Emphasize the importance of higher education leaders and faculty understanding workforce priorities and aligning education programs with current and future needs.

Develop a list of in-demand occupations and provide incentives for all postsecondary campuses that create or expand programs to address these top workforce needs.  

Develop student financial aid initiatives that support students who are pursuing majors connected to in-demand careers. 

Improve data governance and use of education and workforce data.

Provide campuses and policy leaders with a consistent source of data, analysis and data translation, including:  

• a clear list of high-demand fields in the nation and the state  
• state-level labor market supply and demand data  

Provide increased guidance and capacity to universities to collect regional and local workforce supply and demand data.  

Publicly share information about the types of programs, certificates and degrees available across all colleges in the state to help reduce under- and oversaturation in certain disciplines or industries.  

Create shared definitions and vocabulary among education, workforce development and economic development about objectives and measures of performance. 

Eliminate state policy and process barriers to academic program changes.

Identify any policy and process barriers that may deter institutions from updating academic program offerings to better align with current workforce needs.  

Approve or deny program changes or approvals promptly, within 60 days if possible.  

Provide colleges with updated approval processes and clear program development guidance that:  

• Uses workforce supply and demand data to inform decisions that lead to improved job-based curricula that provide students with career skills to succeed in the field 
• Empowers and incentivizes faculty to use workforce supply and demand data to make regular adjustments to curricula to keep up with industry needs 
• Incentivizes the use of current and emerging technologies and software that employers use
• Prevents oversaturation of programs in any one industry or discipline  
• Allows for ending programs that are no longer relevant or needed 

Support and encourage college administrators and faculty to streamline their programmatic approval processes, which are often longer than state approval processes. 

Continue to build relevant career pathways for students, with support as they transition to college and then on to careers.

Examine how the education system and the workforce system interact, identifying barriers to better communication and engagement. 

Remove any state rules or regulations preventing the use of accelerated learning options, prior learning assessments, stackable credentials or meta majors. Provide clear guidance on these strategies to colleges and universities.