Rick Benbow of WGU Shares the Keys to Higher Education Attainment

Kristina (00:05):

Hey, future black and Latin X leaders. You are listening to the keys to the office podcast, where we interview amazing guests who share their individual career paths to set you up for success. We're giving you the keys to the office and all you need to do is show up, ready to unlock the door. Let's jump into today's episode.

Kristina (00:31):

All right, good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. Keys family. This wonderful podcast episode is gonna be dedicated to college education, right? And making sure it's accessible to everyone. And of course, with our audience being predominantly college students, we all, I think to a certain degree, understand the complexities of balancing school and life, life being very different for all of us. Some of us more being traditional students, some of us more non-traditional I've taken both paths. So we are fortunate to have Mr. Rick with us from WGU. And he's gonna talk to us a bit about not just his career path, but some of the things he sees in his work to make education more accessible for students in underserved communities. So join me in welcoming him, welcoming him to today's episode, right? For those who don't know you. And, and I've done all of my research, right? I've studied you and, and lately seen a ton of WG commercials. Tell us who you are and what you do

Rick Benbow (01:37):

Well, Kris, first of all, thank you for the opportunity to chat with you this afternoon. Really, really appreciate the time. Thank you for the nice intro for those who don't know. I'm Rick Ben, regional vice president for Western governors university. Uh, we're a nonprofit online competency based university where our mission is to create pathways, to opportunity through higher education. I've been with WG now going on three years, and then that three years WGU has become my I'm. Someone who firmly believes in the power of higher education mm-hmm and the opportunities that it can provide. I have master degrees to undergrad at Howard and through that educational experience that I find myself here today, I am one who likes to create public value. And I feel like I do well by doing good. And again, as someone who believes in higher education, I wanna create those pathways for those folks or those individuals who believe in the American dream believe in pursuing, uh, happiness and career growth.

Rick Benbow (02:45):

But we know that it is through education, that we begin that journey and that pathway, but the rising of tuition and the demands on time, the barriers that have been created, whether real or artificial, we need to identify alternative pathways that give individuals, those determined individuals who believe in the power of higher education and believe in opportunity. We need to find pathways for them to find their, to find their opportunity. And w G has given me that platform and I'm just absolutely loving every minute of it. Again, as someone who believes in the power of higher education, I started off in the corporate world. Mm-hmm <affirmative> did some government work and then took a different pathway and worked at a well known public university here in Los Angeles. OK. And in Los Angeles, the traffic is unbearable. Mm-hmm,

Kristina (03:42):

<affirmative>, that's one word

Rick Benbow (03:45):

And I, a thinker problem solver and to work is it's. So I, a lot of time to contemplate life's problems and questions, again, as someone who likes to problem solve mm-hmm <affirmative>. And again, as a thinker, it dawned on me one day that in California, in Los Angeles, if I was someone who wanted to pursue higher education to enhance my career trajectory, uh, earned that bachelor's degree, or even earn that master's degree, how could I do it if I had to take care of family or, or if I had to work, there were these barriers that existed within this construct that I'm trying problem for on my, and at the it didn't like there was an answer I received a phone call from w G Western governors university learned a little bit about this online competency based nonprofit university and the research on westerns university.

Rick Benbow (04:52):

I was able to, to how can one enhance their career trajectory or pursue higher education with the dynamics of finances that could impact that decision? The dynamic of having to take care of a family, the dynamic of having to work full time, the dynamic of even having to navigate, to leave work, to get to in someone's classroom and just absolutely fell in love with the opportunity to work with w and amplify the value proposition that I think we offer to a lot of students who find themselves contemplating returning back to school or earning that master degree so that they can enhance their career trajectory or their value in the workforce.

Kristina (05:44):

Mm-hmm <affirmative> like, you're speaking to me. I started as a non-traditional student. Well, as a traditional student for one year, right? One year that I will tell you, I don't wanna say it didn't count, but I can't really tell you what I learned in that first year one. I was probably a little bit too young to go off to college. But after that first year came back home and decided to join the military, have a child, my parents relocated. So I was on my own and my child was on my own. I was 20. No, it was 19 when they left. And so 20, I have a child, I have an apartment, I have a full-time job. I have a car like, and I'm trying to piece everything together, check to check. So I started a couple of classes in an online program, and this was many years ago before they became more common, started a couple of classes and then life happened.

