There’s a New Photo Library Dedicated to Showing What College Life Really Looks Like

There is a new photo library dedicated to showing what college really looks like in the United States amid accusations of elitism.

Complete College America (CCA) is seeking to reshape how college students and institutions are visually represented in education-related media. The advocacy group has launched the Complete College Photo Library, a free, publicly accessible collection of nearly 1,000 images showcasing a broader and more authentic depiction of student life.

According to a report in Inside Higher Ed, there is a longstanding criticism of the type of educational stock imagery used in reports, presentations, and news stories about higher education. These images frequently depict idealized scenes: students lounging on pristine campuses, throwing frisbees, or posing with textbooks in racially diverse but often staged groups.

“They have a very specific look and feel,” Brandon Protas, interim vice president of alliance and engagement at CCA, tells Inside Higher Ed. “Students are often posed, looking directly into the camera, and the racial makeup is very intentional.”

Protas notes that while such images are convenient, they can reinforce misleading narratives, like that college is primarily for recent high school graduates attending expensive, four-year residential institutions. In reality, the U.S. higher education system is far more varied and accessible than these portrayals suggest.

A recent Strada survey found that 77% of respondents believe college is unaffordable, with many overestimating the cost of attendance.

“When people are saying college is too expensive, they’re probably not thinking about community colleges or states that offer free tuition programs,” adds Protas. “They’re thinking of really expensive, elite colleges, which aren’t the types of colleges most students are attending.”

The new photo library aims to address this disconnect. Licensed under Creative Commons for noncommercial use, the library features images from seven diverse campuses: Bergen Community College, the College of Northern New Mexico, the College of Southern Nevada, Salish Kootenai College, Pasadena City College, Tougaloo College, and the University of Indianapolis.

Photographer Allison Shelley captured students in various aspects of campus life, including attending classes, meeting with advisers, working jobs, caring for children, and receiving hands-on training in technical fields. The goal, according to the CCA, is to present an honest and inclusive snapshot of the student experience.

“We took authentic photos of students, faculty and staff on-site to show the reality of students’ lived experiences,” Protas tells Inside Higher Ed. “If we can make this the go-to source that people look at first, then that can slowly influence the ecosystem.”

The selected campuses represent a cross-section of geographic regions and institution types, including community colleges, technical schools, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), and tribal colleges.

More than 40% of U.S. college students attend community colleges, which serve disproportionately high numbers of Black and Hispanic students. HBCUs enroll around 10% of Black students nationwide, while HSIs educate over 65% of Hispanic undergraduates.

The project arrives at a time when college marketing practices are under increased scrutiny. “For a lot of institutions that have limited creative resources, they may be going to something like Shutterstock because they don’t have a lot of other options,” Nathan Willers, director of internal communications at the University of Denver, tells Inside Higher Ed.

Willers adds that the push toward authenticity in visual representation comes amid shifting political currents. After years of emphasizing diversity in promotional materials, many colleges are now adjusting to new restrictions around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) following federal directives.

The Complete College Photo Library will continue to expand, with plans to add images from more institutions in the coming months.