Daily Lumina News 020724

The practice of differential tuition—requiring students in different classes, majors, or academic years to pay more than baseline tuition—isn’t widely known. But it is a popular strategy for colleges nationwide to offset the costs of majors that require, say, specialized equipment, advanced labs, or higher-than-average salaries for professors.
Despite its popularity, differential tuition has its critics. Some cite concerns about equity, worrying that the higher tuition prices can lock low-income students out of majors that typically lead to higher-paying careers.

Dartmouth College will once again require standardized test scores for undergraduate applicants, beginning with prospective students for the Class of 2029. The move comes after the Ivy League college opted to make test scores optional in 2020, citing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dartmouth leaders say the reversal is based on a new study conducted by the college that found test scores could have helped less advantaged students, including first-generation students and students from low-income families, gain access to the school.

In recent years, nonprofits that support school-based mental health clubs have found their programs in demand.
The increase is the result of two phenomena: the rising number of adolescents struggling with mental health and the dearth of resources to help them. As schools search for solutions, often it’s the students who are leading the effort.

The U.S. Department of Education has a new plan—the FAFSA College Support Strategy—to help colleges adjust to the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The plan includes more funding, resources, and technology support.
But the effort does not mention fixes for the technical issues that are still preventing many families from completing the all-important application more than a month after it became available.

Over the past several years, high schools across the country have been adding computer science courses, and there is a movement to make them ubiquitous.
A new study of an unusually rich dataset in Maryland found that such efforts can have a significant impact when it comes to getting more students to go on to careers in coding—and in bringing more diversity to the field.

The pandemic did more than just disrupt education temporarily; it also triggered permanent changes. One that is quietly taking place at colleges and universities is a major, expedited shift to online learning.
Even after campuses reopened and the health threat diminished, colleges and universities continued to offer more online courses and added more online degrees and programs. Some brick-and-mortar schools even switched to online only.