Will future global development education be short and online?

Diving into details of 3-D printing for social good, earning a certificate in refugees, displacement and forced migration studies or tackling the essentials of nonprofit strategy is only getting easier when it comes to education access — especially when it can all be accomplished online. Startups like TechChange, a social enterprise that provides courses on the use of technology in addressing social and global challenges, along with established institutions like Massachusetts’ Clark University or the U.K.’s distance learning focused Open University are beefing up both their short-term and online learning options. Last week’s newly launched Philanthropy University, meanwhile, is offering its online classroom for free to students around the world who wish to do social good. “International development students are caught up in the narrative of ‘invest in your education no matter the cost,’” founder and CEO of TechChange Nick Martin said, referring to the expense — which can be upwards of $150,000 — for a student to earn a traditional master’s degree in international development in the United States. Some students can responsibly take the leap by justifying their earning potential afterward, but often “you can’t always make the same case for development,” he said. By offering a wide variety of affordable tech-focused online courses specific to global development — most recently a low-cost, skills-oriented diploma program for people around the world who want to build tech skills for M&E — Martin hopes to further honest conversation about opportunities for development students, especially when it comes to changing the narrative about education requirements and considering post-grad education debt. This isn’t to say that a master’s degree isn’t worth the investment. In fact, it still reigns, according to Devex’s benchmark “Career Trends in 2015” survey, in which a master’s degree in international development still tops the list of desired educational background, according to recruiters. While a master’s often isn’t necessary for entry-level positions — especially at headquarters — more than 40 percent of survey respondents identified a master’s in international development as the degree type that will be most in demand in 2015. Consultants still need these degrees to win assignments, and educational standards have been rising for local hires as well, especially for management and other senior positions. Nongovernmental organizations are often more flexible, but multilateral and bilateral agencies still tend to insist upon a master’s degree, or even a Ph.D. Yet short-term courses and certificates are gaining ground, especially for mid-career professionals who might not have the wish, time or money to devote to a full-time master’s degree. Experts in the education field tell Devex to watch as these programs gain popularity as a way to democratize capability — and help global development professionals from entry to director level keep up with a quickly changing sector. Who should consider short-term or online learning? So who are are the best candidates for short-term learning? It depends on the university or certificate, but there’s a case to be made for all career levels, from entry level to career transitioners to executives. Ben Mangan, director of the Berkeley-Haas Center for Social Sector, co-founded and ran a nonprofit social enterprise for 14 years prior to his current position. The greatest challenge during that time, he found, was identifying high quality, accessible training for his employees who were junior to manager to director. Those at the executive level can often find a funder to shell out $10,000 and send them to an executive leadership program at a business school, he said, while elite winners of Ashoka funding will also have access to incredible opportunities, but they’re part of an extremely tiny pool of people. “It’s time to democratize capability in this field,” Mangan said. “Elitism of existing channels is on purpose. We’ve lionized social entrepreneurship at the expense of thinking of how to scale a system for people who want to make change.” The Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley is partnering with Philanthropy University with that in mind, and Mangan named a variety of expected online students, such as staff members of NGOs, service providers to grant-making organizations and employees of big public hospitals and school districts. “In the social sector, we don’t have an established system of continuing education credits,” he said, which Philanthropy University will counter by offering courses on connecting with donors and financial modeling. “Opportunities to not only learn new skills but to refresh are hard to come by.” Staff at Clark University, which already offers a master’s in international development and social change and in community development and planning, came to a similar realization. The university’s certificate programs launching this fall — including refugees, displacement and forced migration studies, community and international development program evaluation, and community and global health — are pending final board approval and were born out of a desire to bolster their master’s offering as well as assist mid-career professionals wanting to build on previous education. “There’s no doubt that even if you enter your career without it, at some point you’re going to need a master’s,” said William Fisher, dean of graduate studies for the university. It’s also true that the nature of development work means people find themselves needing new skills even if they already have a graduate degree, he explained, especially if they’re dealing with issues that weren’t issues when they got their education or if their career took them into a different topical area. “How can we make adjustment to the way we teach?” Fisher asked. “And make it possible for people to get certificate degrees without having to disrupt their lives?” Maya Salomon, director of staff recruitment and development at the Asia Foundation, is also seeing this kind of learning at the senior level, she told Devex. “You don’t have to take two years off,” she said. “If you already have a master’s degree, you can add certification to really show that you’re interested in learning new things. I love to see people who are more senior in their careers still engaged in that kind of learning.” This is often the draw to the U.K.’s Open University, a distance learning institution that offers a master’s in development management so “people can stay in their jobs, they can stay where they are,” explained Richard Pinder, lecturer in development policy and practice at the OU. With six-month part-time modules, the time commitment is about 12 hours a week, and most students complete the master’s in about three years — though the upper time limit is 16 years. The OU prioritizes helping build relationships between students with online forums and interactive activities to counteract the lack of face-to-face learning opportunities. And short-term or online learning is for career transitioners, too, Salomon said, or those who perhaps already have experience in project management, for example, but could benefit from detailed understanding of the approach from a series of short-term courses. What does the future hold for short-term and online learning? A traditional graduate degree has been the gold standard for marking your acquisition of skills or prep to work in international development — and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. “I see motivation, a desire to learn new things — people who like to learn are people I love to work with — curiosity, investment … what I don’t see is a master’s degree,” Saloman told Devex of her thinking when she sees short-term education or certifications on a resume. Training, which short-term courses would fall under, is a piece of the puzzle, but it isn’t a critical piece, according to Kathryn Erskine, director of recruitment for Chemonics International. “We tend to look at experience first, then education,” Erskine said. “And we almost never list training courses on a CV that is being presented to the client.” But now that many universities and independent organizations are offering shorter term collections of courses labeled as certifications, “employers are going to have some difficulty in knowing how to respond to that — that will come over time,” according to Fisher of Clark University. This type of education “meets people where they are,” Mangan said. It’s a trend, he said, but he believes recruiters and employers will respond positively when they see the value. One of the key drivers of Philanthropy University, for example, was to elevate and rise above some of the online learning decisions that haven’t worked as well — everything from the design of the course length to the choice of instructors — to build this kind of trust in both students and potential employers. In the meantime, as long as it remains difficult for someone to interrupt their career to go back and get a master’s degree, “you can expent more universities to be getting into this market,” said OU’s Pinder. You know you need a postgraduate degree to advance in a global development career, but deciding on a program, degree and specialization can be overwhelming. In partnership with APSIA, Duke Center for International Development and the MPA/ID Program at the Harvard Kennedy School, we are digging into all things graduate school and global development in a weeklong series called Grad School Week. Join online events and read more advice on pursuing a post-graduate education here.