Daily Lumina News 030821

The past year has been made of gut-wrenching moments—grappling with a once-unthinkable new normal. One year ago, the University of Washington took the then-extreme step of moving instruction online and ultimately canceling the rest of the in-person term. That decision ushered in a new reality for colleges. Businesses, schools, and other institutions across the country soon followed.
To document how profoundly COVID-19 has altered work and life in higher education, The Chronicle observed more than a dozen people in the space of a single day. This is their story.

The path to and through college is challenging for many students, but the challenges can be especially acute for students who seek a credential or degree while also raising children.
As student parents and the colleges that serve them approach the one-year mark in a crisis for which none could have prepared, a new brief offers a portrait of an important student population whose goals matter not just for themselves, but for their children.

Applying to college has always been harder for first-generation and low-income students than for peers with greater access to support at every step of the process. This year, data shows, that gulf has widened.
And that worries Steve Desir, a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern California. “The handoff from high school to college is a space that nobody owns,” he says. “It is not clear who is responsible for guiding students during that period.”

After dropping out of high school and community college and a 16-year hiatus from any kind of schooling, Melanie Gerner found her way back to Long Beach City College in the spring of 2018. She was 41.
In this essay, Gerner describes the struggles of balancing school, work, and parenting—and why certain on-campus supports can make all the difference.