Daily Lumina News 111623

The U.S. Department of Education announced yesterday that the revamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid will be available to students “by December 31,” three months later than usual.
Most everyone in the college-access trenches has long suspected that the form wouldn’t be online until the very end of the year. But the real news is this: Colleges won’t receive applicants’ FAFSA data right away—possibly not until the end of January. And that will surely push back the delivery of aid offers to many students.

It’s been an unprecedented time for workforce investments and the future of work. Bills like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHiPs Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act all provide much-needed funding to develop the nation’s manufacturing capabilities, boost our climate resilience, and more.
But there’s a central question on everyone’s mind: Where will we find the workers to fill these jobs? Apprenticeships are a good place to start, writes Maria Flynn of Jobs for the Futures in this essay.

In 2023, more than 45 bills were introduced across state legislatures targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in higher education.
Threats to DEI are only growing stronger, with continued plans to introduce bills in the next legislative session. A new interactive dashboard provides insight on the evolving landscape of anti-DEI efforts throughout the United States.

Ten public universities across Tennessee are launching a joint campaign to promote awareness of the value of earning a four-year degree.
The campaign marks an unusual move for schools that typically compete for prospective students. It comes amid national declines in enrollment in colleges and universities, driven in part by the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. But this campaign is not just about enrollment—it's also about workforce development and economic growth.

Getting turned down by your dream college doesn’t always mean you’ve been categorically rejected. Some applicants who fail to get in as freshmen, for example, are invited back—as sophomores. They don’t even need to reapply.
It’s one of many secrets some admissions officers prefer to keep quiet.

Annual spending on college course materials fell to a decade low last academic year, due in large part to the continuing shift toward digital materials.
But a new study of college students in Pennsylvania finds that college-goers remain concerned about the prices of course materials, with many attempting to cut costs in ways that may undermine their academic success.