Daily Lumina News 092021

Because of COVID-19, companies had virtual internships thrust upon them last year. Now, large numbers say those internships are here to stay even once the pandemic subsides.
Leaders from colleges and businesses—from a small health-care company to Fortune 500s like Discover—share their thoughts on what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what’s in store this year and beyond.

Legislation introduced in the House of Representatives this month could end up being one of the most significant pieces of federal higher education policy making in many years.
This episode of The Key explores the Build Back Better Act. It includes a plan to make community college tuition-free, significantly expanded funding for Pell Grants, and, for the first time, a fund that promises to give colleges incentives for retaining their students and ensuring they graduate.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been mired in crisis after crisis, which many people attribute to the politicization of its governing boards. A new group called the Coalition for Carolina wants to do something about that.
Can the coalition succeed? It will need support from state legislators to do so.

Landing a first job as a teenager can be tough. Gap Inc. hopes to address that challenge with a program called This Way ONward at its Old Navy stores.
The effort, which bills itself as looking for potential, not credential, when hiring young people, offers paid internships, skills training, and mentorships to individuals ages 16-to-24 years old who face barriers to employment.

As more learners look for short-term solutions to get back into the workforce, colleges and universities are adapting flexible delivery methods and creating programming to help them.
In this interview, Marni Baker-Stein of Western Governors University talks about the importance of student-centricity, growing retention rates, and what it takes to thrive in a post-pandemic world.

For the tens of thousands of Afghans who've arrived in the United States this summer, there are immediate needs—housing, food, schooling for kids. And a central challenge looms: How are they going to support themselves and their families?
Many of these individuals are educated and skilled, yet they end up in low-wage jobs—a missed opportunity for both workers and employers.