That’s right.  The long held practice of degree inflation is coming to an end in America.  With three state governments–Maryland, Utah and Pennsylvania–declaring that experience, military service, technical preparation and apprenticeships will count more than having a bachelor’s degree for many positions in government, this movement of busting through the paper ceiling is real.  And this requirement is now being eliminated by many in the private sector, too.Companies like General Motors, Bank of America, Google, Apple. IBM and Accenture are major players embracing the skills-based hiring model.  Given that 63 percent of Americans ages 25 and up do not have a bachelor’s degree, this movement is going to open up tremendous opportunity for minority candidates and many who live in rural areas.  The path to prosperity just got wider and more inclusive and, by most accounts, it is just starting.  Cristian Siera, Director of Strategic Corporate Partnerships at Opportunity@Work(opportunity@work.org)joins us to discuss this shift away from the ‘college for all’ model in America.