Daily Lumina News 092421

More men are skipping college. Research shows that the number of men enrolled at two- and four-year institutions has now fallen behind women by record levels.
Jon Marcus of The Hechinger Report and New America's Kevin Carey explore the reasons why men are disappearing from the halls of colleges and why it matters.

Businesses across almost every industry are struggling to find enough workers. And there’s been plenty of anecdotal evidence that they’re pulling out all the stops to attract people: boosting wages and benefits, paying people to show up for interviews, and loosening minimum qualifications for many jobs—including requirements for college degrees.
Experts weigh in on whether the shift has staying power.

Federal leaders hope to fix a longstanding challenge in American higher education: Many more people start college than finish on time, within six years—or ever.
The proposed College Completion Fund is betting on “evidence-based student success programs” to help. The bill outlines a number of completion strategies, including child care assistance, help paying for basic needs, and incentives to keep students on track to a degree or credential.

When Arona Coelhom, 35, arrived in the United States from India, she heard about a growing demand for healthcare workers. She turned to Northern Virginia Community College and a short, job-focused program that gave her the training to qualify as a certified clinical medical assistant.
She's not alone. More people are turning to community colleges for fast, skills-focused education that pays off in the labor market.

Getting bigger isn't the only way to innovate in higher education, say leaders of some small colleges. Their size makes them nimble, which frequently allows them to test bold ideas that challenge conventional thinking about how institutions can offer education, draw in students, and be sustainable.
But their smallness can also lead to fragility. Many of these institutions tend to find themselves in a perpetual cycle: They thrive for a time, but then acquire a poor leader or experience an unexpected crisis like the pandemic, and struggle again—or even close.

The country’s most selective four-year institutions invest significant resources to recruit talented high school students from across the country.
But many institutions are overlooking a talented and diverse pool of students in their own backyard: transfer students from local community colleges.