The New Face of College
Just 20 percent of college-goers fit the stereotype of being young, single, full-time students who finish a degree in four years. College students today are more likely to be older, part-time, working, and low-income than they were three decades ago.
September 4, 2014 | by Samara Freemark, Suzanne Pekow, and Laurie Stern
Just 20 percent of college-goers fit the stereotype of being young, single, full-time students who finish a degree in four years. College students today are more likely to be older, part-time, working, and low-income than they were three decades ago. Many are the first in their families to go to college.
This documentary shows how universities are adapting to serve these new students. It explains changing demographics, and explores what colleges must do to remain engines of social mobility.
"The New Face of College" is an audio documentary from the Educate podcast — stories about education, opportunity, and how people learn.
Four-year institutions brace for population shifts
Colleges and universities are accepting many more students of color, many more students from working class and poor families, and many more people who are sometimes referred to as "nontraditional" students.
Heritage University: Bringing elite education to the most disadvantaged
Since 1982 Heritage University, in Eastern Washington's Yakima Valley, has made it its mission to educate some of the poorest, most isolated students in the country.
University of Texas at El Paso: Opportunity U.
University of Texas at El Paso President Diana Natalicio has a problem with the "nontraditional student." She doesn't like the term. "It suggests that you're not something, rather than that you are something new," she says.
Amherst College: An elite school reaches out
Routinely ranked among the top private schools, Amherst is leading the way among elite colleges in serving a much more diverse group of students.
Executive Editor: Stephen Smith
Producers: Samara Freemark, Suzanne Pekow and Laurie Stern
Editor/Producer: Catherine Winter
Digital Producer: Andy Kruse
Audio Mixing: Craig Thorson and Michael Osborne
ARW staff: Emily Hanford
Interns: Dylan Peers McCoy and Minna Zhou
Coordinating Producer: Ellen Guettler
Managing Director, National Content Development and Arts & Ideas Programming: Peter Clowney
Special thanks to Kohnstamm Communications and the Hatcher Group.
Support for "The New Face of College" comes from Lumina Foundation, the Spencer Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Transcript of documentary audio
Links to source material and extended reading
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