For many college students and adult learners their needs are not met by traditional higher education models. Their lives, jobs, and family commitments make it impossible to attend classes full-time on a college campus. Online education is serving students who aren't being served, and changing the delivery model.
Despite our highly educated and credentialed workforce, we still have thousands of good-paying jobs in growing industries in the Commonwealth that remain vacant because employers can't find enough skilled candidates. We need innovative approaches to serve students who have long been left to the wayside by traditional higher education.
To address this need, Governor Baker created the Commission on Digital Innovation and Lifelong Learning, a group charged with developing recommendations that will lead to more learning opportunities for Massachusetts residents to obtain education and skills for in-demand fields.
The Governor's Commission on Digital Innovation and Lifelong Learning is a 20-member board made up of employers, higher education leaders, online education providers and entrepreneurs brought together to find ways the state can partner with industry and higher education institutions to make online learning opportunities accessible and affordable for all residents of the Commonwealth. The commission will look at replicating promising practices, such as competency-based education, prior learning assessments, stackable micro-credentials and customized employer-higher education training initiatives.
Innovations in online learning are already happening here in the Commonwealth. Our challenge is to build on these early breakthroughs to create more opportunities and make Massachusetts a national leader in the transformation of education and training.