Daily Lumina News 013123

Students from low-income backgrounds or whose parents didn’t attend college are less likely to pursue higher education themselves. When first-generation students do enroll, many lack the confidence to envision themselves at selective institutions.
Some experts say virtual, near-peer advising may improve their confidence—and steer more first-generation students to the nation's top colleges.

College leaders must still contend with the reality of long COVID on their campuses, according to researchers of a new study at George Washington University.
Today, mask requirements and vaccination mandates on college campuses have largely gone by the wayside. Updated dashboards tracking campus COVID cases are now less common, too. The GW study urges caution in rolling back these measures.

The federal student aid system needs “robust interventions” in order to break the cycle of inequity in higher education finance, the ombudsman for the agency that runs the system concluded in its annual report.
The report is a change in tone from previous iterations, experts say, but one that reflects the Biden administration’s recent focus on shoring up the student loan safety net by overhauling debt-relief programs and offering student loan forgiveness for eligible borrowers.

Across the country, universities and professors are wrestling with students’ potential use of artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, which can rapidly produce essays and other written materials in response to prompts.
Though they have questions and concerns about the technology discouraging original thought, some English and writing professors say AI could also spur improvements in teaching and learning.

California’s system of 116 community colleges is closing in on hiring its new chancellor.
The person who takes the helm will immediately need to contend with declining enrollments, racial disparities in student outcomes, and an uncertain fiscal future. And, in a system of districts run locally by publicly elected boards, the chancellor has limited powers.

North Carolina is considered a national leader in the early college model, a degree-attainment strategy that merges the high school and college experience so students have the opportunity to graduate with a high school diploma and two years of college credit or an associate degree.
In this interview, two researchers talk about the benefits of early colleges and the path forward for the model in North Carolina.