Inside Higher Ed: The Apprentice: Why Higher Ed Is Leaning Into Earn-and-Learn

Written by: Reach University March 6, 2026 1 min read

What if the campus of the future isn’t actually a campus?

Across the country, the workplace is emerging as the new college campus. In response to rising costs and shifting demographics, Reach University, its National Center for the Apprenticeship Degree (NCAD), and partners are advancing Apprenticeship Degrees that integrate college learning directly into the workplace.

Data confirms that work-embedded learning is no longer a niche alternative to the traditional college classroom, but a growing solution designed around the needs of today’s learners. Currently, nearly 40 percent of college presidents, and even more community college leaders, plan to expand work-based degree offerings within the next three years.

We always design with registered apprenticeship standards in mind. That doesn’t mean a partner is going to launch their apprenticeship degree as a registered apprenticeship, but it means they’re ready to. - Dr. Holly Smith, NCAD

By the Numbers

Scalable Success: This partnership-driven model reduces enrollment costs to nearly one-fifth of the national average of $3,000 to $5,000.
Beyond the Trades: While many institutions are only beginning to plan for apprenticeships and Apprenticeship Degrees, this model has already proven that work-embedded learning works for high-touch, essential roles like K-12 teaching.
Instructional Quality: Moving the campus to the workplace does not sacrifice rigor; instead, it enhances the degree experience by blending on-the-job practice with mentorship and credit for work.

The evidence for this transformation is growing. In a recent deep-dive by Colleen Flaherty of Inside Higher Ed, the data shows that graduates of apprenticeship and Apprenticeship Degree programs witness significant wage increases without creating excessive student debt, the "10-year taxpayer return on investment in apprenticeships was $7.80 for every $1 invested," and that "every $100 an employer invested in apprenticeship generated $144.30 in total benefits."

“Higher education has a major transformation, or a minor revolution, every generation or so, every 20 years—and a major revolution every century, and I think the story of this century will be that the workplace is going to become the college campus, and that higher education is going to become work-embedded at scale.” - President Joe E. Ross, Reach University

Read the Full Analysis