WHY DEVELOPING
STUDENTS &
APPRAISING TALENT
MATTERS
The New GPA is an initiative focused on developing student grit, academic progress, and attitude, by nurturing their growth mindset, commercial proficiency, and analytical skills. We also measure professional gains, performance, and aptitude, while providing companies with gap analysis, psychometrics, and talent appraisals.
Hard Facts
On Average, Gen Z Is Either Unemployed or Under-Employed
The unemployment rate for recent college graduates (ages 22–27) reached 5.8% in Q1 2025 — the highest since 2021 — with a 41.2% underemployment rate (working in jobs below degree level) according to the federal reserve. Gen Z recent graduate unemployment is now twice the national rate.
Youth Unemployment Today Equals Trillions Tomorrow
Center for American Progress estimates that 6.7 million “disconnected youth” (out of work and school) impose a combined $1.6 trillion fiscal cost over their lifetimes via lost tax revenues, welfare, healthcare, and crime-related expenses. Unemployed Gen Z currently reduce federal and state tax revenue by $9 billion yearly.
Degrees Are Losing Value
Young graduates aged 22–27 now face an unemployment gap with overall workers that’s the largest on record since 1990 — graduate advantage nearly erased (AP News & ERIC Research)
AI Is Already Taking Jobs
Oxford Economics (May 2025) directly links AI-led hiring shifts and diminished entry-level roles to higher unemployment among recent college grads according to Oxford Economics.
Worried about (AI) the inevitable
Over half (52%) of students are worried about how AI will be used in the workforce and their ability to keep up. (Pew Research) While employers state that 35% of internships will mandate AI use to accomplish tasks. (NACE)
Worried about (AI) the inevitable
Over half 93% of employers would say communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and professionalism are required skills. While those same employers reported they would only rank students at 58% profeciency these areas. (NACE)
About The Core Issue.
Experiential learning and targeted student development in higher education are not supplemental to traditional forms of higher education, they are essential for academic success and long-term employability. A meta-analysis of 225 studies in undergraduate STEM education found that active learning techniques, such as collaborative problem-solving, hands-on projects, and real-world applications, reduced failure rates from 34% to 22% and improved exam performance by an average of 6 percentage points (Freeman et al., 2014). Similarly, service-learning, when integrated with curriculum, improves critical thinking, civic responsibility, and interpersonal skills, while also boosting retention and graduation rates (Eyler, 2002). Among high-impact practices, study abroad is particularly transformative: 97% of study-abroad participants secure employment within 12 months of graduation, compared to just 49% of non-participants, and they report average starting salaries 25% higher, amounting to approximately $7,000 annually in additional income (IES Abroad, 2017; University of California, Merced, 2023). In addition, 80% of study-abroad alumni credit their international experience with developing adaptability, cultural competence, and confidence, which are key traits sought by employers (Institute of International Education, 2017). Moreover, a global internship further amplifies employability: graduates with such internships receive about 25 % more job offers and earn over $12,000 more in first‑year salary compared to peers without internships according to the AACSB.
These outcomes reflect more than individual success; they expose systemic gaps in access and preparation. Students from under-resourced backgrounds often face barriers to completing degrees or gaining high-value employment due to limited exposure to real-world problems, internships that deeply challenge them, or global learning opportunities. Without deliberate interventions such as living-learning communities, practical research apprenticeships, and structured experiential pathways, these students risk becoming further disenfranchised from upward mobility (Kuh, 2008). Experiential programs support not only academic engagement but also the development of social capital, resilience, and a sense of institutional belonging that's critical for retention and persistence.
Furthermore, skills gained through high-quality experiences outside the classroom such as innovation sprints, intensives, or global experiences are increasingly essential in today’s labor market. Employers consistently report a skills gap, especially in areas such as communication, adaptability, and problem-solving, which are often best cultivated through applied learning environments (Hart Research Associates, 2015). Thus, a traditional academic credential, while necessary, is no longer sufficient to compete for top-tier roles without these supplemental, practice-based experiences.
To summarize, the integration of experiential learning and strategic student development is vital for advancing educational equity, workforce readiness, and community impact. Institutions must scale these efforts urgently, not only to graduate students, but to launch them successfully into a global economy that demands more than content knowledge alone. The issue is most are hindered by excess bureaucracy and a lack of capacity that impacts their ability to implement this at the scale and pace of market.
This is the gap The New GPA plans to fill.