At the Nexus of Industry and Liberal Arts

In 2018, the University System of Georgia (USG) Board of Regents approved Columbus State University (CSU) and Albany State University to begin offering a new type of degree. Not quite associate degrees and not bachelor’s degrees, these new nexus degree programs are designed to support people at a variety of points in their career and give them what they need to move forward, regardless of previous education. With the credit load of the degree being similar to an associate at 60 credit hours but including upper division classes, industry-specific credentials, and experiential learning, the nexus degree seemed a flexible and practical alternative to a bachelor’s that could prepare its graduates to address industry demands directly.

The USG nexus degrees involve the academic preparation of a liberal arts degree by requiring 42 credit hours of general education. The remaining 18 credit hours, however, are spent on highly-specialized, industry-specific coursework that often result in an industry-standard certificate, with 6 credit hours in the form of an internship or apprenticeship.

Another key feature of the nexus degree is stackability; that is, the credits a student completes to earn the nexus degree may count toward a longer degree, like a bachelor’s or graduate degree. This structure makes the nexus degree viable as both a standalone certification and a way to make progress toward a longer degree, all while acquiring practical industry skills.

Such a curriculum was initially created to meet Georgia’s unique labor market demands. The state has grown rapidly to become one of the largest bases of the film industry in the nation. And its success has raised concerns about the labor market’s ability to match the new demand. Fittingly, the first nexus degree offered at CSU was in film production. Since that initial program was approved in 2018, the number of nexus programs has grown to eight across the system. CSU now offers a second nexus degree program in cybersecurity--timely, as the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology projects that 18,378 unfilled jobs in cybersecurity are located in Georgia. Outside of Georgia, the University of Michigan also offers a nexus degree in engineering, and other state university systems are taking an interest as well.

The appeal of the nexus degree also lies in its relevance to both traditional and nontraditional students. Its length means that students don’t have to commit to a longer four-year degree without sacrificing rigor, given the specialized nature of its upper-level coursework. Traditional students can find an alternative to an associate or bachelor’s degree, and due to the stackability of the program, still have the option to pursue a longer degree. On the other hand, mid-career professionals or older students seeking a career change can add technical skills to their existing resume with the applied nature of nexus degrees. According to Michael Barker, director of the TSYS Cybersecurity Center at CSU, the current cohort of students pursuing a nexus degree in cybersecurity include people with a wide range of backgrounds, from high school students to a pastry chef.

Some, however, are cautious about the value of nexus degrees. Ryan Craig recently argued in Forbes that the Georgia nexus degree is not an adequate stackable credential. He contended that workforce-oriented programs must either lead to licensure or be recognized by the industry in order to be quality stackable programs. If they are not, then the credentials are “made up” by colleges, and thus have little value as employers would not understand the specifics or credibility of the certification. Craig included the USG nexus certificates in the “made up” category of stackable credentials.

However, the USG nexus programs have indicated a commitment to partnering with industry to design course work since their inception. When the creation of nexus degrees was announced, Tristan Denley, the chief academic officer of the USG, stated that businesses contributed to writing curricula, and that “when students graduate with these degrees, the industries will absolutely know what they’re getting.” This industry support is evident in the success of USG’s first nexus graduates, who graduated in December 2020. One of the two graduates of CSU’s nexus degree in film production, Madeline Ramos, stated that she gained hands-on experience on a film set. She also received the Georgia Film Academy certification, an industry-recognized certification, as part of her degree, meeting the criteria Craig set.

The USG nexus programs, and particularly the industry involvement in terms of curriculum design and credentials that they claim to involve, are promising ways for students to obtain in-demand and relevant skills. Others thinking of replicating the program, however, should consider how designing curricula on an individual, per institution basis has implications for graduate outcomes. Because nexus degree curricula are not standard across institutions, some nexus degrees may not hold as much value in the absence of substantial partnerships with employers in the design and implementation of courses. This lack of standardization also means that a nexus degree may be valuable in one local labor market and completely unrecognized in another. To avoid sacrificing clarity in standardization for flexibility in meeting local employer needs, communication and collaboration between institutions and employers across the country is needed.

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