Daily Lumina News 081722

When Desirée Vanderloop walks across the stage next May to receive her bachelor’s degree at Morgan State University, she’ll join a growing number of returning adult students who are being encouraged back by programs designed specifically for people like them.
What’s happening at Morgan State reflects an emerging trend in higher ed nationwide as more advisors and registrars reach out to former students and help piece together fragments of launched and abandoned college careers.

The United States is home to millions of people who primarily speak Spanish. Yet, only a few colleges and universities offer bilingual and dual-language programs, as well as programs taught almost entirely in Spanish.
The reasons these programs are still uncommon in higher ed include a lack of bilingual instructors, leadership buy-in, and the difficulty of developing a Spanish-only college-level curriculum. Meanwhile, workforce and education leaders say demand for bilingual professionals in the U.S. labor market is growing.

The U.S. Department of Education announced on Tuesday that it will grant automatic forgiveness of $3.9 billion in student loan debt for 208,000 students who attended the now-defunct for-profit ITT Technical Institute.
The action brings the total amount of loan discharges approved under President Joe Biden to nearly $32 billion.

College students heading to campus this fall may be confused by the recent headlines about student debt, and wonder: Does any of this affect me?
There are signs that the pause on payments and interest on most federal student loans will be extended past the end of this month. But the details on loan forgiveness remain unclear.

One year ago, Roberto Montoya's push for more diverse college campuses brought him to the Colorado Department of Higher Education as its first-ever chief educational equity officer.
Montoya says he wants to elevate the work of colleges and universities to serve more students of color, as well as those who are first generation and low income. He also hopes to stimulate the conversation about the resources and support students need to thrive in college.

Community colleges have long been Californians’ most accessible pathway to higher education. Tuition is inexpensive and, in many cases, free, and no one is turned away by stringent admissions standards.
But the cost of housing has become for many an insurmountable barrier that blocks this pathway. Now, in a rare move for a community college, Ventura College is leading the way to expand the availability of on-campus housing for low-income students.