Daily Lumina News 012320

In an unusual study on student debt, New York University anthropologist Caitlin Zaloom interviewed more than 160 people—students and parents—and got them to open up their financial books and talk about the toll of paying for college.
In this podcast, Zaloom talks about what surprised her most from the research, what she thinks should be done, and how she has changed her thinking about saving for college for her own young children. Joining Zaloom is a recent NYU graduate who took on a six-figure debt for college.

Sandra Lobato, a 29-year-old recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and member of San Diego Border Dreamers, knows firsthand the fear and frustration of navigating college as an undocumented student.
A new pilot program launching this year at 65 community colleges across California will help students like Lobato by providing legal services, confidential consultations on immigration status, outreach events, and more.

In April 2017, Mitch Daniels stunned academe with the announcement that Purdue University, where he is president, planned to acquire for-profit Kaplan University. With one stroke, the former Republican governor of Indiana drew market forces close to the heart of a public research university and, overnight, positioned Purdue to compete with established online “mega-universities” like Southern New Hampshire University.
Fast forward two and a half years later—is the audacious deal going as planned?

Denise Whittaker calls herself a "comebacker." Whittaker went back to college in her 50s. Today, as an advisor at the Graduate! Network in Philadelphia, she helps other adult learners find their way back to college to complete a degree or certificate.
Some 36 million individuals in the United States have some college credit but no degree. Many left school because of their challenges in balancing the demands of school, employment, and family responsibilities. Now, they want a second chance to finish what they started.