	Lumina Foundation is committed to increasing the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees, certificates and other credentials to 60 percent by 2025.

April 29, 2020

Subscribe to this email | Forward to a Friend

TOP STORIES

Jump to: Human Work and Learning • Student Supports • College Access • Talent Development • State Policy

With Campuses Closed, College Tours Move Online

Dionne Searcey, The New York Times

SHARE: Facebook • Twitter

Visiting a college campus in person is key for most students, but it's especially useful for students who are the first in their families to apply to college. For them, feeling a sense of belonging on campus is everything.

The pandemic has completely altered this scenario, as college officials now scramble to reach prospective students with virtual visits and Zoom meetings. Can they replicate that face-to-face feeling?

For This First-Generation College Student, Paying It Forward Makes Higher Ed Worth the Price

Daniel Rivera-Ibarra, The Hechinger Report

SHARE: Facebook • Twitter

Daniel Rivera-Ibarra will be the first in his immediate family to graduate from college. He hopes to one day open a real estate brokerage firm that will help Hispanic families buy their first homes.

Rivera-Ibarra believes his academic accomplishments serve as an example to other family members that they, too, can achieve their goals. In this essay, he offers his thoughts on the academic and social supports that first-generation college students need in order to survive and thrive.

Photo: Sam Kalda

COVID-19 Sent LGBTQ Students Back to Unsupportive Homes. That Raises the Risk They Won’t Return.

Sarah Brown, The Chronicle of Higher Education

SHARE: Facebook • Twitter

College campuses can be vital safe havens for LGBTQ students who spent their childhoods in the closet. COVID-19 has upended that safety net, forcing many to leave campus abruptly and return to families who may not know of or accept their identities.

In response, some campus LGBTQ groups and centers are working overtime to strengthen their online presence.

Colleges Announce Tentative Plans for Fall 2020

Hallie Busta, Education Dive

SHARE: Facebook • Twitter

The coronavirus drove the spring term online in a hurry. Now, college leaders nationwide are starting conversations, if speculatively, about the conditions under which they would reopen campuses for the fall 2020 term.

Their plans vary widely, and several acknowledge some degree of online instruction will be needed even in the best-case scenario. Final decisions aren't expected across the board for at least a few weeks, and colleges are already facing pressure to give new students past the traditional May 1 deposit deadline to make their choice.

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

Zoom Boom

Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Ed

Leadership, Resilience, and Higher Education’s Promise

Marina Kim and Angie Fuessel, Stanford Social Innovation Review

Meet the Students Who Are Working Your Essential Jobs

Sami Edge, Idaho EdNews

Colleges, Universities Preparing for Continued Online Learning

Kyle Jones, NBC Connecticut (Connecticut)

Recession Resources: Creating a New Learner Experience for Higher Ed’s New Normal

Timothy Renick, The EvoLLLution

Opinion: College Campuses Must Reopen in the Fall. Here’s How We Do It.