Washington University chancellor: We must boost bachelor's degree attainment in Missouri

We’re in the midst of a bachelor’s degree crisis. College enrollment has dropped in Missouri by more than 20% over the past decade. The reasons for this drop are complex and the solutions remain elusive. It’s time to ask ourselves, “What are talented Missourians losing?”

Research shows that two-thirds of high-wage jobs will demand at least a bachelor’s degree within the next decade. These graduates will earn an additional $1.2 million, on average, over their lifetimes. And these same individuals are more likely to launch businesses, give back to their communities, and be civically engaged.

How do we make sure talented Missourians don’t lose out on these opportunities? Here at Washington University in St. Louis, we know institutions like ours need to do their part. A decade ago, our share of students who were eligible for Pell Grants — a common way to quantify the number of lower-income students enrolled at a particular college — was just 5%. We had the dubious distinction of being the least socioeconomically diverse campus in the country.

Leadership made an emphatic commitment at that time to bring more talented students through our doors. We revamped our curriculum to support a more diverse student body. We created student success programs with every learner’s needs in mind. And we made big investments in financial aid, including the Gateway to Success, a $1 billion move to need-blind admission in 2021.

This means we no longer consider a student’s financial situation as a factor in whether they will be admitted. And we meet 100% demonstrated financial need if they are accepted.

The rising cost of college is the No. 1 barrier for students. That’s why I made the WashU Pledge one of my first initiatives when I became chancellor to help make higher education a reality for more students, particularly our neighbors from across Missouri and beyond. We provide full tuition, room, board, and fees to all admitted full-time Missouri and Southern Illinois students from families with annual incomes of $75,000 or less. We cannot recruit students to our school and then burden them with significant debt. That goes for students from families with moderate incomes as well.

That is why just this month, we announced our undergraduate financial aid packages will be loan-free starting in fall 2024. No student or family will have to go into debt to pay for a WashU education.

These commitments have paid dividends. Today, we have increased our Pell-eligible enrollment to 21%, the biggest jump among American Talent Initiative (ATI) schools with high graduation rates. Instead of being the least socioeconomically diverse campus, we’re now an ATI “high-flier” and a national leader in student access and success. The Princeton Review recently ranked us #1 in the nation for financial aid, according to a survey of 165,000 students across the country.

We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished. But we need to maintain our progress. And we need every institution in the state to join us in finding ways to increase opportunity for Missouri’s young people. We recognize that our fellow colleges across the state may not be able to make those big bets in financial aid. But there are affordable, high-impact strategies at all of our fingertips.

For example, colleges can intensify outreach to students from rural communities. Too few see a four-year education as an option. We launched the Heartland Initiative to identify and recruit more talented students from rural Missouri and Southern Illinois, resulting in our new Rural Scholars Academy. Through this program, we bring rising high school juniors and their families from across the region to campus for an immersive experience; provide dedicated support through the application process; and show them the learning opportunities available in St. Louis. Initiatives like these are beneficial to the entire state. Students who learn here are more likely to stay and reinvigorate our communities.

Bringing more students to our institutions is only half of the battle. Colleges across the state must also focus on student support, full stop. It’s the smart thing to do — and the right thing to do. That can take the form of leadership development programs, efforts to build community among students from similar backgrounds, and smaller funds for crises and unanticipated expenses. For us, it includes peer mentorship and professional development through programs like Taylor STARS and a student success fund. Steps like these paved the way for an entire new center devoted to student success at WashU.

Initiatives like these — both big and small — can help Missourians access world-leading knowledge creators, high-impact experiences like research, internships, and study abroad, and a far-reaching professional network.

We can push back on the narrative that college isn’t worth it. But we still need to show the return on investment. Together, along with the rest of Missouri’s colleges and universities, we can give that talent a world-class education.

Andrew D. Martin is the chancellor at Washington University in St. Louis.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Chancellor: We must do more to help Missourians get bachelor's degrees