Photo: Laura Thompson/The New York Times

As president of Nashville State Community College, Shanna Jackson is struggling with a dilemma that reads like good news: Her students are taking jobs from employers who are eager to hire—and paying them good wages.

The problem is that students often drop their plans to earn a degree in order to take the attractive positions offered by these desperate employers. Jackson worries that when the labor market cools, an incomplete education will come back to haunt these students.

Imagine a new way for colleges to admit students: Students don’t apply. They just create a single, basic portfolio, showing their grades, their interests, and relevant information. 

Colleges would look at the portfolios and make offers of admission, without even knowing the names of the students. And what about those students who want to go to Harvard University (or equally competitive colleges)? They would go on using the current system. This is not an admissions system for them.