Daily Lumina News 050520

For students like Adam Sanchez, dorms are not just a place to sleep. They provide vital connections to safety nets that students may not have off-campus—a place to study, access to technology, meals, health care, social supports, and much more.
Sanchez was two months away from finishing his first year at California State University Los Angeles when the campus shut down because of the coronavirus. Officials in the Cal State system and at other public universities say they're offering as much support as they can to struggling students while being mindful of the health of the entire community. But for many there's still a wide gap.

Even before the coronavirus brought a halt to in-person classes nationwide this spring, some colleges and universities had confronted climate-linked natural disasters with the same dramatic effects.
And while there’s been endless speculation during this pandemic about what might happen to students whose educations are being abruptly disrupted, these colleges offer real-life examples of the impact of campus shutdowns.

The coronavirus has upended the semester for college students across the country—and thousands of incarcerated students are no exception. On the outside, professors are conducting classes over video conferencing and graduations will be live-streamed online. But in prison, the options for distance learning are limited.
College administrators are scrambling to figure out how to finish the semester from beyond the prison walls. Many have found workarounds now that they can no longer enter the prisons. But they fear the coronavirus could undermine a critical component of college in prison: teaching in person.

One of the toughest challenges of remote learning is ensuring everyone has the same access to digital resources. Low-income, first-generation, and adult students are particularly vulnerable, as many struggle with additional personal hardships—loss of income, childcare, and personal responsibilities.
In this interview, Joianne Smith of Oakton Community College discusses the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on community colleges, how online education approaches can be used for future upskilling programs, and what the current shift to remote education means for tomorrow's new normal.