Does it (or should it) matter where you went to school?

Last month, Deloitte announced that it was changing its graduate recruiting process in the UK to hide where candidates attended school. Doing so, it said, would help recruiters eliminate "unconscious bias" and access a more diverse talent pool.

Deloitte's move follows similar initiatives by two of its major competitors in the UK: Ernst & Young ended its requirements for school leavers to have the equivalent of three B grades at A-level or graduates to have an upper second class degree; and PricewaterhouseCoopers said that it would end the practice of using A-level grades as the price of admission for selecting graduate recruits.

Using an algorithm that takes into account contextual information as well as academic results, Deloitte hopes to account for barriers to success such as attending a sub-par school or coming from an economically disadvantaged area. The idea being, a student who performs well at an under-performing school or overcomes some other disadvantage has demonstrated excellent potential for success. 

I was fortunate to graduate from two great universities - the University of Toronto (Go Varsity Blues!) and Ryerson University (Go Rams!). But I also grew up in a lower middle-class family and worked - just short of full-time - throughout my post-secondary career, including during the school year. Fortunately, I had a very supportive family and a little financial help along the way courtesy of the Ontario Student Assistance Program. 

While I was fortunate to attend two very highly ranked universities (and believe me, I know the rancor with which these rankings are received!), I'm a strong proponent of this more inclusive approach that looks beyond academic provenance as a method for judging an individual's potential at the outset of their professional career.

And here's why. 

First, where one went to school - and, to a lesser extent, what they studied - is only one part of their educational experience. When I'm personally looking to hire a freshly minted grad, I ask them about the broader experience they gained in college or university. I ask what they studied outside of their major, and why they did so. 

I'm looking for someone who's a hard worker and has overcome obstacles. Someone who was an active participant in school life and has already demonstrated an ability to lead, or at least work well with, 'colleagues'. And I'm looking for someone who is intellectually curious, adaptable, and can think with both sides of their brain.

Second, I look for graduates who worked their way through college. Practically any work experience counts, because it demonstrates an individual's ability to balance a job with everything else that life throws at you, and to prioritize effectively. These are the kinds of skills that will come into play for virtually anyone who works for a living. What's more, the economically disadvantaged student who worked 25 hours a week to pay for college oftentimes has the greatest motivation to succeed and see that investment pay off. 

I'm especially impressed if a candidate's work experience is applicable to the job they're applying for, or is a strong complement to what they studied in school. I'm looking for the graphic design student who interned at a magazine; or the political science grad who spent a summer working in a constituency office or volunteering with an NGO.

Third, there's no disputing that an organization benefits from having a workforce made up of a variety of experiences and perspectives. That's what a collection of people with different economic, educational and cultural backgrounds delivers. A company made up entirely of Ivy Leaguers or Oxbridge grads may have a formidable corporate IQ (or at least a corporate grade point average), but it sacrifices that powerful mixture of perspectives.

Graduates who've thrived at large state schools often bring an extra dose of creativity and social acumen that comes from being one person in a virtual metropolis of students. They know how to thrive in bureaucratic organizations, which can often be a wake-up call - and inhibitor to success - for people who are just kicking off their corporate careers.

On the other hand, students that attend small liberal arts colleges frequently display higher levels of creativity and insight. That comes from having a closer relationship with their professors - something that's difficult to achieve at a state school behemoth.

Finally, given my own personal background, I'm a strong supporter of social mobility. There are few things I admire more than seeing someone work hard - in school and at work - because they understand that doing so can help them move up the economic ladder.

I don't, for one second, begrudge anyone who's grown up with advantages in their life and can afford to attend Princeton (#1 in US News & World Report's College Rankings). But, all other things being equal, I'll reserve some bonus points for the candidate who grew up without those advantages and yet was able to flourish at Azusa Pacific (#175) while working a 25-hour week.

All this is not to cast aspersions on the value of attending the best possible school one can afford and gain acceptance to. When it comes to grooming students for highly specialized roles in areas like engineering or computer science, the fact is that some colleges and universities stand head and shoulders above all others. But, for every person with a diploma from Harvard or Oxford, there are plenty of incredibly smart, highly driven alumni coming out of places like Ball State and the University of Bedfordshire. 

So my hat is off to Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and PwC for giving these young graduates an equal chance at success. I think they'll be better organizations for having done so.

Bonus Section: Who Went Where

Following are the interesting post-secondary educational pursuits of several fairly successful people. I neither approve nor disapprove of any particular school, or course of (in)action. 

• The first American astronaut to orbit the earth, John Glenn, who later served as a US Senator, received his Bachelor of Science degree from Muskingum University in New Concord, Ohio. 
• President Harry Truman dropped out of Spalding's Commercial College and Kansas City Law School in Missouri. 
• President Ronald Reagan graduated from Eureka College in Illinois, a Tier One "regional college" in the Midwest. 
• Orville and Wilbur Wright, who pioneered powered flight - in my opinion, perhaps the most impactful invention of the first half of the 20th century - both dropped out of high school.
• Michael Dell, the founder of the eponymous computer hardware company and 41st richest person in the world, dropped out of the University of Texas-Austin
• Steve Jobs dabbled in courses ranging from physics to poetry at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, before dropping out and starting Apple with Steve Wozniak.