Daily Lumina News 021224

As college costs soar and demand for skilled labor rises, programs that prepare students for well-paid work are gaining popularity. In 2022, 36 states enacted policies promoting career training for high schoolers, college students, and adults.
Yet many states struggle to answer a basic question: Is career education working?

More states are considering bans on the practice of granting admissions preferences to relatives of alumni—and may even go after such legacy policies at private colleges, an unprecedented step.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court largely banned affirmative action last June, opposition to legacy admissions has been on the rise. Politicians in both parties and advocates have condemned the practice as discriminatory and say it unfairly elevates white, wealthy college applicants.

PEN America has released a list of state bills that the free speech organization considers “dangerous” for higher education because they attempt to limit speech and other forms of expression on college campuses.
The six bills range in state of origin, area of focus, and scope of influence. And one, proposed in Utah, has already become law.

Insufficient child care and early learning opportunities present significant barriers for the 1.7 million parents attending community colleges today.
A new five-year initiative from the National Head Start Association and the Association of Community College Trustees aims to help by bringing more Head Start centers to community college campuses throughout the country.

Last week, the University of California and California State University systems joined a growing list of schools to give applicants extensions on their intent to register now that colleges won’t get federal financial aid data until at least March.
At least 25 schools will no longer require commitments by May 1, since they may not be able to send admitted students financial aid offers until April. A few schools have created new aid forms or processes on the fly to award their own grants and scholarships.

Javier Estrada is a full-time student at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon. He also works 15 hours a week as a package handler for FedEx. But last month’s ice storm meant Estrada wasn’t able to work as usual, and he missed out on vital income to pay for his housing and food.
Estrada found a lifeline at MHCC, which provided emergency funds through its Office of Basic Needs. Estrada hopes his story will help push forward a state bill to pump more state money into college basic needs programs.