Daily Lumina News 111221

A startling percentage of men are dropping out of college—or staying away altogether. The recent drops in male enrollment are highest among men of color in community colleges.
Some colleges and universities are stepping up with new programs to provide support, hoping to remove one more barrier to equality. Alone, they won’t reverse the overall trend. But for many students like Emmanuel Smith, retention efforts can have a powerful impact.

Leaders at Southwest Tennessee Community College are taking many steps, big and small, to bring students back to the college while also grappling with longstanding structural challenges that make life difficult for community colleges and those they hope to educate.
As part of that process, the school is confronting some of the shortcomings institutions of its kind often face and has begun to ponder changes that in some cases may be long overdue.

Bianca Jones is a Howard University graduate and educator carrying nearly $70,000 in student debt. She's far from alone. Student debt has become a lifelong burden for many Black borrowers, betraying the promise of college education as the "Great Equalizer."
A new documentary featuring alumni, student debt experts, and others explores the loan debt burdens of students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

More college and university administrators around the country are embracing new technology as a way to integrate disparate student services, such as academic advising and mental health services, into one unified system.
The shift comes at a time when increasingly stressed-out students are demanding more efficiency and less bureaucracy on campus, and colleges are more worried about declining enrollments.

Many students in the City University of New York (CUNY) system experience food insecurity. Hunger-free campus laws can help, says this report.
Such laws provide food and outreach to SNAP-eligible students. They also spotlight food insecurity in higher education, reducing the stigma felt by food-insecure students and building momentum for lasting policy change.

As COVID-19 swept the nation, the ongoing uncertainty made many people question big-life choices—especially the decision to attend college.
Higher ed experts weigh in on the challenges facing today's students—and the institutional remedies that may ease the transition of high school seniors into college.