Daily Lumina News 081121

Colleges and universities are increasingly using federal COVID-19 relief funds to pay off unpaid balances owed to them by students. After a year of financial strain and rampant job loss due to the pandemic, the payoffs are a welcome relief for many students and their families.
But advocates for reducing student loan debt say clearing these arrears puts only a small dent in students' overall debt loads.

Rather than offering a reward for students to get vaccinated, West Virginia Wesleyan College will charge a $750 fee to those who don’t.
The move is a sharp contrast to other methods that colleges are using to encourage students to get vaccinated. Some have offered monetary rewards and lifestyle-related incentives. To date, 681 colleges and universities have announced vaccine requirements for at least some students or employees.

Guila Curley, who is Navajo, serves as the college and career readiness coordinator at Newcomb High School. When education went online, she struggled to get in contact with students and help them meet college application and financial aid deadlines. Everyone was just trying to survive, she says.
But while the pandemic exacerbated the barriers that Native American students already faced in getting through high school and into college, it also demonstrated the lengths that some students, and their teachers, will go to improve their lives and those of their families.

Adult learners are becoming the new traditional demographic in higher education, which means colleges and universities need to adapt.
In this interview, Russell Lowery-Hart of Amarillo College discusses the importance of institutions putting flexible systems in place to support the skill development of adult learners.