Daily Lumina News 042021

Fourteen out of 23 statewide free college programs exclude adult and returning students, while many of those that don't leave them out have stringent participation requirements that "effectively do the same," according to a report from The Education Trust. Just two programs in its sample were designed for older students.
The landscape may be shifting, however. COVID-19 reinvigorated calls to upskill large swaths of the population—and the pandemic's harm to the economy also highlights the need for states and colleges to remove potential cost barriers to a college degree and other credentials.

Infrastructure spending has typically focused on investments in things like roads, bridges, and pipes—the physical infrastructure that makes up and connects our country. But when thinking about what infrastructure means for the nation, or could mean for it, the administration and policymakers should expand their vision, write Lumina Foundation's Jamie Merisotis and Julie Peller of Higher Learning Advocates in this essay.
If the country is going to invest in infrastructure, it shouldn’t be just about roads. It should also be about people, with an intentional focus on the talent and training that prepares them for today’s jobs—and tomorrow’s.

For decades, students have faced the difficult challenge of choosing a trades career or a higher education credential. By bridging these pathways together, students are able to get the most relevant skills that prepare them for the workforce while earning a degree.
In this interview, Jeff Harmon of Thomas Edison University explains what his school is doing to translate these skills to employers, how prior learning assessments come into play, and what institutions can do to bridge the gap between the workforce and higher ed.

Nearly a year into the uprising against police brutality and systemic racism, it’s harder than ever for police departments to recruit and retain officers, particularly those of color. Nationwide, fewer people are applying for the job, and more experienced cops are retiring or quitting in droves.
Tyrese Davis, 22, wants to change the way people see police. Davis, who is Black, hopes to be that change as part of the inaugural class of Lincoln University’s police academy. It is the country's first police academy based at a historically Black college or university.

After receiving a 10-year prison sentence for drug trafficking, Stanley Andrisse was told by the prosecutor that he had no hope for change. But change happened nonetheless—and it came in the form of education.
Now an endocrinologist scientist and assistant professor of physiology at Howard University, Andrisse joins other academics and activists who are fighting barriers that prevent formerly incarcerated people from entering the sciences. The work requires dismantling forces that tell students they’re not cut out for science, bolstering STEM education within prisons and eliminating embedded racial biases, and removing obstacles that block students from continuing their education after incarceration.

With students eager to get back on campus this fall and college leaders eager to have them, most institutions will try to provide an experience that’s something close to normal. It won’t look quite like it did before the COVID-19 pandemic, however.
Masking will likely remain the norm at most campuses at least through the end of 2021. Where possible, students will live in less densely populated dorms. And many classes and activities will stay at least partly online. But whatever else colleges do right, if students, faculty, and staff members aren’t vaccinated in high enough numbers, institutions’ plans may crumble.