Daily Lumina News 091523

Much like early humans banded together to fend off threats by packs of wolves, some faculty members are uniting to fend off real or perceived threats to education by artificial intelligence.
Such alliances, even when unofficial, are survival mechanisms, according to evolutionary psychologists. The divisions echo allied social groups formed during past higher ed disruptions, including the emergence of online learning and efforts to diversify literature curricula.

Over the past two and a half years, combatting perceived out-of-control leftism in higher education has become not only a salient conservative talking point but a legislative priority in some states.
But according to a new national poll, Americans from both major political parties tend to oppose substantial government influence over what’s taught in college classrooms.

During the 2017-18 academic year, Louisiana became the first state to make completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) a high school graduation requirement. The idea behind the policy is to help students become more aware of what financial aid is available to them.

While FAFSA completion is associated with higher education enrollment, research is less clear on whether these mandates increase college-going rates. Still, mandates are gaining traction in state legislatures across the country. Now, three more states are mulling whether to implement the policy.

Earlier this year, David Garlock walked into the State Correctional Institution at Chester as an employee of Eastern University—and specifically as an instructor with the school's Prison Education Program.
Previously incarcerated for more than 13 years, Garlock is now on a mission to instill a hunger for learning in his incarcerated students and to help them see themselves not as “inmates” or “convicts,” but as Eastern University students.

As a family advocate and founder of City College of San Francisco’s Family Resource Center, Tracey Faulkner knows firsthand about the challenges and inequities student parents experience in their pathways to postsecondary success.
In this Q&A, Faulkner shares her own story as a former student parent, plus what she believes policymakers can do to advance equity and support for parenting students.

The college students who give campus tours for the admissions office may sound like confident ambassadors, but they sometimes have their own doubts about whether they’ve made the right college choice or are on the right life path.
Those feelings are the basis of a fictional film called “Admitted,” created by a group of undergraduates at Boston University. In this interview, one of the students behind the production offers timely observations about the college admissions process and student life after the pandemic.