Daily Lumina News 052523

Many high school graduates won’t make it to college, and those who do may struggle to stay in school. Others will stop out—and then start and need to stop again.
To start recapturing the million-plus students lost to the college enrollment plunge and encourage future generations to keep learning, we must change who and how we serve students. Several colleges are already leading the way.

Madera Community College is surrounded by vast farm fields in the heart of the Central Valley. Nearly 70 percent of its students are Hispanic or Latino. The school promotes “sentido de pertenencia”—a sense of belonging, reflected in a multicultural center, community events, campus artwork, and a focus on older students.
Madera and other schools are trying hard to remove red tape and other obstacles to help students stay in school and complete their education. That extra support is making all the difference.

Although student parents often perform better academically than their non-parenting peers, they are less likely to graduate from college. Many lack access to resources like child care and transportation, face food and housing insecurity, and must navigate systems and policies that are not designed with them in mind.
In this interview, Julie Peller and Tanya Ang of Higher Learning Advocates talk about their work to elevate opportunities for student parents.

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.