Daily Lumina News 062321

COVID-19 is forcing tribal colleges and universities to re-examine the unique set of struggles facing their students. Even before the pandemic, many students at these institutions lacked reliable and consistent access to food, housing, transportation, and technology.
Some tribal colleges are coming up with new strategies to address these educational inequities. Nebraska Indian Community College used COVID-19 funding to set up Wi-Fi towers across two reservations. Red Lake Nation College in Minnesota gave its students cell phones and hot spots. And Dine College in Arizona is building micro-sites off the main campus as a way to reach more students where they are.

This fall, undergraduate students at Bentley University in Massachusetts will be able to enroll in courses for a diversity, equity, and inclusion major.
The new degree program aims to meet students’ interest in equity, while also helping to fulfill a growing demand in the workforce for DEI professionals and consultants. Two Bentley faculty members who pitched and worked on the new program describe how they made it come to life.

Across the country, states are grappling with how to recover from the pandemic. Louisiana enlisted the help of a national company to connect people with training and job opportunities. Rhode Island launched a virtual career center to help residents find training or job opportunities.
In Indiana, all residents—whether enrolled in college or not—are eligible for free career coaching through a partnership between a CARES Act-funded program run by Ivy Tech Community College and the governor’s office. The idea is to zap some life into the state’s pandemic economy and help people who are floundering professionally define their next steps.

After finishing up high school online in the spring of 2020, Brailie Overall was determined to begin college and experience campus life. Though worried about COVID-19, she was more worried about being disconnected from her peers. “I didn’t like being stuck inside," she says.
For first-year students like Overall—and for returning college students—the coronavirus is a constant reminder of an uncertain school year. In this special report, students across Idaho reflect on their decisions and their experiences.

Back when he was a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, James Smith fell behind on his final housing payment after his family in Minnesota ran into financial problems. Smith promised to repay the university, but the registrar withheld his transcript anyway.
This practice is known as the “transcript trap"—something that forces students to stumble on their way to crossing the graduation stage because it undermines their ability to document the credits they’ve earned and to find well-paying jobs so they can pay off their original debt.

The clock is ticking in Washington, D.C. By the end of 2023, workers who teach the littlest learners will be required to have advanced credentials in early childhood education.
For some teachers, this feels like pressure. For college leaders, it feels like opportunity. That's why two of the city’s universities are setting aside cross-town rivalries to meet this regional workforce need together.