Getting full value out of college from day one

“What if college started working for students on day one — and got them where they wanted to go faster?”

That’s the question more families are asking, and frankly, they’re right to ask it. For too long, the traditional college model has delayed the real payoff — deferring meaningful mentorship, skills-building and career direction until a student’s final semesters. In a world where time, money and confidence are all on the line, that model doesn’t cut it anymore.

Students deserve to be immediately immersed in community and experiences, to be passed the ball, the spectrometer or microphone, to move with alacrity and purpose through multiple degrees for less money and over less time.

It’s not about lowering standards, cutting corners or spending tuition dollars on climbing walls or lazy rivers — it’s about designing more connected and focused academics and pathways that lead to lucrative and meaningful careers.

The full value of college shouldn’t arrive late — it should kick in early and keep building. From their first semester, students should be connected with faculty mentors, build a portfolio of employer-identified skills, explore career pathways tied to their interests and find their place in a diverse, supportive community. Small schools like Mary Baldwin University are able to develop expedited pathways through undergraduate and graduate programs to save families time and money, reduce anxiety, increase ROI and get students further faster.

According to systems theorist W. Edwards Deming, systems are “perfectly designed” to attain the results they achieve. Stated more directly, if we keep doing the same things, we will get the same results. For years, colleges and universities have argued about the traditional liberal arts versus more focused professional programs but been less focused on outcomes and pathways. In the extreme, many institutions across higher education remain structured like a game of pinball, bouncing students off bumpers and flippers, adding bells and whistles, without many guardrails to keep students from slipping down the drain.

It’s obvious this model is problematic for first generation and low-income students with less social capital. But today we can also see how that unfocused, less supportive, less purposeful and less connected model doesn’t work for today’s post-COVID students, who are more anxious digital natives seeking a curated, supportive and direct line to meaning, prosperity and security. According to a recent survey by Inside Higher Ed, more than 70% of college students now say they prioritize mental health and career preparation over campus amenities when choosing a college. The expectations have shifted — and higher education must respond.

This country was founded on the belief that education is bound up with liberty and justice. In 1947, the Truman Commission advocated for a more nuanced and complex higher education system — including community colleges and graduate degrees — to better serve the nation and economy. In an era when college is too often talked about as a risk, we have to work harder to make it feel like the clear, confident next step to accelerating potential and engaging in the economy.

While colleges and universities have always reflected the turmoil within society, families today are looking to higher education for clear, concise and compelling assistance that connects students to their ambitions … earlier. Families want institutions designed to deliver value — not just in theory, but in experience. This moment, for these students and families, means committing as institutions to doing the hard work of making college work better.

In opening the doors of learning to all, higher education must be an accelerator and pathway, graduating the well-educated and workplace-ready from cutting-edge undergraduate, graduate, in person, online and certificate programs in important and growing career fields.

When families invest in a college education, they deserve to see results. Not someday. Starting on day one. College cannot remain a coded experience for those with extensive social capital. Open source, immediate, immersive, skills focused and accelerated — that’s the distinctly American launchpad of the future.

Jeff Stein is the president of Mary Baldwin University, a private university in Staunton. He joined MBU in 2023, having served most recently as Elon University’s vice president for strategic initiatives and partnerships and assistant professor of English.