The Demand for Degrees: It’s All About Timing - Dayna Catropa, Inside Higher Ed

Anyone who has experienced long supermarket lines and empty Home Depot shelves where snow blowers once sat has witnessed the classic case of a sudden increase in demand creating a shortage in supply. In higher education, there are demand drivers for different degrees and credentials: employers may need a workforce with new skills, a new regulation might be put in place, a shift in demographics may create a need, etc. -- and institutions can choose to respond accordingly. Take the nursing profession, for example. It’s no secret that demand has increased, and nursing schools have responded.