Less than one-third of rural high school students enroll in higher education. The reasons include a lack of college readiness programs and a lack of college recruitment for these students, college access experts say.

Leaders at Miles Community College in eastern Montana want to change this trajectory by enrolling every local high schooler in a one-credit online course focused on career and personal development. The president of Miles Community College, Ron Slinger, explains more in this interview.

A training program at UC Davis Health is giving Sacramento residents the chance to start a career in the sciences, even if they don’t have a bachelor’s degree.

Over 16 weeks, participants will gain the knowledge and skills they need to land jobs as clinical research coordinators paying hourly wages of $27 to $48. An added perk: Trainees will get a stipend, allowing them to reduce their work hours and focus on their studies.

Morgan State University has reached historic enrollment highs over the past few years. Other Historically Black Colleges and Universities are seeing similar growth.

Many point to internal policies and practices—such as new retention and recruitment efforts and academic support for incoming students—for their recent success. Some HBCU leaders say new sources of philanthropic and government funding are fostering that growth. Others attribute it to a racial awakening.