Sanvi Bangalore:

Northeastern University is one of the hottest schools in America. With applications soaring, the Boston school’s acceptance rate now rivals some Ivy League institutions.

The draw: letting students alternate academics and up to 18 months of full-time paid work experience, boosting their chances of landing a job afterward.

Viewed as a safety school a generation ago, Northeastern is one of a number of universities, including Drexel University in Philadelphia and Georgia Tech in Atlanta, whose career-oriented academic models are gaining attention from students and rival institutions as more Americans question the value of a college degree.

For families and businesses alike, the debate isn’t over just soaring tuition costs and student debt loads, but also whether U.S. universities are producing the kind of talent that companies say they need. Five years after graduation, nearly half of workers with bachelor’s degrees are in jobs that don’t make use of their college credentials or skills, according to a recent analysis of millions of graduates’ career paths by the labor analytics firm Burning Glass Institute and the nonprofit Strada Education Foundation.

Schools that help their students get at least one six-month professional job, or “co-op,” during their studies, usually through the university’s employer network, say they have better outcomes.