Daily Lumina News 072720

Many questions loom about remote learning in the coming months. Will online offerings from colleges be more sophisticated? What steps need to be taken to ensure academic quality in online learning? And will short-term credentials be more popular?
Lori Williams, president and CEO of NC-SARA, offers insight on why states must play a stronger role in quality assurance. Marni Baker Stein of Western Governors University joins the conversation with her thoughts on how the large, online and competency-based university has helped its students cope with disruptions.

The pandemic is forcing higher education institutions to alter their normal schedules and modes of instruction, as well as housing and use of campus space.
On this episode of Maine Calling, leaders, educators, and students from a range of Maine colleges and universities talk about what school will look like this fall, how institutions intend to balance public health with financial health, and the ways in which people are reacting to the planned changes.

Students who are Black, Hispanic, and Native American tend to have higher unmet financial need, incur more student loan debt, and struggle financially to stay in school.
In this interview, Amanda R. Tachine of Arizona State University and Jameson David “J.D.” Lopez of the University of Arizona discuss the importance of Native American voices in policy dialogues about affordability and student borrowing.

In recent weeks, COVID-19 cases have exploded among people in their 20s and 30s. Confronted with social-media posts showing crowds of students dancing and drinking together in defiance of local orders, colleges have been forced to zero in on what’s happening just outside their borders.
There are limits, however, to what colleges can do. But that's not stopping some institutions from implementing both practical and creative safety measures.