I couldnt make it to the graduation ceremony for my bachelors degree. I was working full time and life got in the way. When I earned my MBA, I made participating in the ceremony a priority, and Ill always be glad I did. I felt a sense of pride in what Id worked hard to accomplish and taking that moment to look back on the journey and celebrate it was a special day in my life.

Even today, when I see newly-minted college graduates walk up on stage to finally receive their hard-earned credential, I cant help but share in their pride at their achievement and their eagerness for whats ahead. They are taking important steps to crossing the bridge to opportunity that a quality education provides.

Theres also a sense of relief in taking those final steps because students know that completing some type of education beyond high school has become essential to securing a well-paying job and making it to the middle class. In fact, a report out this week from New America shows that four out of five Americans agree that its easier to succeed with a college degree than without.

But the findings of that report also show that despite the promise of what higher education can make possible, its currently falling short of its potential. Only 25 percent of Americans believe higher education is fine the way it is.

And given the ever-rising costs of going to college both in terms of students time and money its no wonder that 57 percent of Americans believe that colleges and universities should be responsible for assisting in the success of their students.

So how can we get higher education to work better for more students? At the foundation, we believe a big part of the answer is focusing on the students who startbut dont finishtheir higher ed journey. All told, roughly half of students who begin college dont reach graduation. This should be a big red flag and source of concern, because were on track to be at least 11 million skilled workers short of what our economy will need by 2025. A strong future economy depends on us having the talent and qualified candidates to fill those jobs.

The reality, though, is that were being held back by an outdated image of the students going to college today. Most students in 2017 are no longer 18- to 22-year-olds who live on campus and are full-time students. Instead, theyre likely to be older, attending college part-time while also balancing a job or a family, and often transfer between institutions. Increasingly, todays college students are the first in their family to go to college, are students of color, and may come from low-income backgrounds. As the day-to-day experiences of college students have changed, the challenges that reduce their chances of making it to graduation have changed, too.

Fortunately, leading colleges and universities are evolving to be more student-centered. They are taking the time to truly understand the needs of their students, identify the most common barriers keeping those students from graduating, and implementing solutions to help keep them on track.

Innovations like accessible and timely financial aid, improved advising, new tools that tailor content to individual students, and making transferring easier make a massive differenceparticularly when implemented in concert.