High school vocational programs have changed a lot over the past 20 years by both increasing their academic rigor and expanding career fields. Federal legislation has encouraged these programs to prepare students not only for a career, but also for college. 

Labels have changed, too. It’s now called career and technical education. Today, students are actively choosing, instead of being passively steered to vocational high school classes. And Massachusetts is at the forefront of this trend.

Illustration: Chelsea Beck

After President Joe Biden announced his sweeping student loan forgiveness plan in August, borrowers flooded the studentaid.gov website for information on what to do next. For many, the answers aren't particularly satisfying: sign up for an email alert and wait for the application to be released in early October.

The uncertainty is causing added stress for many borrowers—and opening a door for scammers to step through.

The water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi—moving in slow motion for decades because of the city's crumbling infrastructure—came to a head last month when torrential rains overwhelmed the city’s largest water treatment plant.

For colleges and universities in the area, this was yet another emergency to confront after two years spent managing a global pandemic—and some of those lessons would come in handy.