Colleges leave out talented students. We need to change for America's sake. | Opinion

As the presidential inauguration approaches, our country remains starkly divided, and one of the biggest fault lines lies between those who have a college degree and those who don’t.

To help bridge our national divide, we must introduce different approaches to delivering and marketing college so that it becomes within reach for more Americans. Higher education institutions must lead this change so we can rebuild trust and remain relevant for the population at large.

Many voters see higher education as a benefit for the elite, and the politicization around higher ed has severe implications for the health and well-being of anyone living in the United States. Many non-college going families feel college is not appealing or approachable. That may be because the sector has not done an effective job of answering why a college education is important in advancing the dreams of their children and of their communities.

Higher education has a public perception problem

Fireworks explode as students celebrate during Arizona State University’s commencement ceremony in Tempe, Ariz., on May, 6, 2024.
Fireworks explode as students celebrate during Arizona State University’s commencement ceremony in Tempe, Ariz., on May, 6, 2024.

Research confirms that the time and costs of higher education are worth it. A college degree for most graduates confers greater life satisfaction, career outcomes and earning potential.

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Yet, students saddled with high debt and low completion rates understandably do not readily see a degree’s immediate benefits and power.

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As a result, higher education faces a public perception problem. Those working in higher education must think about perceived and real barriers to access and success. As Complete College America has noted, we have a weakened trust in formal education, and higher education is as much the solution as the problem.

That is evident by examining who is, and who isn’t, enrolling in college. The population in our home state of Indiana, for example, has become more diverse in the past decade. In tandem with that change, rural students, students of color, males and low-income students have emerged as the least likely to enroll in college.

Those trends are reflected nationally.

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America is leaving behind talented young people

Success, it seems, is based more on who you are rather than your abilities. Our society misses outstanding talent because too many potential students are choosing not to pursue education. They are making this choice because they feel marginalized, not because they lack the ability or interest.

Some states, including Indiana, are trying to solve this talent gap.

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To address the problem at scale, we must make sure higher education is within reach for students from all identities and backgrounds, from both urban and rural areas, and across a wide political continuum.

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Higher education can learn from national models that have proved successful in expanding access and yielding positive, long-term results for students.

At Butler University, we looked to the Come to Believe model, which is centered on expanding rigorous, high-quality education at an affordable cost to students from low-wealth families. Butler, the third university to adopt the model, will launch Founder’s College this fall to serve recent high school graduates from Indianapolis and surrounding rural areas.

In doing so, we are going back to the pre-Civil War roots of our abolitionist founder, who believed excellence and equity should coexist and founded the university as an integrated and coeducational university.

The Come to Believe model combines financial counseling, targeted scholarships, flexible schedules, transportation solutions, career readiness support and industry certifications, so students can manage costs and find jobs that match regional needs. The multidisciplinary college offers associate degrees in market-aligned disciplines, which are enriched by the liberal arts.

Founder’s College, like other Come to Believe schools, brings students who felt excluded from higher education back into the fold. It is one step among many needed to heal our fractured country.

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Carolyn Gentle-Genitty is inaugural dean of Founder’s College at Butler University and a youth development scholar. Brooke Barnett is provost and executive vice president of Butler University.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is college worth it? Universities must adapt to prove it | Opinion