines. Behavioral health sectors face expanding demand, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting an 18% growth rate for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors between 2025 and 2035. Prospective psychology, education, and business students require targeted messaging that outlines distinct career paths, from clinical practice to organizational management.
What Higher Education CMOs Must Alter
Chief marketing officers need to restructure outreach strategies around actual student decision-making processes instead of institutional hierarchies. Universities should replace broad outcome claims with hard evidence, such as verifiable licensure requirements, employer partnerships, and alumni pathways.
Career exploration can no longer remain relegated to the final pages of a university website or delayed until the end of a student’s academic journey. Effective messaging must embed career context directly into initial outreach, search results, and recruitment conversations. Academic leaders, alumni, and employers must collaborate to substantiate these claims from initial curriculum enrollment through program completion.