Today’s college students bear little resemblance to the young middle-class freshmen tossing Frisbees on the campus quad in popular movies. Nearly 40 percent of today’s college students are now over the age of 25. A quarter of students are parents, and nearly 60 percent work while enrolled in college. About half come from families with parents who did not earn a bachelor’s degree.
Although this shift began more than two decades ago, education policy is still catching up. As a result, nearly half the students who start college fail to earn a degree after six years. The statistics for low-income and first-generation students and students of color are far more troubling.
Lawmakers must acknowledge how stubbornly out-of-date our federal higher education is as Congress rewrites the Higher Education Act in the coming months. Here are four ways in which policymakers can align federal policy with today’s students to help ensure success for today’s students.