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W o r c e s t e r 3 0 0 : C i t y o f I n n o v a t o r s 63 2022 & Beyond W ith the tried-and-tested virtual learning of the COVID era as their springboards, Worcester's colleges and universities will rely more on technology and industry-driven credentials in the coming century, say higher education experts. "Virtual learning in 2122 will look decidedly different. In fact, it may look a bit like science fiction to us from the viewpoint of our lived experience in 2022. I can imagine students sitting in their homes or residence hall rooms learning in virtual reality classrooms, sipping coffee with classmates in virtual cafes where they're working on group projects, going out on virtual dates Transfoming higher ed to meet the community's needs Virtual learning, affordability, and workforce-specific education will be key with friends they met in a virtual world who live on the other side of the planet, and studying abroad on the Moon or on Mars," said Jeanine Went, executive director, Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts. But both Went and Barry Maloney, pres- ident of Worcester State University, still see a role for brick-and-mortar campuses in the city's 100-year future. ey may occupy a smaller footprint, said Maloney, but that sense of connection and sense of place will still be vital, and needed for college operations. As for credentials designed specifically for industry demand, Maloney said there is plenty of room for improvement. "It's now well below 5%," he said of this kind of education. "Credentials that directly benefit an employer will need to be a larger piece of the higher-education puzzle." Went said this doesn't just mean educating in response employers current needs, either. "Colleges have to look to the future to prepare for jobs that don't even exist yet, monitoring workforce needs," she said. Some areas however, Went predicts, like healthcare education, will always be needed. And there will still always be a place for the liberal arts – even 100 years from now – which aims to develop fully rounded people with holistic education, preparing them to learn something new. Maloney hopes it doesn't take 10 decades to resolve the mounting cost of higher educa- tion, with debt growing at an alarming rate. "We are a more affordable option for fam- ilies at Worcester State, but even at our price point, families are challenged," he said. He predicts college-access efforts building. Early college programs are an example. High schoolers can earn college credits and save on costs. Early college programs empower individuals such as first-generation college students – traditionally underrepresented in higher education – by increasing their chanc- es of degree completion, exposing students to career fields and lowering higher-education expenses. Broader access, lower costs, more work- force-aligned curriculum and innovative advances in virtual learning is good for stu- dents, employers and society, said Maloney and Went. It's how Worcester will meet the needs of the century ahead. – Susan Shalhoub PHOTOS | WBJ FILE (Above) WSU President Barry Maloney (right) with David Connell, president and CEO of the YMCA of Central Mass. (Left) A student at Quinsigamond Community College