Daily Lumina News 060321

Despite child care and financial setbacks—and some unsympathetic professors—Nicole Lynn Lewis persevered and graduated from college. She now runs an organization that supports teen parents pursuing an education beyond high school.
On this podcast, Lewis reflects on her own story of a young Black mother in college—plus how effective programs and equitable policies can help more student-parents earn college degrees.

As more companies look to continue flexible work arrangements for their employees, some universities are hoping to entice those workers to college towns with offers of discounted housing rates, access to campus facilities, moving stipends, and more.
The new programs represent another way the pandemic has shifted the way colleges think about who works on campus, and why. Many universities are considering how employees’ desires for remote work will affect their own human-resources policies. These colleges, however, are making a play for other people’s employees, showing that campuses will both influence and be affected by this major shift in where Americans live and work.

The onset of COVID-19 forced most colleges and universities to cancel in-person classes and move to remote learning. Now, as the world slowly emerges from the pandemic, many are asking what will become of higher education in America.
In this interview, New America's Kevin Carey talks about the state of American colleges, the student debt crisis, why the pandemic is affecting institutions in wildly disparate ways, and if he thinks the future of higher education will look anything like its past.

Before the pandemic, transitioning from high school to college or a career may have marked the first major life change for many teenagers. But COVID-19 seniors faced massive disruptions, disappointment, and turmoil this past year. At the same time, their experiences may also better prepare them for what lies ahead.
When schools went online, students went into independent, self-directed learning. They had to take full responsibility for their education, making choices about attendance, motivation, engagement and how to limit distractions. They also gained invaluable experience being resourceful when they didn’t know how to proceed.