Today’s postsecondary students earn college credit in different ways and from different sources. A winding path, through multiple institutions and with multiple starts and stops, is typical. 

Yet, many higher education institutions and the policy and infrastructure that support them are generally structured as if students follow a straight line from the beginning to the end of their postsecondary journey. This mismatch needs to change, advocates say.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the legality of President Joe Biden’s loan-forgiveness plan, which is currently blocked by a lower court’s injunction.

The justices will hear oral arguments in February. Nearly 26 million borrowers have already applied for relief from the program since its announcement. Last week, in response to the setbacks in court, the Biden administration again extended the pause on student-loan payments.

Despite being accepted into every college she applied to, one barrier remained for Nayeli Sanchez: cost. She eventually landed at Metropolitan State University of Denver, where she acts as a peer mentor for other students facing educational barriers because of their immigration status. 

Sanchez’s story is not unique—and it serves as another example of why concerns are rising over the possible end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.