When Hope Chicago launched a college access initiative in five neighborhood high schools last year, the job ahead was clearly ambitious: raise college-going rates for South and West side students of color in schools where, on average, just 57 percent of graduates enrolled in postsecondary education.

Hope Chicago didn’t ask schools to change their admission requirements but did promise to provide graduates with full tuition at participating public and private Illinois institutions; a living stipend; and wraparound support to help them succeed once enrolled. Parents, too, could take advantage of free tuition to earn a degree themselves. The holistic approach is paying off.

Research shows that growing numbers of college students are struggling with their mental health. That stress is also causing more students to leave college and keeping others from enrolling.

In New Jersey, a new partnership with the mental health platform Uwill aims to give most students in the Garden State free, round-the-clock mental health help at 44 higher education institutions. Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration is calling the collaboration the first of its kind to improve student mental health on college campuses.

Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States are held annually in local jails for lengths of time that can range anywhere from several months to more than a year. During that period, most will have minimal academic opportunities available to them. 

While college-in-prison programs in state and federal prisons are poised to expand, educators and advocates worry that prospective students in jails may be getting left behind.