Philip DiStefano, chancellor of the University of Colorado Boulder, said "It’s up to America’s universities, as models of innovation, to make higher education accessible and affordable as an investment in the nation’s future," in this opinion piece published by University Business.
DiStefano noted that his university has eliminated all course-related and program fees beginning this fall and implemented a four-year tuition guarantee that gives students and their families financial predictability. "But there is more the campus can do," he argued, including the creation of nontraditional scholarship programs.that measure a qualified applicant’s persistence to get to college despite economic hardship.
"Removing financial obstacles so students can graduate with minimal debt is a moral imperative and national investment," he wrote. "If our higher education system is to continue bringing diverse, ambitious and creative young minds to the skilled workforce to keep America as a leading innovator, then the nation’s universities must be innovative themselves."