Higher Education and the Millenials

The generation of young people known as the Millenials are a generation unlike any other. For the most part, they are the grandchildren of baby boomers and were born between 1982 and 2002. They have some exceptionally unique characteristics. The most striking is that they are a generation that has almost entirely been raised in technology. Most people in this age group have never known a home without an answering machine, satellite or cable television, or a home computer. Few of them are rarely without their cell phones and many still enjoy the pleasures of hand held computer games.

Because of the environment in which they were raised, they expect immediate gratification, instant communication, and lose patience when things are less than expeditious. Keep in mind, I didn't say they value quality, but rather enjoy all aspects of getting it fast, rather than getting it right. This poses problems in many areas, but specifically in the areas of higher education. Since many of these young people, who eventually become students, are used to communicating either by e-mail, text messaging, or im'ing, they lack certain socialization skills that many of us take for granted. For example, a millenial student will more likely communicate to an instructor via e-mail or an online college communication system, such as Blackboard. Few would pick up a phone or stay after class to ask an instructor a question. Is this a detriment? In terms of long term growth and development, I beleive it is. Most students hopefully will graduate and move on to positions in their career which will require person to person interaction. Without the developed socialization skills, many will be uncomfortable in face to face situations that require consistent interaction. As educators, both inside and outside the classroom, we must realize that students of this generation will continue to utilize the technology with which they were raised, but we must encourage them to ask questions, person to person, foster interactions that require good oral communication skills and allow them to grow and communicate beyond their electronic devices.

The difficulty that this generation also experiences is their expectations of speed and immediacy in everything. However, is real life, especially higher education, actually that fast and gratifying? Of course not! The values of patience, persistence, perseverance and hard work are lost on this group, because they have never needed it in their short lives. Again, as educators, we must instill in these young people the value of working towards a goal, building on concepts and ideologies that allow them to develop and continue a thought process over a series of courses and throughout a curriculum. They need to understand the gratification that one feels after truly sacrificing time and enjoyment for the long term satisfaction of gaining knowledge and expertise in a field of study.

This is a generation that also relies heavily on their parents; more so than the generations before them. They look to their parents for advice, guidance and sometimes to complete tasks that they simply do not want to do. Is this the fault of the millenials? There is another term which labels the parents of this generation. They are known as "helicopter parents" because they hover over their children, minimizing any chance that the child will make mistakes (and learn from them). My parents came to the college I attended once, the day I graduated. Today, it is not uncommon for parents to be on campus for testing, registration, orientation and I've even seen parents wait on campus during the day to see their children on breaks when they aren't in class. It is fine to want to help your child along the way, but there is a line that parents must be careful not to cross. By crossing this line, dual messages are sent to the students. They are "we don't think you can do this yourself" and "let me take care of it and you won't have to bother" Even if parents accompany their child to my office, I speak directly to the student and minimize any interference from the parents. The students need to know that they have a voice and have control over that voice. They can speak for themselves and should do so to foster their own maturity and growth. In speaking for themselves, they assume more responsibility for their own actions and accountability for their results.

We will be dealing with this generation in the college classroom for many years to come. It is important to realize their strengths, their weaknesses and to use the skills as educators that we possess to bring out the best that this generation has to offer. We need to do this by acknowledging the advantages that this generation has been raised with while giving them the benefit of our experience and the values that we know will lead them to be successful.