1. Millennials to Generation Z Preparing for our Incoming Students
Dawna Mackay – Baby Boomer and Registrar, BCIT
Canadian Ellucian Users Conference, October 2017

2. How Do We Define Generations?
Traditionalists
Baby Boomers
Gen X
Gen Y - Millennials
Gen Z
Birth Years
1996-??
Current Ages
72+
53-71
38-52
22-37
21 and under

3. Intergenerational Relationships

4. Parenting Styles Boomers vs. Gen X

5. Parents - Boomers vs Gen X
Boomer Parenting Style
-parents of Millennials
Gen X Parenting Style
-parents of Gen Z
Protect through involvement
Protect through surveillance
What’s best for the group of children
What’s best for MY child
Optimism and enthusiasm for Institutions
Cynicism and questioning of Institutions
Aspirations – you can do anything!
Realistic – do what your are good at
Everyone wins
Only the best win

6. Millennial Characteristics
Howe and Strauss (1997) identified 7 core traits the Millennial generation possess:
Special
Sheltered
Confident
Achieving
Team Oriented
Pressured
Conventional

7. Millennial Stereotypes
Narcissistic
Celebrity obsessed
Stunted development
Selfishness exacerbated by
technology
FOMO and YOLO
Love their phones, but hate talking on them

8. Millennial Video

9. Gen Z Characteristics Born in 1996 (ish)
Started entering BCIT in the fall of 2014
30% of incoming students in Fall 2015
Most diverse and educated generation
Short attention span
Environmentally aware and concerned
Communal
Value authenticity and a social cause

10. Gen Z – Who are they? Able to be want they want to be
Diverse culture is the norm
Options are there to discover
Collaboration is great – but let us decide who and how
They are going to predict OUR future

11. Gen Z Stereotypes Generation lay-”Z”
Technology centered - sedentary lifestyle
Impatient
Media obsessed
Time will tell………

12. Gen Z Future Professionals
65 percent of grade school students will work in jobs that don’t exist today
80% wonder if they will have a job when they graduate. Want a boss that has their back
They will be a different kind of professional, not a 40-hour week cube worker, but freelance contractors who solve problems with a particular expertise
They are wary of long-term plans. They are not planning on 30 year careers at one place.

13. Gen Z – The Learner They are not “digital citizens” Competency based
They very much dislike lecture-test classroom
Gen Z’s are constant multi-taskers
Like to have random access to information, love to explore using their own routes, need graphics, want it fun, and instant feedback

14. Comparing Generations
Millennials
Gen Z
Optimists
Realists
Content consumers
Content creators
Communicate with text
Communicate with images
Entitled
Persistent
Conventional
Entrepreneurial

15. So, How Do We Engage Them?
Use the student voice to narrate and promote
By students, for students
Content must be:
Short and to the point
Inspiring
Informational
Amusing
Useful
Critical

16. How Do We Effectively Reach Them??
All information must be online
Get rid of the paper!
Messages must be authentic
Social media
Video, pictures, emoji's
Listen to the student voice!!

17. In Person Is Still Important
Create space for face to face meetings
Bring in peers to mentor
Welcome their parents – new thinking
Pop-up info stations
Travelling goodie carts staffed by Wellness staff