Stuart Rayfield, President, Columbus State University

In an interview with Focus:, Stuart Rayfield, president of Columbus State University, discussed the institution’s evolving role in regional development, student success, and cultural engagement. “The most essential skill we can give students is the ability to learn — and learn fast,” she said.

How has Columbus State evolved to meet the needs of its community over time?
Columbus State was founded in 1958 in response to a community-driven effort to expand access to higher education. It began as a two-year institution, with classes held in an abandoned hosiery mill and about 300 students enrolled. In 1996, it transitioned into a four-year institution.

As Columbus grew, driven by industrial development and military presence, the university expanded to support the region’s workforce. Major employers, including top payment processing companies, emerged. This growth allowed us to broaden our academic offerings. In 2009, we began offering doctoral degrees, including our now-large Doctor of Education program.

From that original class of 300 students, we’ve grown to nearly 8,000 as of fall 2024, along with a significantly expanded portfolio of academic programs.

How are academic programs aligning with workforce needs?
That alignment has been a top priority. We’re focused on ensuring our programs meet both existing areas of excellence and regional gaps, so students are prepared for real opportunities after graduation.

Columbus has long been a center for financial transaction processing. When companies evaluated where to locate global operations, we collaborated with them to shape computer science curricula aligned with their evolving needs.

That kind of partnership continues today, particularly in the fintech sector. These collaborations have led to innovative, industry-informed programs that reflect employer expectations and prepare students to contribute immediately.

How is Columbus State evolving to better support students and prepare them for a rapidly changing workforce?
When I stepped into this role, I wanted to identify our biggest challenges. One of the first was student success, especially retention. Our retention rate for full-time freshmen fell from about 75% to 60% during the pandemic. While we’ve started to recover, that drop was not acceptable.

We’ve since adopted a new strategic plan focused on a few goals we’re committed to doing exceptionally well. One of those is raising first-year retention to 85%. As of fall 2024, we were just under 70%. Achieving that kind of improvement requires more than small adjustments. It calls for a full rethink of how we support students.

This year, we’re launching an executive coaching model. Every student will be paired with an academic success coach at orientation. These International Coaching Federation-certified coaches complete 60 hours of instruction, 100 hours of clinical practice, and a rigorous certification process.

We’re hiring 20 coaches for the academic year (2024-25) and another 20 during the academic year (2025-26), for a total of 40. These coaches won’t just help with course registration. They’ll support students’ broader goals and guide them throughout their time at Columbus State.

We’re also introducing this model in our Center for Career Design. Career coaches will work alongside academic coaches to help students explore potential career paths, clarify their aspirations, and connect with practical employment opportunities. Many students are still discovering what they want to do, and this structure is designed to support that journey.

By 2030, we want every undergraduate to have at least one experiential learning opportunity tied to their career interests. For most, that will be an internship. For others, particularly those planning to attend graduate school, it could be a faculty-led research project. These experiences will be coordinated and supported by our coaching teams.

Our current graduation rate is about 42%, which is typical for a state university but not where we want to be. We’re aiming for 60%. That means helping students graduate more efficiently and affordably. We’re also focused on minimizing both the financial burden and the opportunity cost of delayed workforce entry.

Once these systems are solidified, we’ll turn to larger questions about the future of higher education. Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, visited our campus in the fall of 2024 and shared a powerful insight: today’s students won’t just hold five jobs in their lifetime. They’ll have five entirely different careers.

That kind of change means people will move in and out of higher education more often, not always to earn a degree but to gain short-term, targeted skills. To meet that need, we must create flexible, “bingeable” education options — short, bundled experiences that allow individuals to upskill or reskill without leaving the workforce. That’s the future we’re planning for.

How do Columbus State’s specialized centers and cultural assets contribute to community success?
Columbus, Georgia, has undergone a cultural renaissance over the past 30 years, maybe even longer. I’ve been in the Columbus area just over 20 years, and it’s clear the transformation began early, in part through Columbus State’s founding. From the beginning, the university prioritized fine and performing arts, even as a two-year institution, thanks to visionary community leaders.

They understood that economic development depends on creating a community that attracts both people and industry. Columbus State responded by investing heavily in the arts to become a cultural hub for the region. And it has worked. From the Bo Bartlett Center to the Schwob School of Music, and with deep ties to Carson McCullers, including her homes in Columbus and Nyack, New York, our arts programming has brought tremendous value to both the university and the broader community.

What are your top strategic goals for Columbus State, and how do you see the university driving innovation, workforce readiness, and regional development in the coming years?

Our immediate priority is foundational: ensuring students who come to Columbus State stay and graduate. But looking ahead, higher education is on the verge of significant change.

One of the big questions is how we prepare students for jobs and industries that don’t yet exist. Chris Clark spoke about students having five distinct careers over their lifetimes. To meet that future, we need graduates who are adaptable, resilient, and able to learn quickly.

Higher education has already shifted. We used to be the gatekeepers of knowledge. Students came to us to learn how to think, problem-solve, and engage critically. But now, with the internet, knowledge is widely accessible. Our role has become helping students discern, synthesize, and apply what they find.

That’s more important than ever. In the next few years, the most essential skill we can give students is the ability to learn — and learn fast. That means rethinking our model and staying ahead of the curve.

Artificial intelligence has accelerated this transition faster than expected. We now face the challenge of using AI to enhance, not replace, the learning process. Balancing that will be essential.

Traditional universities will always have a place. Four-year and graduate degrees will remain important. But we’re also seeing demand for more flexible options — short-term, skill-based learning. People will come in and out of higher education to reskill and upskill. We need to be ready for that.

Still, none of this matters if we don’t get the basics right. Our current focus is improving retention, student success, and graduation. At the same time, we must apply the same skills we teach, creative thinking, and adaptability to our own systems.

Columbus State is also grounded in a core value: servant leadership. That value reflects the culture of our region’s institutions. At its heart, servant leadership is about understanding the top needs of others and helping them succeed, whether they’re students, colleagues, or communities.

Our responsibility is to understand the most urgent needs of our students, industry partners, and civic institutions — and to respond in ways that help Columbus and the Chattahoochee Valley thrive.