Kristina (06:39):

And I was like, gosh, I just can't get my footing underneath me. So yeah, I get the need for flexibility. I understand the barriers, right. I think about money and how that came into play. And that was a major issue for me. I think about childcare. I did try mortar as a mother with no real support system in place. So thinking about the cost of childcare to go to school after work. So we're talking about evening hours, that was a challenge. And even beyond then, just not really being sure of what I wanted to do, right. So not having the strong career coaching and guidance in place. That was an issue, oh, the list goes on and on commute, right? Not just in traffic, but public transportation <laugh> and relying on that, you know, being from the city. So there's so many barriers and it's nice to know that you understand what those barriers are specifically as it relates to those in underserved communities.

Kristina (07:40):

When we think about underserved communities also think about diversity in online learning. I completed both of my degrees online, so I've got a bachelors and a master's, what are you seeing? And, and I don't know if you could speak to this, but what that sort of means to diverse college students, right? Having that flexibility to complete that degree, knowing that, you know, we're being honest, in many cases, the chips are kind of stacked against us. And so we've gotta work just a little bit harder and have just a few more resources and more flexibility, and then the ability to pay for it. We're talking about mounting student debt. So I know I've chunked a lot of things into that, but as someone who was a first generation college student and graduate and not knowing about student loans, talk to me about that piece of it and, and sort of what you're seeing and how you're speaking to that specifically for those in underserved communities who think education, higher education may be out of reach for them.

Rick Benbow (08:45):

I think there are a couple things we probably need to there. Yeah. Kinda to the, like what these barriers may be. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. So first of let's just take into account the escalating cost of tuition since inflation rate of increased. That same time salaries for young workers has only increased 19%. And so here we have the cost of attendance increasing more than one can earn. Yeah. Essentially after graduation. And so as a student, you know, going in, you don't necessarily think about this. Right, right. But as you get closer to graduation, life inevitably happens. You start to think about your career. You start to think about that debt. You start to think about where is the return on investment. And a lot of times it may be difficult to see where that connection may be between the cost of attendance and the job that you want.

Rick Benbow (09:56):

Mm-hmm, <affirmative>, mm-hmm, <affirmative> in underserved communities oftentimes to stay in school, we take on maybe that parttime job, typically that parttime job doesn't necessarily align with the degree program that we're enrolled in. So even as we complete that journey of higher education, we enter the workforce. We have a misalignment between what we may be trained in from a educational perspective to where we have our experience. Yeah. And as technology is kind impacted all phases of organizations and, and employment. What I am finding is that oftentimes those students who may have that misalignment will not make it past the initial HR phase because the algorithm will see that the degree program doesn't necessarily align with their experience. And so that's a dilemma that we have to deal with. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And again, with the cost of higher tuition and thes not increasing, we find ourselves not earning enough money to pay back their student.

Rick Benbow (11:14):

And so, as these stories get passed, you know, underserved students begin to question the value of higher education. And I think that's the dilemma that we find ourselves in mm-hmm <affirmative> we see enrollment dropping. We see students looking for alternative pathways to earn a living, to take care of the family, to pay the bill, to pay, to pay for public transportation, to pay for childcare. Yeah. Yeah. Somewhere in this 20, 30 year period, we have lost what higher education attainment means. The promise of higher education has been lost. Mm-hmm because of this dilemma with, because we're online competency based, we're affordable, we're flexible. I think our model allows those nontraditional students to be able to minimize those barriers. Mm-hmm <affirmative> in terms of earning a living to take care of the family, to take care of bills, to navigate life and take courses on their time at an affordable rate mm-hmm <affirmative>. And then our mentor, uh, component of our educational model also helps. And so I think to me, this model allows those underserved students who are looking, who are in that nontraditional pathway. Mm-hmm <affirmative>, to me, it gives them agency to control the alignment of their experience and their degree program. And so that upon graduation, they have some value in the workforce.

