Daily Lumina News 040124

What some see as a harrowing moment of change for higher education today, Amelia Parnell sees as an opportunity for student affairs professionals to build partnerships, find solutions, and continue to make a difference in students’ lives.
Parnell is the incoming president of NASPA. In this interview, she talks about artificial intelligence, mental health, holistic student support, and more.

More than a year and a half ago, California launched a big initiative to help children from low-income families save money for college. It’s called the California Kids Investment and Development Savings program, or just CalKIDS.
The program has the potential to serve 3.6 million kids, but only a tiny fraction of individuals have signed up to activate their accounts. Experts weigh in on what needs to happen to get the word out to more families.

As April begins, patience with the so-called better Free Application for Federal Student Aid is evaporating rapidly. Officials at the U.S. Department of Education say that more than 4.4 million FAFSAs have been processed as of March 25, with many colleges receiving big batches of processed applications over the last two weeks.
But several financial aid experts contend that some of the data colleges have been receiving is flawed. And a substantial number of colleges are doubting their ability to get aid offers out within the next few weeks.

When Taneisha Mathews went back to school, her daughters went with her. It was Mathews’ second attempt at working toward an associate degree. As a single mom with two jobs, the journey hasn't been easy.
Virginia’s community colleges are hubs for addressing the state’s workforce demands. But affordable access to child care can be a major barrier for parenting students. The state of Virginia is testing several solutions.

Internships have long been a coveted component of the college experience, but now the pressure to secure them—and to secure them earlier—is growing, as students and their parents look for ways to stand out on job applications, universities work to demonstrate a high return on investment, and employers increasingly rely on them as part of their strategies to recruit and vet candidates.
But traditional internships are not universally accessible. That's why some colleges and companies are working to broaden access to internships while diversifying the talent pipeline for employers.

James Singewald, a 21-year-old who grew up in California, thinks there are plenty of young people looking for the kind of life he’s living right now: studying history, literature, and ecology just south of Glacier Bay National Park and west of Tongass National Forest.
Leaders of a new, nonprofit, two-year liberal arts postsecondary program in Sitka, Alaska, are trying to make that happen.