Terrain V01 - Journal - Page 38
36 | Sterling College
We Can Make
College Affordable
If We Prove It Has Social Value
Written By
Christina Goodwin ‘02,
Vice President for Advancement
Everyone working in higher education
knows that the escalating problem of
affordability has redefined how we talk
about the value of a college degree. The
transformative powers of knowledge
and curiosity that lie exposed in nearly
every college mission statement disappear into the background the moment
we are asked by students, parents and
donors to quantify return on investment.
We present average salaries, employment rates and other metrics to support
the argument that by spending money
now, we will teach you the skills needed
to make even more money in the future.
Embedded in this promise is an unspoken expectation that we also will benefit from your success, when you show
your appreciation for your education by
making abundant financial contributions
back to the institution in the future.
The common use of these metrics and
the associated attitude toward philanthropy are a disservice to our collective
success. Not just as members of the
higher ed profession, but as residents of
our communities, citizens of our nations
and inhabitants of our planet. By perpetuating an attitude where the solution
is always “make more, build more,” we
are conditioning a mindset that feeds
an extractive economy, fuels ecological
degradation, normalizes the violation of
human rights, enables the tacit acceptance of unsafe and unjust working conditions, widens income inequality, tilts
wealth accumulation sharply in favor
of those already at the top, and undermines efforts to promote social good.
Over the past 20 years, Sterling College in Vermont—my alma mater—has
emerged as an alternative to the industry of higher education. Sterling’s mission is to use education as a force to
advance ecological thinking and action
through affordable experiential learning
that prepares people to be knowledgeable, skilled, and responsible leaders in
the communities in which they live. As
a work college, where all students contribute to the operations of the campus
regardless of financial need, Sterling invites students and faculty to engage in
work, learning, and community through
a lens of personal responsibility towards
the common good.
No one attends Sterling simply to forge
a path toward a paycheck. The career choices our graduates make as
researchers, farmers, entrepreneurs,
wildlife biologists, teachers, artists, and
nonprofit leaders strongly reinforce their
values. Their proven contributions to the
world in fields that are not typically associated with large salaries has motivated donors to support Sterling, so we can
provide an affordable education to all
students and send graduates off into the
world with below-average or no student
loan debt in order to immediately engage
in the work the world is calling for.
Sterling aspires to be tuition-free—a goal
that requires philanthropy. Toward this
aim, charitable gifts currently make up
more than half of the college’s budgeted income. Yet unlike our peers in higher education, 90 percent of the money
donated last year for operating support
came from those outside our immediate alumni community. The 10 percent
contributed to the annual fund by alumni should not be interpreted as a lack of
support; the percentage of alumni that
give to Sterling is higher than the national average. In the last comprehensive campaign, more than a third of all
alumni contributed.
Sterling’s other donors, among them
foundations, non-governmental organizations and individuals, give because they are committed to supporting the kind of education needed to
address the accelerating crises facing
our social and natural communities.
Sterling provides a compelling case for
philanthropists and invites those who
share our mission to directly invest in the
education of students who will become
dynamic changemakers.
In the process of presenting our case
for support to donors, we are often
asked how we measure the impact of
our graduates on the world. In 2019,
Sterling tested its anecdotal assumptions through a survey of all bachelor’s
degree diploma recipients.
National alumni surveys at the collegiate
level typically garner a 10 percent to 20
percent response rate; Sterling heard
from 75 percent of our graduates. In addition to questions about their student
and post-graduation experience, the
survey gathered data around their civic participation, community leadership
roles, social justice engagement, aptitude for communication, appreciation