Lumina Foundation is committed to increasing the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees, certificates and other credentials to 60 percent by 2025.
While large-scale cuts to majors in the years during and since the COVID-19 pandemic have gotten some attention, what many have in common has been largely overlooked: They’re disproportionately happening at universities that serve rural students or are in largely rural states.
In this interview, education reporter Jon Marcus discusses the impact of these decisions on rural students and their families, as well as the challenges faced by those who aspire to pursue higher education.
Colorado public university leaders say they’re better prepared now to support the immigrant students on their campuses than they were during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term.
Many administrators will follow a similar blueprint to the one they created in 2016 and have sustained since that time. But Trump’s upcoming second turn in office—and his calls for mass deportations—bring a renewed need from Colorado universities and colleges to remind undocumented immigrant students that they’re not only welcome on campus, but they will find the support necessary to realize their dreams.
The money for the fall semester normally arrives in September. But by the last week of November, with the end of the semester in sight, Elizabeth Rousseau was still waiting.
Rousseau, a student at Penn State University, is due to receive $2,630 from a state grant program that helps Pennsylvania residents pay for college tuition, fees, room and board, and other expenses like utilities and groceries. The troubled rollout of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid is the root of the issues, according to officials at the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, which oversees the program.
In September, Brown University became one of the first institutions to publicly reveal new student demographics following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to ban race-conscious admissions. Among incoming first-year students, the share of students from historically underrepresented backgrounds fell to 18 percent—down by 9 percentage points from the previous cohort.
Brown is now rolling out a new diversity recruiting initiative, with efforts that include additional outreach, more funding to match financial aid offers students receive from other colleges, and expanded grants for low-income students to visit the Rhode Island campus.
Ohio’s high school students are enrolling in college classes more now than ever before—but not all of the state’s students are taking part.
Predominantly white, wealthier counties, such as Northwest Ohio’s Putnam County and Southern Ohio’s Washington County, lead the state with the highest percentage of their students participating in Ohio’s dual enrollment program known as College Credit Plus. And that could have big, long-term implications, officials say.
Theotis Robinson Jr. has spent much of his storied career fighting for diversity and equity in education. A foundational figure in the University of Tennessee history, Robinson grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he and his mother, Alma, would listen to the radio, discussing historic elections and admiring the courage of civil rights leaders. Robinson would soon join their ranks.
Throughout his life, Robinson constantly questioned the established norms, pioneering innovative approaches at every opportunity. Today, at 83, he remains dedicated to removing barriers for Tennesseans to pursue a college education.
