Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt recently addressed the importance of aligning higher education with the state’s workforce needs during a meeting with the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education in Oklahoma City. Stitt pointed out the 88 percent alignment of degrees with Oklahoma’s top employment sectors and highlighted significant research developments at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, specifically in areas such as weather, radar, defense, aerospace, and cancer at University of Oklahoma, and rural health, drones, and agriculture at Oklahoma State University, as reported by the Governor’s office.
The Governor is looking to further tightly integrate academic programs with practical workforce requirements, proposing initiatives like tenure reform and apprenticeship expansion. According to a release from the Governor’s office, Stitt is also promoting the development of 90-hour bachelor’s pathways to accelerate entry into the workforce. He emphasized the successes in higher education but also called for continuous improvement, suggesting the need to “reimagine education” to better prepare students for the current job market.
Stitt’s proposed measures include an executive order for an outcome-based system for public colleges, which would require institutions to consider student wages and employment rates when evaluating academic programs. He celebrated the increase in nursing graduates from OU, following an expansion of their nursing program after benchmarking against other universities like Texas A&M. This improvement has resulted in over 1,000 new nurses graduating in 2024 alone and the addition of an LPN-to-RN program as well as an online option, as detailed by the Governor’s office…