Daily Lumina News 083121

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Morehouse College offered fewer than nine online courses. But as the virus forced learning online, the private, historically Black college quickly changed course—and now has entire degrees online, including a full-time option and classes for those who dropped out and want to finish.
Digital alternatives at residential colleges and other new ways of delivering education have exploded since the pandemic forced schools to shut down in March 2020, forcing a reckoning in a sector already reeling from enrollment declines, rising tuition, and unmanageable student debt.

Micro-credentials—programs certifying specific competencies that can stand alone or be applied toward a larger degree—are gaining momentum as more learners need to reskill and compete in an evolving workforce.
On this podcast, Betty Vandenbosch of Coursera discusses the state of online education, the future of the traditional four-year degree, and what colleges and universities should be doing to keep up with alternative credential pathways.

If you want to know which colleges and universities are likely to benefit most from the massive spending bills currently being negotiated in Washington, scan the top rungs of Washington Monthly’s just-released college rankings.
The Monthly takes a distinctly different view of student success. Its college-ranking list rates institutions of higher learning on the degree to which they recruit and graduate low-income students, improve social mobility, and encourage students to serve their country.

The freshman class of 2025 is like no other before it. They missed out on countless high school experiences, with their last year and a half all online. As they start college, the pandemic continues to change the way they take classes and socialize.
This episode of Education Beat explores how students in the California State University system are adapting during a pandemic—plus how the incoming freshman class is key to meeting the system's graduation goals.