Daily Lumina News 053024

Higher education has a serious perception problem, thanks partly to misinformation and the false "woke" narrative.
There’s an opportunity now to build bridges—despite the many signs of increased polarization. Among the reform efforts needed in higher education, we must reimagine the sector's role in preparing people for active, informed citizenship, writes Lumina Foundation's Jamie Merisotis in his latest column for Forbes.

Much of the attention on the troubled Free Application for Federal Student Aid rollout has focused on improving completion rates and communication with first-year applicants and their families.
But current college students are struggling with the same issues, and many feel abandoned in the scramble to help new applicants.

With an eye toward purchasing her first home, Alexandra Pimentel was religiously checking her credit report. Everything seemed in order until she noticed a glaring discrepancy with her student loans. Instead of listing the $45,000 she owes, the report showed double the amount.
She's not alone. A problem with the transfer of student loan accounts is creating duplicate balances on credit reports, an error that can lower credit scores for millions of borrowers.

Paul LeBlanc has led Southern New Hampshire University as president for 20 years, transforming a small, sleepy campus of 2,500 students into one of the country’s thriving hybrid “mega-universities." Next month, he will hand the reins to Lisa Marsh Ryerson.
In this interview, Ryerson shares her vision for the future and how she plans to draw on her own experience as a leader in the higher education and philanthropy sectors when she takes the helm.

Professors across the country say students are coming into college with a host of new and alarming learning challenges, including struggles with reading endurance and weak vocabulary, fragmented and distracted thinking, and sharper limits on what they are willing or able to do.
What do you do when students don’t—or can’t—do the work?

Debt collection on defaulted loans will resume in September 2024, and millions of borrowers could be heading toward default.
A new report from New America offers guidance on how to reach the most vulnerable borrowers, including those who are low-income or brand new to the repayment process.