The changing landscape of higher education: Experiential learning in public relations for the millennial generation

This paper examines the changing landscape of higher education and its significant impact on the current Millennial generation. More specifically, it identifies the Millennial generation's expectations of today's universities and how these can be met with the implementation of the experiential learning model. The purpose of this study is not only to investigate the relationship between higher education and the Millennial generation, but also to explore this generation's future if the higher education learning model continues to remain unchanged. Another aim is to evaluate the experiential learning model and the contributions it has made to education in the past, with the ultimate outcome of developing recommendations on how to effectively integrate this model into today's model. To support these recommendations, an assessment was made on three different Public Relations/Communication programs that highlight experiential learning offerings from Southern California-based universities. These institutions included the University of Southern California, Pepperdine University and Chapman University. The key issues discussed in this paper include the origins of education in the United States, the current state of higher education and the factors that have led to this situation, the differences between the Millennial generation and past generations, how these differences can be addressed in higher educational institutions through the implementation of experiential learning, and the impact that the Millennial generation's success or failure will have on the economy. Results reveal that the Millennial generation will be the most educated generation in U.S. history, with impacting factors including the Great Recession of 2008, and this group expects a college degree to provide them with the necessary experience to secure employment. The principal conclusion is that higher education should not just listen to what the Millennial generation expects from a college education, but rather use these expectations as guidelines to create the new standard of experiential education.