Daily Lumina News 061121

As tuitions and debt grow, students and state and federal governments alike are asking increasingly hard questions about the return on their investment in postsecondary education.
On this episode of The Key, three experts with a diverse set of perspectives discuss the government's role in ensuring value from academic institutions and programs. Among the topics they explore: the complexity of attempts to formally measure postsecondary value, the importance of focusing on historically underrepresented students, and the centrality of the federal role in holding colleges accountable.

U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh testified remotely this week before the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee, where he pitched the key pillars of President Joe Biden’s broad-reaching plan to revamp the economy, upskill workers, raise equity, and more.
While making the case for more investments in public two-year institutions, Walsh emphasized the key role of community colleges in future workforce development programs.

When Edgar Omar Dominguez Casalez was 15, he received two lifelines—his mentor, Carlos Reyes, and a horse, Canelo. Both play important, though different, roles in what’s becoming a remarkable Minnesota journey.
Now 18, Casalez will graduate high school soon and then head to college. In a state that struggles to close persistent education gaps between white students and most students of color, his story shows the power of finding people who want to help, and then accepting it.

The Caring Campus Initiative first launched as a national effort in 2018 as a way to increase positive interactions between faculty and staff and students so that students feel more connected to their campuses and are more likely to stay and graduate.
Now, the pandemic has forced participating campuses to foster that same sense of belonging for students online.