Daily Lumina News 032421

This spring, colleges and universities will have more than $25 billion in emergency aid to distribute to their students. But to decide who gets it, they should not rely on information from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). While using the FAFSA might seem to be the most expedient approach, it is likely neither the most equitable nor the most impactful.
In this opinion piece, Sara Goldrick-Rab says it is time for higher education leaders to embrace the freedom that Congress afforded and rethink how they assess need and get money to students.

For all the time colleges spend on admissions, the reality is that lots of students do not stay where they first enroll.
A new report offers six recommendations to help higher education leaders carry out more seamless and efficient transfer and award of credit on their campuses. The report comes at a time when college students are becoming more mobile, moving in and out as well as through multiple colleges and universities and other learning environments, such as military service or the workforce.

Attention to detail and concentration are skills required to be a nurse. They're also skills required to be a welder, says Karen Feliciano, a welding instructor at Waukesha County Technical College.
But welding and other jobs in manufacturing are still very much male dominated. At WCTC, 70 of the 534 students enrolled in the manufacturing programs—just 13 percent—are female. Nationwide, 29 percent of people in manufacturing jobs are women. Local employers and Feliciano say it's time to change those numbers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has only deepened the prosperity gap between rural and non-rural communities, leaving many rural community colleges struggling to dig their students out of an ever-deepening ditch.
This episode of In The Know examines the findings of a recent report on the needs and challenges of rural community colleges—and why future investments and policies should be modeled on what rural and tribal colleges already know to work.