Complete College America Photo Library offers authentic images of today’s college students and campuses for use by media, institutions and advocates
INDIANAPOLIS (July 16, 2025)– Complete College America (CCA)—a national nonprofit on a mission to raise postsecondary attainment in the United States—today announced the launch of the Complete College Photo Library, a free public collection of Creative Commons photography featuring authentic images of today’s college students. The library showcases the wide range of student experiences and campus settings across the country—including community colleges, HBCUs, regional universities and workforce training programs—highlighting how many of today’s students are balancing college with jobs, family, and other complex real-world responsibilities.
“College students are more likely to be working learners, parents, veterans, first-generation college-goers, and professionals seeking to upskill, rather than the full-time, residential, straight-from-high-school archetype depicted in the majority of media and publications on higher education,” said Dr. Yolanda Watson Spiva, president of Complete College America. “The way we depict students—regardless of the medium—has to evolve beyond the outdated stereotypes of the past. This project is about shifting the visual narrative to match the realities.”
For decades, the prevailing narrative about higher education in media and public discourse has focused narrowly on traditional, four-year residential colleges and the experiences of students in their late teens. At the same time, recent data from the Common App shows a sharp increase in students who are financially independent, many of whom are returning to college later in life. Nationally, more than one in four students (26%) is raising a child while pursuing their education, and roughly 40% of undergraduates are over 25.
Research also shows that today’s students attend a broad range of institutions – over 40% of students enrolled in postsecondary education attend community colleges, HBCUs enroll 10% of all Black students in the U.S., and Hispanic Serving Institutions enroll more than 65% of all Hispanic undergraduates.
To help produce a more complete picture of the lived realities of today’s students, Complete College America invited institutions from across the nationwide CCA Alliance to apply for participation in the inaugural cohort of a new storytelling and visual identity initiative. Through this process, the organization selected seven partner campuses and coordinated a series of multi-day, on-campus photo shoots to create a national library of high-quality, authentic imagery.
“Colleges and universities today are shaped by the unique experiences, backgrounds and identities of our diverse student bodies — it’s what strengthens and binds our community together,” said Eric M. Friedman, President at Bergen Community College. “Serving as one of the flagship colleges in the Complete College America Photo Library not only speaks to the tapestry of cultures at Bergen Community College, but how those many identities enrich our institution and how we provide visibility for our community members to the entire society.”
The result is the newly-unveiled photo library, which now includes nearly 1,000 curated, professional-quality images featuring a wide range of students in real college and workforce settings across the country. The images were captured by renowned photojournalist and photographer Allison Shelley, who traveled to each campus to capture authentic students and scenes. All images are free and accessible for use by all through a Creative Commons license, which ensures that journalists, institutions, policymakers, funders, and advocates will have access to these materials.
The initial cohort of institutions selected to contribute to the Complete College Photo Library includes Bergen Community College, College of Northern New Mexico, College of Southern Nevada, Salish Kootenai College, Pasadena City College, Tougaloo College, and the University of Indianapolis.
Complete College America invites media outlets, freelance journalists, education organizations, and researchers to explore and use the new Complete College Photo Library. The collection features authentic, high-quality images that reflect the diversity and experiences of today’s college students.
Visit completecollege.org/photolibrary to explore and share.
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About Complete College America: Complete College America (CCA) is a bold national advocate for dramatically increasing college completion rates and closing institutional performance gaps by working with states, systems, institutions, and partners to scale highly effective structural reforms and promote policies that improve student success. To learn more about CCA, visit www.completecollege.org
