Daily Lumina News 081123

Faith in the economic value of a college degree has fallen steadily in the United States over the past decade. At the same time, concerns about high tuitions and student debt obscure consensus on nonmaterial benefits of college to individuals and societies.
A study published this week by New America shows that more than 70 percent of Americans think that higher education leads to “greater civic engagement, lower unemployment, and better public health within their communities.”

Faculty members and administrators are reporting their latest obstacle to a clean inbox: emails marketing new AI tools. Ever since ChatGPT’s arrival last November, companies have been racing to capitalize on the AI hype—or, perhaps, to stay competitive as the tech industry continues to bet big on artificial intelligence.
And a target market, it appears, is higher education.

The number of people studying for careers in education has been declining for years. At the same time, schools are struggling to hold on to new teachers: Studies indicate that about 44 percent of teachers leave the profession within their first five years.
Then the pandemic came along, hammering teachers and the profession as a whole. In this interview, new teachers reveal the difficulties they face—and whether they see themselves teaching for the long term.

In 1999, a longtime university administrator helped NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal fulfill a promise he made to his mother to complete his bachelor’s degree.
Today, Elaine Maimon is urging Philadelphia colleges to make it easier for less famous almost-grads to get their diplomas, too.

As people in state prisons navigate their sentences, many are eager to find hope for a better life after release. But that hope can be hard to find. While more than half of prison inmates surveyed in a report by the Prison Policy Initiative have a work assignment during incarceration, less than 20 percent participate in an educational program; less than 10 percent have job training.
Arti Finn of APDS is on a mission to dramatically change those statistics.

Selective colleges and their admissions practices are receiving a lot of scrutiny in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action—and plenty of questions. Does going to a highly selective college affect long-term outcomes? To what extent does socioeconomic background influence chances of admission? And how can highly selective colleges improve social mobility and diversify the American elite?
Two prominent economists who study education, skill development, and economic inequality weigh in.