Daily Lumina News 030623

Since 2015, more than 22,000 incarcerated people have taken college courses through a federal experiment that has offered Pell Grants to inmates in select programs. Thousands more will become eligible for the grants this summer, when a law lifting a 1994 ban on awarding Pell funds to prisoners takes effect.
That expansion is expected to lead to a boom in the number of colleges offering prison-education programs and the number of students participating in them. Are colleges ready?

Diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts typically emphasize teaching staff and the student body. But physical spaces also have a huge influence on how welcome students feel, according to one higher ed architect.
In this interview, Shannon Dowling of the Ayers Saint Gross architectural firm talks about the connection between DEI and learning spaces, how small changes can lead to significant progress, and why Americans With Disabilities Act compliance is just the start of accessible design.

From free community college to aid for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, key building blocks of the Biden administration's broad effort to shrink the age-old financial gap between Black and White Americans have fallen by the wayside.
Many education and equity advocates fear student loan forgiveness could be next.

Most college presidents say that providing mental health support for students is a priority, but an overall unfamiliarity with identifying mental illnesses can keep learners and educators on campus from accessing the resources needed during trying times.
The Mental Health Association in New York State and the ACHA Gun Safety Task Force at Midwestern State University are working to change that reality—and provide institutions with a better understanding of the supports that can keep college campuses healthy and thriving through the darkness.

For-profit colleges have faced scrutiny for decades, including over their predatory practices and targeting of veterans, abuse of public funding, and high percentages of students who leave unable to pay off their debt.
But little has been done to hold the colleges' executives accountable for their behavior. Now, leaders at the U.S. Department of Education say it's time for the people who run predatory institutions to pay up.

As a student from a working-class background, success in college did not come easy to Brandi Perri. No one, including Perri, could have predicted that she would one day complete a doctorate degree and become a college professor.
Perri credits community college for giving her the confidence to be a successful college student. Today, she is hopeful that her state of Massachusetts will take steps to help other students like herself by making a community college education free.