Daily Lumina News 071023

Federally funded workforce programs are not required to offer students a credential upon completion. This is a huge gap in the federal workforce training system, which in 2021 spent about $547 million to upskill more than 220,000 people.
A credential is an asset, a tangible and trusted way to show employers the qualifications that a job candidate holds. Without a credential, students may not gain the economic advantage they were seeking by participating in a workforce training program, writes Lumina Foundation's Christopher Mullin in this op-ed.

College administrators who work in diversity, equity, and inclusion say their efforts to recruit and retain a diverse student body, and to help students of color feel a sense of belonging, are even more critical now that colleges will not be allowed to consider race as a factor in admissions.
While some administrators believe they may have to simply tweak some of their tactics, others say their work could become even more challenging if the number of students of color on campus shrinks, as experts expect.

The U.S. unemployment rate is hovering near lows unseen since the 1960s. A few months ago, there were roughly two job openings for every unemployed person in the country.
Yet many Americans with records of imprisonment or arrests have remarkably high jobless rates. An estimated 60 percent of those leaving prison are unemployed a year later. Some programs aim to help.

A civil rights group announced last week that it is petitioning the federal government to force Harvard University to stop giving a boost to children of alumni in the admissions process.
The move is another sign of the mounting pressure on prestigious schools to change their policies following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that rejected race-based affirmative action.

Education provided an escape for Sheron Edwards during his 20-plus years in prison. While behind bars, he earned certifications from three college programs, wrote an autobiography, and became a personal trainer.
But there's one accomplishment that Edwards has yet to achieve: a college degree. That's about to change.

College enrollment for Black students in Illinois has dropped more than a third since 2010, according to the Illinois Board of Higher Education. This decline at two- and four-year colleges comes on the heels of rising tuition costs and student debt.
Chicago State University's Zaldwaynaka “Z” Scott is on a mission to reverse that trend.