Daily Lumina News 012821

Advocates of historically Black colleges describe this moment as the dawn of a renaissance for the sector.
For the first time ever, an HBCU graduate is vice president. Another HBCU graduate just joined the U.S. Senate, helping flip the body to Democratic control. And with protests after the death of George Floyd spotlighting systemic racial inequities in American society, people are taking a fresh look at HBCUs as engines of economic opportunity for Black Americans.
Hopes are high. But can political leaders and policymakers deliver on the optimism?

Everyone supports apprenticeships. Whenever the economy suffers, interest in them spikes, and both the outgoing and incoming administrations have called for a big expansion. In a recent survey, 92 percent of Americans had a favorable view of apprenticeships—an approval rating that’s almost unheard of.
So, if apprenticeships are such a good idea, why don’t they play a major role in the United States? It comes down to money and a belief that apprenticeships are only for certain kinds of work. That needs to change.

Small liberal arts colleges across the United States have been struggling for years. Then the pandemic happened, pushing many colleges over the edge.
Now, some of these institutions are facing the prospect of closing down—or being gobbled up in a merger. While acquisitions may be good for the institutions concerned, it's often bad news for students.

When Congress lifted the ban on Pell Grant eligibility for people in prison at the end of 2020, advocates and practitioners called the decision monumental. They say much of the credit for the victory goes to formerly incarcerated people who have demonstrated the value of an education and human potential for change.
But the effort to expand higher education in prison isn’t over. And the end of the ban has brought on new concerns about low-quality programs, implementation, and equity.

Colleges and universities nationwide are responding to an unprecedented situation as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads in the United States.
More than shifting higher education’s online learning usage into overdrive, the ongoing health crisis highlights institutions’ relationships with their communities. It's also raising important questions about access to and equity in postsecondary education.

COVID-19 has worsened an ongoing trend of declining enrollment across higher education. At the State University of New York system, college applications are down approximately 20 percent. It is one of the largest annual decreases in the system’s 73-year history.
Chancellor Jim Malatras says SUNY—and higher education in general—must adapt to the pandemic economy. For SUNY, that means marrying liberal arts education with more flexible career training programs in high-demand fields. Malatras elaborates on why it's time to rethink the college experience at SUNY—and elsewhere—in this op-ed.