Rick Benbow (12:52):

Say for example, you can work as an accounting clerk and earn your degree on your time. Uh, at WG in accounting, our average graduation rate, I think is two years and four months.

Kristina (13:05):

Oh.

Rick Benbow (13:06):

And so two years and four months, you have years and four months of practical work experience as an accounting. Mm-hmm <affirmative> you graduate with an accounting degree.

Kristina (13:16):

Mm-hmm <affirmative>

Rick Benbow (13:17):

We can connect the dots now with experience program alignment and real workforce value. Yeah. And, and now career, the investment will be there, this lag time, that job with your, with your program to realize that value mm-hmm <affirmative>. I think there are some statistics that out the, that if you are underemployed in your first year of employment, you'll be underemployed for the next consecutive jobs. That's dilemmas themselves in mm-hmm <affirmative> where they're chasing that alignment. And it takes them a while to get there. And there are a lot of other factors that kinda go that the workforce, but as we move more to a skills based, I thinks gonna critical underserved students of color to able to their experience, their program degree is quickly as possible so that they can realize the value of that higher education degree or that higher education journey. So they get the return on investment of time and money.

Kristina (14:26):

I could not agree with you more, Rick. Um, I had a conversation with a young lady probably a week and a half ago or so. And her major was in HR. She did what she was told she needed to do. So she went through and obtained her bachelor's and then she got her master's in HR and she came out and she said, Christina, I couldn't find a job. And, you know, I had a child. And so, you know, I figured I'd play around and do makeup, but that, wasn't what I thought I would do with my degree in HR. And I said to her, I said, this is a conversation I've had for so many years as an HR professional, specifically in the early talent space, specifically with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. I said, you have to get the experience too. Right.

Kristina (15:14):

And so I talked to her about the importance of internships, and I talked to her about the importance of volunteering and resume building activities while you're in school. And she's like, you know, I wish I knew that. And that to me was heartbreaking. I said, you know, we don't know what we don't know. Right. And I said, that's why I'm doing what I'm doing, because I need to spread the word. Right. And talk to people about here's what you might be missing. Right. Education is great. As a recruiter for the past several years, I talked to students about internships and how to secure one and networking. And it sounds like WGU has that mentorship component where those conversations are taking place in school. You'd be surprised how many students come out and don't have a clue about the importance of gaining that work experience while you pursue your education. Because I'm just gonna say it, Rick, I don't think the degree is enough these days, you have to have the experience. So you can then implement it, position yourself for success, in whatever your field is and start paying back those student loans. Does that sound pretty much like what you're seeing?

Rick Benbow (16:23):

Yes. Yes. And I think even more so to on point just a bit more, is that the shelf of skills you acquire education and short lived? Yeah. Again, because technology is impacting all phases of employment. And so I think one of the things that I get excited about is again, creating pathways to opportunity, but really converting those students who didn't think the higher education journey was for them. Mm-hmm <affirmative>, but converting them to lifelong learners because we can realize return investment mm-hmm because we're attaining valuable skills that are in demand in the workforce. And there is a direct correlation with skill attainment career. And once people that the thirst for knowledge and seeking out new additional skills just seems to be more motivating and enables folks to have a little bit more confidence about taking ownership of their career. Mm-hmm <affirmative>, uh, as well as their educational journey.

Kristina (17:27):

So critical. Let's pause for two seconds. I mean, education is great. You touched on something earlier about mounting student debt, right? Mounting debt in general. I'll tell you. I didn't know what I didn't know. So after my first year I mentioned I was 17 when I wrapped up my first year of college and my mom said, I can't afford to send you back. We're gonna retire and relocate. And I was like, oh, what am I supposed to do? And so I didn't know how to find the money. I didn't know how to have the conversation with someone and say, I need help paying for college, recognizing that finances are a major hurt, especially for many of us who are first generation college students. How do you find the money to pay for school? I appreciate the fact that WG is affordable, but how do we even pay for that? Talk to me a little bit about the financial piece

Rick Benbow (18:23):

Again, that this is why I think is really one of the best options out there for students who find themselves questioning whether or not they can afford higher education in general. Mm-hmm, <affirmative> our tuition model. Number one, we're nonprofit. Mm-hmm very, and we understand these barriers and we to minimize these barriers as much as we possibly our average, it's a flat rate, six months tuition, uh, is a little over 4,000 per six month.

