The big picture:

Students carry life with them into learning. Family responsibilities, health crises, and loss don’t pause for coursework—and too often, these challenges derail even the most determined learners.

Why it matters:

Compassionate design in higher education isn’t a luxury. It’s the difference between students stopping out and breaking through.

What worked:

• Instructors offered time, flexibility, and encouragement.
• Weekly cohort meetings created structure, trust, and belonging.
• A shared space for learning became a shared space for healing.

The result:

Education turned into community. Confidence replaced doubt. Purpose returned.

The takeaway:

When institutions lead with empathy, students don’t just persist—they thrive.

The problem

College costs have outpaced earnings for decades, and the system that determines them is too complex for students to navigate. Affordability can’t just mean cutting expenses — it must mean redesigning higher education around the needs of learners.

The idea

Making college truly affordable means rethinking how we use time, money, and accountability. Programs should be faster, simpler, and priced transparently. Institutions that align costs with outcomes deliver real value for students.

What’s working

BYU Pathway Worldwide is showing what’s possible. Its three-year degree model reduces tuition by 25 percent and delivers a full bachelor’s degree for about $6,300. The approach starts with short, stackable certificates that connect directly to employment and then build toward degrees.

Why it matters

Affordability fails when we ignore the full cost of attendance—time, housing, and complexity. Clear pricing and simple aid structures help students plan and persist. Every dollar and hour saved matters.

The shift ahead

True affordability requires accountability. States and institutions must measure and publish real value—how programs lead to completion, employment, and upward mobility. Public investment should reward results that improve students’ lives.

The bottom line

Three-year degrees. One clear price. Transparent results.

Affordability isn’t about marginal savings. It’s about redesigning higher education for the students it serves.

Why it matters:

Higher education still measures learning by time—the Carnegie Unit. But “seat time” doesn’t reflect what students actually know or can do.

The shift:

Competency-Based Education (CBE) measures mastery, not minutes. It’s built for working parents, service members, and adults balancing school, work, and life.

The fix:

Federal policy must recognize CBE as a valid pathway, modernize Title IV aid rules, and fund Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) so students don’t pay twice for what they’ve already mastered.

The result:

A system that values learning over time—expanding access, reducing cost, and aligning education with today’s workforce.