For at least a century, attaining a college degree was part of the American dream. For those select few—a proportion that has grown higher as time has gone on—earning a four-year degree has meant a potential jump into a higher socioeconomic class, thanks largely to a dramatic wage differential between those who attain a four-year degree or more and those who earn a high-school degree alone.

From “Rename and Remain” to “Reframe and Regain”: Reimagining Campus Inclusiveness
In my last article, I highlighted the crucial strategies of “person-first” and “targeted universalism” amid the wave of anti-DEI legislation in higher education. Initially, many of us embraced a “rename