According to the New York Times, nearly 90% of children from wealthy families attend college, while only about half of the children of low income families do.
If college is the key to economic prosperity, the problem is obvious.
The Times editorial also suggests a way of approaching this problem: mentorship. Giving underserved high school students access to mentors who can help them navigate the complicated barriers to applying for college, getting ready for college, and then succeeding in college.
“Americans who are committed to fairness and equity and who want to help such students will have to find creative ways of doing so,” it says, highlighting a non-profit organization that provides college preparedness services to thousands of students.
This is absolutely right, and a key element of the model Calbright uses to support adult students, who have even fewer systems set up to help them in higher education. Whether they’re going to college for the first time or returning to college after a long absence, adult students need mentoring and support as well. When they get it, their outcomes improve.
That’s why mentoring is utilized at all levels of a student’s journey: Calbright provides mentoring from faculty, mentoring from staff like counselors and coaches, and even peer mentoring efforts for students to lift up their fellow classmates.
But where Calbright’s model is fundamentally different from the approach the New York Times discussesis in one key area: admissions.
People need mentors to navigate extraordinarily difficult and complicated admissions requirements, especially if they are unfamiliar with college systems or need financial aid. Calbright solves this problem by removing those barriers.
There is no complicated admissions process: Any adult Californian with a high school diploma or equivalent who applies is admitted. It’s simple.
There is no admissions period; students can enroll any time and start classes quickly.
There is no complicated financial aid process because Calbright is free.
Mentoring will always be important, and students at all levels should always have access to it. But we can also make college systems simpler and easier to navigate, removing red tape and “hidden curriculums.”
Non-profits like the one the New York Times is supporting can’t do that, only colleges themselves can – and they have a responsibility to do so. Calbright is leading the way, re-imagining what college can be.
