Daily Lumina News 030824

A few weeks ago, Ferris State University made a splashy announcement that it planned to enroll two chatbot “students” in its classes, calling it a novel way for colleges to test their curricula.
The unusual idea seems like a publicity stunt to call attention to the academic major it offers in artificial intelligence—and local TV news stations pounced on the notion that nonhuman classmates would be participating side-by-side in hybrid college classes with T-shirt-clad young people. But the experiment points to interesting possibilities—and raises ethical questions—about how the latest AI tech might be used to improve teaching.

More than one-third of first-time students transfer at least once during their academic journey, but they often lose earned college credit when entering a new institution. Part of this credit loss can be attributed to a lack of information about which credits will be accepted and how they will apply to degree programs.
A new, public, nonprofit, national credit mobility website from Ithaka S+R is designed to help by providing students with vital information on how credits transfer and count toward degrees.

By 2031, Latino workers will make up 90 percent of the new workforce. However, Latinos are also the most likely to be employed in manual labor occupations and earn the lowest salary compared to other groups.
Four new reports from Excelencia in Education offer a roadmap for both employers and institutions to advance Latino talent. The studies specifically identify the top institutions that are not only recruiting, supporting, and graduating Latino students but also following through after graduation and connecting their students with well-paying jobs.

In 2008, Lumina Foundation set an ambitious goal focused on ensuring that 60 percent of American adults in the United States would have a college degree, certificate, industry certification, or other credential of value by 2025.
On this podcast, Lumina's Courtney Brown reflects on Lumina’s journey and its continued push to create learning paths for people who might otherwise be left behind.

In New York, people who are released from prison receive $40, a MetroCard or other form of public transportation, and a non-driver identification card. A formerly incarcerated state lawmaker hopes to replace that offering with something much more substantial.
Assemblyman Edward Gibbs is proposing a new bill, known as the Clean Slate Act, that will provide people just released from prison with $2,500 to pay for basic human needs such as food and housing. Helping these individuals obtain some stability would also give them a better chance to find education and training opportunities and secure employment, contend supporters of the bill.

College-bound students will soon get the chance to experience the SAT like never before. For the first time in the United States, the standardized test will be offered solely in digital form. It will also be shorter and adaptive—meaning that the difficulty of the test questions in each section depends on student performance at the outset.
Even with the changes, experts still aren’t sure if the new SAT version—starting March 9—will narrow test score gaps for girls, students of color, and youth with disabilities.