What is College?

My 3 1/2 year-old daughter recently saw me wearing a sweatshirt from my undergraduate alma mater (Ithaca College) and asked me what it spelled. When I told her, she replied: What is college?

A profound question from a 3 1/2 year-old and one being asked by college leaders and students alike these days as tuition prices and loan debt continue to climb. As students from the high-school graduating class of 2013 finalize their college decisions in the next few weeks, here are five ways to think about the question: What is college?

A maturing experience. Many 18-year-olds are simply not ready to enter the workforce and college provides the maturing experience both in and out of the classroom and turns adolescents into young adults (we hope).

Learning by doing. There are few times in life where you can apply what you learn as you learn it. The best colleges are increasingly baking experiential learning into the curriculum, allowing students to work at jobs in their field, do community service, study abroad, or focus on a research project. Such real-world experiences help students connect the concepts they learn in classes to the everyday problems encountered in any occupation.

Mentors and networks. We all need advice and good teachers throughout our lifetime. While virtual networks (like LinkedIn) can connect you to people who help you get a new job or grow in your current career, there is no replacement for a college campus that provides access to leading experts in their fields and a diverse student body.

Broad training. The economy is changing at warp speed. The ten jobs most in demand in 2010 did not exist in 2004. Colleges like to play up their new majors in their marketing materials, but students are better off if their degree is built on a broad education. In surveys, employers consistently say that what they want most in their workers is the ability to learn how to learn.

Research and entrepreneurship. In all of our complaints about higher ed, we often forget about another important job performed by the best colleges and universities: research and entrepreneurship. Colleges remain our strongest engines of economic development and improve our quality of life by the ideas they develop and the products they help invent and build.

The best colleges perform well in doing many of these jobs. Unfortunately, not all colleges are living up to their promises. How would you answer the question: What is college?

Jeffrey Selingo is editor at large at The Chronicle of Higher Education and author of the forthcoming book, College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students, scheduled for release on May 7.