Daily Lumina News 012121

Varun Soni is the vice provost for campus wellness and crisis intervention at the University of Southern California. Even before COVID, she says students were struggling with anxiety, depression, and loneliness. The pandemic has only exacerbated those issues.
One in four Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 reported having seriously considered suicide in the last 30 days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and nearly 70 percent of college presidents now say student mental health ranks among their top concerns.

The COVID-19 recession has disproportionately disrupted the educational plans of certain groups of disadvantaged young people, blunting any previous progress in improving equitable access to an education beyond high school.
On this podcast, Doug Shapiro of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center and Juana Sánchez from HCM Strategists analyze national data on postsecondary enrollment, with a focus on how the most vulnerable students—those from underrepresented minority groups and low-income backgrounds, working learners, and adults—are holding up.

After four years in which academe was at loggerheads with the U.S. president, there are already signs that the new administration is taking a more friendly stance toward higher education.
Within hours of taking the oath of office, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was set to start undoing the legacy of his predecessor by signing several executive orders that will directly affect colleges and college students.

The pandemic health crisis has dramatically changed today's higher education landscape. As colleges moved courses fully or partially online, students suddenly found themselves facing a very different college experience. And high school seniors have had to make their own considerations about if and how the pandemic may alter their ability to pursue education and training after high school.
A new report offers insight about the pandemic’s impact on current and prospective college students—and how COVID-19 is shifting their perceptions of higher education over time.

Colleges and universities across the country are now racing to restore a sense of togetherness after a fall semester held under extraordinary—and deeply isolating—public health restrictions. Some campuses were almost vacant. Others housed modest numbers of students but taught remotely. Some opened up residence halls more broadly and taught mostly in person. Many used “hybrid” techniques that blended online and face-to-face experiences.
Weary of the disruptions, many students just yearn to return to the classroom.

The number of children under age four in Colorado is expected to increase by 22 percent by 2026. Yet, the field that cares for and educates the state’s youngest children can’t attract enough workers.
Advocates say it will take a number of innovative, new postsecondary pathways for Coloradans to join that workforce and avert an even bigger crisis. For Vivian Darby, 36, the pathway to a pay boost, higher credentials, and a career in early childhood care turned out to be an apprenticeship.