Daily Lumina News 110322

Colleges are now educating their first waves of students who experienced pandemic learning loss in high school. What they are seeing is sobering.
In interviews across the country, undergraduates discuss the impact of their disjointed high school experiences in their first years of college; some professors talk about how grades are down, as well as standards. Many students are tentative and anxious.

Community-college enrollment took a nosedive during the pandemic, and many institutions are struggling to recover.
At a recent gathering in New York, community-college leaders discussed strategies to recruit and retain more students, including ramping up sports programs, enhancing marketing material, providing more student support, and being more explicit with prospective students about how a college degree can lead directly to a job.

Next year—for the first time in nearly three decades—all incarcerated people who are academically eligible will be able to apply for Pell Grants to help fund their college education.
One of the first steps to access these grants is completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Completing the FAFSA, which currently asks 103 questions, can be a painstaking process for anyone seeking financial aid for college. Those difficulties are compounded for incarcerated students.

In a few months, the U.S. Supreme Court will make its ruling on affirmative action. Already, many legal pundits predict its demise.
Stella Flores is an associate professor of higher education and public policy at the University of Texas at Austin. In this interview, she discusses the implications of ending race-conscious affirmative action in college admissions.

Bennett High senior Elisabeth Rodriguez delivered two important messages to counselors recently about getting students into college. She reminded them that counselors should foster students’ dreams of higher education as freshmen rather than when they’re leaving high school. And she called on them to support students in attaining their aspirations.
The dual message is important because many Hispanic students like Rodriguez never make it to college—and never realized in high school that they could.

Community colleges are often pegged as the workhorses of the higher education system. The two-year colleges cater overwhelmingly to first-generation college goers, working adults, and students of color, helping them gain a foothold on the ladder of economic opportunity.
Massachusetts has redoubled efforts in recent years to create a smoother transition from community college to four-year institutions. Are those initiatives paying off? Yes and no.