Daily Lumina News 022422

As small colleges continue to close or merge, some people are digging in to save these imperiled schools, or stop them from being absorbed into larger institutions.
Their reasons vary, but advocates say small colleges serve as critical incubators for education innovation and turn out graduates with the kind of creativity that employers both want and need.

Deniff Lara, a student at The University of Texas at San Antonio, has enough scholarships and grants to cover tuition. But when the pandemic hit, her family’s biggest concern became making sure there was food on the table. Her mom cleans houses for a living, and she lost a lot of work.
For many Latino students in San Antonio, the effects of the pandemic are far from over.

Students at five Chicago high schools got an unexpected and welcome surprise this week: They no longer have to worry about paying for college.
While full rides have been awarded before, this is a big deal. Some 4,000 students—and some parents, too—will receive scholarships to one of 20 Illinois colleges or training programs of their choosing. The effort is being paid for by Hope Chicago.

States across the country are re-examining higher education laws, policies, and regulations to better serve the needs of today’s learners.
On this podcast, Lumina Foundation's Scott Jenkins talks about the flaws with current state funding for higher education. Carlos Santiago of the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education joins the conversation to share information on his agency's work to address racial equity.

Noncredit workforce programs are on the front lines of serving the nation’s need for new skills and talent.
But noncredit programs vary widely, raising the question of how to ensure positive results for 5 million students who enroll in these courses every year to build better careers and lives.

Education credentials earned online continue to gain credibility.
But when the pandemic forced many workplaces to make the remote switch themselves, something significant clicked: Many top employers at companies and other places began to think even more highly of online credentials.