Daily Lumina News 031324

When Taylor Eighmy talks to people about the growth of artificial intelligence in society, he doesn’t just see an opportunity—he feels a jolt of responsibility.
The president of The University of Texas at San Antonio says the Hispanic-serving institution needs to make sure its students are ready for what their future employers expect them to know about this rapidly changing technology. A new, first-of-its-kind college largely dedicated to artificial intelligence aims to help.

During his time as a senior education policy advisor for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Andrew LaCasse had a hand in developing the simplified Free Application for Federal Student Aid form. In this interview, he describes the backstory behind the FAFSA simplification and the underlying policy goals.
Joining the conversation is the president of Colorado Mesa University, John Marshall, who discusses what his school is doing to support students through the delay and confusion caused by the FAFSA’s rocky rollout.

In 2018, Louisiana became the first state in the nation to require all public high school students to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form before they graduate. It's now the first state to eliminate such a requirement.
Some state officials say Louisiana’s course change will relieve students and parents of a burdensome and invasive condition. But critics of the change worry that it will hinder public awareness of financial aid opportunities and impede the state’s efforts to ensure equitable access to college.

How can you tell if a college is financially healthy? To some experts, the most important metrics of financial health are the performance of academic programs—how much revenue history or nursing or engineering brings in versus how much it costs to offer the programs.
But such numbers are almost impossible to know from outside the institution—and many administrators may not even know those costs themselves, because they don’t track them closely.

As the number of alternative credentials and content providers continues to grow, so too does the need to assure quality and improve transparency for learners and employers alike. That's where the Higher Learning Commission's new Credential Lab comes in.
In this Q&A, HLC's Melanie Booth discusses the lab's work to help colleges, employers, and students make sense of the complex and growing ecosystem of alternative postsecondary credentials.

President Joe Biden is making higher education a key centerpiece of his proposed budget for 2025, with additional investments in free community college across the United States and programs that serve underrepresented students.
The plans, announced Monday, face slim chances of becoming law this year with Republicans in control of the House. Still, the budget reflects the president’s policy priorities as he seeks reelection in November.