Daily Lumina News 091422

The number of undergraduate students fell by almost 10 percent during the pandemic. It’s been a different story for Historically Black Colleges and Universities where interest, applications, and funding are on the rise.
Yet, HBCUs face some fundamental challenges, too, including less financial help from state and federal governments historically and far smaller endowments than other schools.

This week, U.S. News & Report released its annual rankings of the country's best colleges. Demand for such information is evident, as higher education—once affordable and accessible—continues to become more competitive and more expensive.
But many experts believe the U.S. News rankings offer a narrow view of what success should look like for students. In 2022, higher education should measure what matters—like social and economic mobility—not just what’s become tradition to measure, says the Institute for Higher Education Policy's Mamie Voight.

Conversations about student debt have come a long way in the past few years. What was once an awkward or even shameful topic is now, at least for some, part of a normal Tuesday night exchange about where to eat.
Destigmatizing student loans doesn’t just make people feel better; it can actually help them tackle their balances.

At 46, Alexis Riccardo is close to achieving her childhood dream of becoming a chemical engineer. It's been a tough journey for Riccardo, who went back to college in her 40s.
Nearly 75 percent of college students are considered “nontraditional”—defined as over 25, often with full-time jobs (59 percent) and children of their own. In this essay, Riccardo recounts the struggles—and solutions—of pursuing a college degree as a single mother.

In the higher education world, accreditation is the seal of approval indicating that programs or schools meet specific standards. It's the key that unlocks access to tens of billions of federal student aid dollars.
Unfortunately, the accreditation process is seriously flawed. Two former public members for a regional accreditor offer insight on how they believe the accreditation system must be updated to better serve today’s students.

Most college exchange programs bring students from different countries together.
But the Bridging the Gap program is different. It connects American students to each other at campuses that may share geographical boundaries but are ideologically far apart. The goal is to chip away at religious and political polarization on campuses and nationwide.