We coined the term New Majority Learners to reflect the diverse group of individuals who now represent the majority of enrolled learners.
This growing demographic includes adult learners, first-generation students, learners of color, single parents, veterans, and others for whom postsecondary education was not designed.
NEW MAJORITY LEARNERS
For the majority of learners, education doesn’t happen separately from work; it happens alongside it. Our systems must be designed to support both learning and earning at the same time.
Today’s learner-earners are seeking faster, more flexible and affordable pathways to better jobs.
At the Lab, we understand New Majority Learners as learners who identify with one or more of the following …
Low income, living in poverty, unhoused, or experiencing basic needs (housing, food) insecurity
Financially independent for financial aid purposes
Have dependents other than a partner/spouse
Can only attend college part-time (due to life or financial circumstances)
Work part- or full-time while enrolled
STARS, the more than 70 million working adults in the United States without a bachelor’s degree who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs)
First-gen: The first one in their family to attend a college or university
Enrolled in a higher education program at age 22 or older
Veterans or active duty members
Transfer students
Do not have a high school diploma
Currently or were formerly incarcerated
People of color, specifically Black, Indigenous, or Latinx
Transgender, genderqueer, or gender nonbinary
Speak English as a second language (is an ESL learner)
An immigrant to the US, or the child of immigrant parents/caregivers
Undocumented
Attend a tribal college or university
Live with a disability or are neurodivergent
We recognize identity is complex and fluid — and these learners bring a wealth of lived experience, resilience, and intersectional identity.
At the Lab, the term “New Majority Learner” is a call to action: It is a reminder that designing for the margins is actually designing for the majority. By centering those who have been systematically excluded, we design a learn-and-work system that finally works for everyone.
One word to describe my experience on the design team is empowering. I feel like I’m actually making a difference, I matter, my experiences matter, my opinions matter. I feel so connected with the group. I feel like I’m doing amazing things.
Freya Olson
Dual Enrollment student at Arlington Career Center and Northern Virginia Community College, pictured third from left
THE WEAVE
It’s a time of transformation.
Education outcomes are being measured by competencies, not degrees.
The lines between school and work are blurring.
Colleges, and even high schools, are unlocking skills from degrees, making them more explicit to learners and employers.
Learners are in the driver’s seat, getting credit and skills from many different providers, and credit for learning wherever it happens.
We call this the Learner Revolution.
THE LEARNER REVOLUTION
PAST
Degree-Centered Systems
Education was designed around rigid pathways, fixed timelines and the assumption that learning happened separately from work and life.
PRESENT
A System in Transition
Learners are balancing education alongside work, caregiving and economic realities while institutions adapt to changing workforce and learner needs.
FUTURE
The Learner Revolution
Flexible, skills-based pathways are empowering learner-earners to gain credit, build competencies and navigate education on their own terms.
FEATURED DESIGN TOOL
The Lab uses learner personas, grounded in real stories and intersectional identities, to keep New Majority Learners at the center of every design decision and ensure new models reflect their lived realities, goals, and barriers.
Breaking Into Cybersecurity
Age 19 · Cybersecurity analyst
It feels like I’m trying to hack my way into tech with no roadmap and my family depending.
At 19, Kuami moved from Ghana to Northern Virginia with their single mother and three siblings. They finished high school and know college is important, but their family relies on them to start earning money quickly. As a first‑gen student living in subsidized housing without internet, every step – researching programs, applying, commuting from a distant bus stop – feels harder. English is still a work in progress, but working with computers comes easily, and cybersecurity careers sound promising. Kuami wants to make their mother proud, support the family, and find a path into tech, but they’re unsure where to start and worry their language skills and finances will hold them back.
Learning After Military Service
Age 29 · Veteran · Logistics Student
I already had the skills. I just needed someone to recognize them and help me connect them to a future.
Maria struggled translating years of operational and leadership experience into civilian opportunities. She enrolled in a workforce training program that helped her map existing skills into certifications and academic credit. For the first time, her experience felt visible instead of invisible. The transition wasn’t just professional — it was personal. She began rebuilding confidence in environments that once felt unfamiliar and inaccessible.
Returning to School While Working Full-Time
Age 34 · Medical Assistant · First-Generation College Student
I didn’t need another motivational speech — I needed a system that could actually work with my life.
After nearly a decade working in healthcare support roles, Jasmine decided to return to community college while balancing a full-time job and raising her son. Between night classes, unpredictable work shifts and financial pressure, college often felt designed for someone else’s life. What kept her going was finding a program connected directly to local employers and career pathways that made advancement feel tangible, not abstract.
