Daily Lumina News 121020

Many community-college leaders don’t yet know exactly who failed to show up at their campuses, but, anecdotally, there’s a clear consensus. Those less likely to enroll were students of color, undocumented, and low income, says Joseph Garcia, chancellor of the Colorado Community College System.
Why did so many community colleges take such a hit? At the most basic level, no college president alive has led an institution through a crisis like COVID-19. At another level, the pandemic has magnified existing socioeconomic inequities, turning gaps into chasms.

A former Wisconsin governor who spearheaded the expansion of the state's prison system now wants to transform a prison into a college for inmates.
Tommy Thompson, the interim president of the University of Wisconsin System, plans to pitch the "UW System Prison Education Initiative" to the UW Board of Regents this week. Thompson says the effort would also include technical colleges, private colleges, businesses, and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

The “will he or won’t he" question of whether soon-to-be-President Joe Biden may forgive student debt—and if so, how much—is dominating the headlines, but it’s hardly the only higher-ed issue that policy shops and advocacy groups are weighing in on.
Advice for the Biden-Harris administration is pouring in from many fronts, including calls for major new investments in broadband and focusing on programs or practices (like targeted scholarship programs) with proven success.

Luna Azul Chacon arrived in the United States from Mexico with her parents and brother as a young child. When she turned 15, she was eligible to apply for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. She's now a first-generation college student studying to become a pediatrician or OB-GYN.
Like many DACA recipients, Chacon lives in uncertainty every single day. But she is hopeful for the future—and the possibility that President-elect Joe Biden will pave the way to permanent citizenship for Dreamers.