Daily Lumina News 072621

The daughter of a doctor, rising junior Caroline Schumann entered La Salle University in Philadelphia as a nursing major. But when she took a required first-year anatomy lab, she didn’t like it. She’s now a newly declared marketing major, with a minor in digital arts and media.
Many colleges and universities push students to pick their majors in the first semester of their first year. But some institutions are bucking that trend. Instead, they're giving their students the latitude to leap.

On the campaign trail and in office, President Joe Biden has proposed making two years of community college tuition-free. Advocates say the proposal could save community college students money and give other students the chance to cut down on college costs by transferring to a traditional four-year college after their first two years. Others are skeptical it will make a significant impact.
Policy and education experts weigh in what the plan would cost—and save—Americans.

Soaring default rates. Mega-sized loans. Many families who borrowed Parent PLUS loans to help their child pay for college are making huge sacrifices today.
A Newsweek analysis of parent-loan data shows how quickly many of these parents run into serious problems repaying what they owe, how deeply in the hole they are, which schools have the most serious problems, and how much of a strain parents' college debt puts on the households that can least afford them.

As a first-generation college student, Linda García knows the unique challenges associated with being the "first" to pursue post-high school education.
Garcia discusses those challenges on this podcast—plus her new role as executive director for the Center for Community College Student Engagement, strategies to tackle equity issues, lessons learned from the pandemic, and more.