Daily Lumina News 010824

As colleges across the country face the ongoing toll of enrollment declines and increased budget challenges, many state education officials worry their local institutions could be the next to shutter.
Lawmakers in Kentucky, however, are envisioning a different route—one that includes building a new four-year university to help increase degree attainment in rural areas.

For college hopefuls, cost is often the deciding factor on whether—and where—to go to school. For more than 17 million students, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid is the key to unlocking government dollars to help cover that cost.
This year's federal aid form is new and improved. But it came three months later than normal, and in its first week, online access has been unpredictable.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to end race-based affirmative action in college admissions upended the world of college applications, sending admissions counselors, teachers, parents, and students scrambling to understand what the history-making decision meant, on a personal and practical level, for them.
For two seniors, the new admissions landscape is making them totally rethink their applications—in very different ways.

A disproportionate share of the nation’s nearly $2 trillion in student loan debt is carried by women. Black women in particular owe an outsize sum.
Does it have to be this way? Is it possible to go to college without taking on a lifetime of debt? College students, graduates, and others share their stories in this interview.

COVID-19 challenged college and university presidents. They were forced to lead amid multiple crises—the virus, racial unrest, and increases in mental health issues among students and other campus constituents. Some leaders were successful; others fumbled. Some stayed in their positions, and others resigned or retired.
In a new book, Freeman A. Hrabowski, president emeritus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, outlines lessons learned during times of calm or crisis.

Cuts to the humanities are expected to grow at public universities across the country, particularly in rural areas. In response, some university systems are searching for innovative ways to restructure majors or entire universities.
For some institutions, that means integrating the humanities into science or technology majors. For others, it entails offering online humanities courses to students spread out on multiple campuses.