Photo: D.W. Johnson

Selena Bush, 26, is a senior at Roosevelt University, in Chicago. She’s had plenty of false starts in her college education, often working as many as 60 hours a week in multiple jobs on top of her full-time studies.

Despite daunting family and financial challenges, Bush is powering through to her degree. This photo essay depicts her journey as a first-generation college student—and the people and supports helping her make it to the finish line.

As recently as 2015, the University of Phoenix enrolled more than 400,000 learners, making it not only the center of the for-profit higher education universe but the biggest university in the United States.

News of interest by the University of Arkansas system to purchase Phoenix raises questions about the state of the for-profit sector and how to regulate the increasingly blurry landscape of postsecondary education and training. Education and policy experts weigh in.

Born out of the 1960s civil-rights movement, the field of Black studies has struggled to emerge from the academic margins. Today, it finds itself fending off attacks from conservative politicians. 

But while other humanities disciplines are shrinking, Black-studies programs continue to grow and could benefit from a new Advanced Placement course.