Kristina (18:53):

Oh wow.

Rick Benbow (18:54):

With that, you can take and complete as many courses possibly within that six months, the tuition rate does not compet based. Mm-hmm <affirmative>, we're measuring not necessarily, but we're measuring, learning and skill attainment. As you demonstrate mastery of the skills and competencies associated with the course mm-hmm <affirmative>, you can advance mm-hmm <affirmative>. And so this model has really helped those students who may be working in HR on a part-time basis, or even full time basis and attending WG

Kristina (19:31):

Mm-hmm

Rick Benbow (19:31):

<affirmative> case. In point, we had a student who actually was in Stockton, California mm-hmm graduated high school nontraditional student went to work full right high school, graduated community college, took him six years to complete his associate's degree. But during that six year timeframe, he had six years of experience. Yeah. Felt he was a little behind his high school and was looking for, to his career pathed. And the fact that he earned a couple of human resource certificates while attending community college, nice leveraged his associate's degreer certificates enrolled in of was able to bachelor's degree in human months.

Kristina (20:31):

Wow. I love that story

Rick Benbow (20:34):

Competency based education. It's not about time. It's about being able to demonstrate the skills and competencies associated with the course. Yeah. Our model is a game changer for those nontraditional students, for whatever reason are underserved by the traditional brick and mortar for those underserved communities that themselves unable to attend brick and mortar. The pathway is a way that I think delivers on the outcomes of higher education. We're student-centric, we're focused on removing those barriers. Mm-hmm cost model. The competency based model allows those and students to really control the cost and the time associated with skill attainment and higher education degree attainment mm-hmm <affirmative>. And I think when you really focus in on the two barriers that nontraditional students find themselves, it's the time component it's also, the cost was built to those. So that those traditional underserved students don't have consider that's or choice barriers is available with the

Kristina (22:05):

You. And I just wanna reiterate the importance of determination because life will inevitably happen along the way things happen. I could think of the many reasons I pulled out of college. Like I said, I I've been to five or six. It, it literally took me 15 years from the day I left or graduated from St. John's prep in Astoria to the day I graduated with my bachelor's 15 years in the process, I had two children, you know, went to the military, worked, obtained those certifications you mentioned. So I have my SHRM CP. I have my PHR from HR C, but getting that degree was always on the list of things to do it never left. Right? So that determination is a critical component. And as long as you come in with that and that motivation, so understanding your why, understanding why this is important. It sounds like WG will provide the resources and the support to move the needle forward with you, not for you, but with you holding your hand along the way.

Rick Benbow (23:10):

Yes. So students who enter Western governor's university are assigned a program mentor mm-hmm <affirmative> from the moment they enroll to the moment they graduate. There are conference calls or meetings established with the program. As students are engaged in their journey, helping navigate those life issues, helping navigate emergencies, help them, their journey, uh, provide the guidance, identify issues, help them talk through issues, but all a while, supporting that student through their journey to ensure that they progress, uh, and persist and ultimately achieve their goals that they establi upon entering WGU.

Kristina (24:05):

So I knew we coming up on time and I think about the premise of this show, the keys to the office. So giving students black and Latinx students, essentially the keys to move forward in their career path, whatever that might be, education is a critical component of that hands down. I'm clearly a believer in the importance of education. Talk to that student who's somewhere in college, you know, at this point may be traditional or non-traditional student. And I think at some point we may even get rid of those terms because the lines are so great. But talk to me about the student who's sitting there today. And they're like the current program I'm in is wearing me out. I'm not getting what I think I need. It might be time for a change. I don't wanna give up. My children are watching everything I do. What's that major key. What's that next step you'd suggest if they're considering either stopping or shifting gears or just uncertain. I know it is probably tough to wrap it up into one neat little key, but kind of put a bow on it for us.

