Photo: Nora Williams

Colleges are now educating their first waves of students who experienced pandemic learning loss in high school. What they are seeing is sobering.

In interviews across the country, undergraduates discuss the impact of their disjointed high school experiences in their first years of college; some professors talk about how grades are down, as well as standards. Many students are tentative and anxious.

Illustration: Hokyoung Kim

Community-college enrollment took a nosedive during the pandemic, and many institutions are struggling to recover.

At a recent gathering in New York, community-college leaders discussed strategies to recruit and retain more students, including ramping up sports programs, enhancing marketing material, providing more student support, and being more explicit with prospective students about how a college degree can lead directly to a job.

Next year—for the first time in nearly three decades—all incarcerated people who are academically eligible will be able to apply for Pell Grants to help fund their college education. 

One of the first steps to access these grants is completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Completing the FAFSA, which currently asks 103 questions, can be a painstaking process for anyone seeking financial aid for college. Those difficulties are compounded for incarcerated students.