One in five.

That’s the number of Gen Z students who, according to a recent national survey, say they may choose not to attend college.

“They see a college degree as perhaps not necessary for future jobs, and they’re worried about racking up student debt,” Marvin Krislov, president of Pace University (NY), writes in a recent op-ed published by Forbes.

Krislov’s take? Higher education needs to change. It needs to be affordable. It needs to include career preparation. It needs to be flexible.

And perhaps just as importantly, educators must be able to articulate the value of higher education to prospective students.

“(T)o be able to keep up with today’s accelerating pace of change, (students will) always need to know how to learn, how to think, how to communicate, and how to work with others,” Krislov notes. “Those are the skills, more than any specific subject matter, that students learn in college. We need to make sure Gen-Z—and everyone who comes after them—knows that, and we need to offer the flexibility for those students to get the education they need to get to where they want to be.”

Read the full essay and share NACAC’s college affordability handouts with the students you serve.

Admitted writer/editor Mary Stegmeir welcomes additional comments and story ideas at mstegmeir@nacacnet.org.