Rick Benbow (25:09):

This is where I believe. I mean, wholeheartedly in the WG platform, I think we're seeing, you know, what you describing out in different ways in today's marketplace, even with folks who are currently working, maybe dissatisfied or unsatisfied with their current position and looking to pivot, maybe even students who realize, you know, a couple of years into their journey that their chosen major or program is really not what they're passionate about. Again, if education is that first step to that opportunity that you're seeking and that why and where you think you can add value to society or find your passion, then again, what comes into consideration is the time and cost of that pivot.

Kristina (25:55):

Mm-hmm <affirmative>.

Rick Benbow (25:55):

If you're looking at it from the traditional model, you look at it from the perspective of what those current costs are for that state school, that public university, or that private institution, and almost immediate discouraged and incur

Kristina (26:28):

Yes. Been there

Rick Benbow (26:30):

The WGU model because it's affordable. Cause it's competency base mm-hmm,

Kristina (26:35):

<affirmative>

Rick Benbow (26:36):

Allows you to maybe minimize again the time and cost associated with pursuing higher education. Yeah. When you get real added value because we're competencies and skills based, we work with employers and organizations to ensure that our curriculum is aligned with those demands. I love it for skills and competencies in the workforce. So, you know, when you graduate those skills and competencies are relevant, the price point is such that you can accelerate your degree or your degree. Again, if you're ed and we have some Al stories mm-hmm of, you know, those determined individuals are accelerating to degree within a year. And so now can say if the average cost of the six month turn is a little over 4,000, I'm looking at 8,000. If I'm determined and to make that that's a lot different than maybe the average cost of tuition and considering time in the traditional pathway. And so again, I think this is where the w G model again, is really resonating with those individuals higher learner. That's where that's, and we make that change direction. We make that skill attainment reasonable, and we connect the dots to real workforce value in the marketplace.

Kristina (28:15):

And you impact generational wealth.

Rick Benbow (28:18):

Absolutely. Absolutely. Mm-hmm <affirmative>,

Kristina (28:21):

That's huge. The ripple effects.

Rick Benbow (28:24):

Yes.

Kristina (28:25):

Yes. The ripple effect in our communities.

Rick Benbow (28:27):

I'll just share this really, really, really? Yeah. Please. You talk about parents who understand that their children are, and you know, some, oftentimes those parents who don't have that degree, see their children pursue that degree, but it's hard as a parent when you're telling your child pursue something, it's, it is gratifying. I love it to see that there are other pathways for higher education. There are, there are, and the themselves mm-hmm <affirmative>, it is remarkable what we're doing here at WG. And I'm just to be a part of the family and actually just highlighting the pathway that we can provide to individuals, to ownership of their career trajectory, change lives, impact lives, and generational wealth. If you'll,

Kristina (29:46):

Yeah. It's that serious. Yes, absolutely. That serious. I love it. And I can't thank you enough for carving out the time to chat with me, to chat with the keys family, because we need more conversations like this. Oftentimes we feel stuck in, on an island by ourselves, right. Especially if we're the only one in our community or in our home, who's pursuing higher education. So being able to talk through the obstacles, the hurdles, and know that there are support available to get you over those and to get you to your goal, like that's critical. We could talk about careers all day, but like the education piece is so critical that I, I can't thank you enough for the work you're doing Rick.

Rick Benbow (30:30):

Oh, thank you for the time and the opportunity to share some of the great things we're doing here at WG.

Kristina (30:37):

Yes. Awesome. Well, thank you. On behalf of the, the family, um, have a fantastic rest of your day and I'm sure we'll stay in touch and catch up soon.

Rick Benbow (30:46):

Wonderful. Thank you.

Kristina (30:47):

You too. All right. Bye-bye

Kristina (30:53):

If you're hearing this message, you have listened to the entire episode and for that, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We hope you enjoyed it. And if you did, please, don't forget to subscribe. Leave us a review and check out our website at www.thekeystotheoffice.com. We look forward to connecting with you in a future episode until then go be amazing.