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For years, the value of a college degree was rarely questioned. It was a given — an automatic stepping stone to success. But today, things look very different.
College is at a crossroads. As tuition costs rise, student debt balloons, dropout rates climb, and employers openly question whether graduates are ready for the real world, it’s no longer enough to ask if college is worth it. The better question is: what should college even look like in the future?
That’s exactly the question Dr. Robert McMahan, President of Kettering University, is tackling head-on.
In our latest conversation at Future Ready Leadership, Dr. McMahan joins us to break down how higher education must evolve — and how Kettering is already leading the way.
With students enrolling in “adulting” classes and universities scrambling to stay relevant, Kettering offers a radically different model — one that prepares students not just for their first job, but for a lifetime of change, complexity, and innovation.
Listen to the episode here on Apple Podcast & leave a review!
The Problem: Traditional Education Isn’t Built for the Future
In an era defined by AI, automation, and constant disruption, traditional education models are struggling to keep up. Employers are no longer impressed by degrees alone. They want adaptability, real-world experience, and critical thinking. Meanwhile, students are graduating into a workforce that demands far more than what most lecture halls prepare them for.
Let’s start with the “adulting” phenomenon. Dr. McMahan points out that many universities now offer courses on basic life skills — how to dress professionally, manage stress, communicate clearly, and handle workplace expectations. These are skills that previous generations often learned at home or in early jobs.
But thanks in part to over-scheduled childhoods, fewer teens working, and pandemic-era isolation, many Gen Z students arrive on campus with serious gaps.
This trend is as alarming as it’s revealing. If universities have to teach students how to show up for work, what does that say about our current systems of preparation?
At the same time, higher education faces broader challenges: declining public trust, unsustainable tuition models, and fewer students enrolling each year. The “demographic cliff” — a sharp drop in college-aged populations — is already beginning to reshape the landscape. Institutions that rely heavily on tuition to survive are on shaky ground.
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The Kettering Model: Designed for What Comes Next
While most colleges are racing to catch up, Kettering University has been ahead of the curve for over a century. At the heart of its model is a simple but radical idea: learning and doing must happen together.
Students at Kettering follow a 12-week rotation schedule: 12 weeks in the classroom, followed by 12 weeks working in real roles at real companies. These aren’t one-off internships or summer gigs — they’re embedded, professional placements that build over time.
By the time they graduate, Kettering students have earned not just a degree, but two and a half years of actual industry experience.
This model addresses one of the biggest employer complaints about college grads: lack of preparedness. Instead of learning about engineering, leadership, or problem-solving in theory, Kettering students are living it. They’re thrown into complex environments, forced to adapt, collaborate, and make decisions under pressure.
That’s how Kettering develops what Dr. McMahan calls the “habits of mind” — the traits that make students future-ready no matter how the job market shifts.
Habits of Mind: The Real Future-Proofing
Future-proofing is not about teaching fixed skills. It’s about building adaptable mindsets.
While AI, robotics, and software are changing fast, the core habits that help people thrive remain surprisingly consistent. At Kettering, the focus is on teaching:
- Complexity thinking — the ability to break down ambiguous problems and solve them in parts.
- Resilience — not just recovering from failure, but growing because of it.
- Continuous learning — staying curious, flexible, and open to change.
- Focus and professionalism — showing up, engaging fully, and communicating with impact.
These aren’t taught through lectures alone. They’re developed through real-world pressure, meaningful responsibility, and a culture that treats students like professionals from day one.
And just as importantly, Kettering avoids what Dr. McMahan calls the “walled garden” effect of screens. While many students today are glued to devices, Kettering emphasizes human interaction, face-to-face collaboration, and the ability to be present — skills that are increasingly rare but deeply valuable.
Listen to the episode here on Apple Podcast & leave a review!
The Bigger Picture: A Wake-Up Call for Higher Ed
If you think about it, who really is the customer of higher education? According to Dr. McMahan, the real “customer” of education isn’t the student or the parent, it’s the employer. They’re the ones who decide if the product (the graduate) meets the demands of the job market.
If students leave school buried in debt and without practical skills, that’s not just their problem, it’s a failure of the system. And as Dr. McMahan points out, colleges should be accountable to the outcomes they help create.
Moreover, it’s crucial to be aware of the broader pressure points facing higher ed: a shrinking pool of college-aged students (aka the demographic cliff), a surplus of under-filled programs (overcapacity), and a market full of alternatives — think Coursera, Khan Academy, and employer-led training — that are eating away at traditional models.
As Dr. McMahan explains, colleges that rely solely on tuition without endowment support are particularly vulnerable. Many will need to merge, shrink, or shut down altogether unless they evolve.
Why This Episode Matters
Higher education needs to earn its value again, not through legacy or tradition, but through outcomes. If students graduate with debt and no clear path forward, the system isn’t working. But if they leave with experience, resilience, and the mindset to navigate change, that’s an investment worth making.
Kettering’s model may sound bold, but it’s also practical, and possibly essential for what’s ahead. If more universities start embedding students in real environments, treating them like professionals, and focusing on adaptability over memorization, we might finally start closing the gap between learning and doing.
If you’re a parent thinking about your child’s future, a student weighing college options, or a leader wondering how to better prepare your team for what’s next — this episode is for you.
Dr. McMahan doesn’t just diagnose the problems with higher ed — he offers a working solution and it’s evident in the walls of Kettering University’s. And in a world that’s changing faster than most institutions can handle, we need more leaders and models like this.
Listen to the full episode now and discover what it really takes to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow.