Daily Lumina News 042423

At a time when community colleges nationally are struggling with declining enrollment and disappointing completion rates, two community colleges serving large rural sections of Texas and California are seeing impressive gains.
Amarillo College and Imperial Valley College recently shared top honors at an awards ceremony in Washington, splitting a $1 million prize from the Aspen Institute for their work to improve student outcomes.

For years, consultants who were paid to help colleges draw more applicants urged premium amenities, posh student centers, and professional-grade athletic complexes.
But, in the current environment, an unlikely selling point is quietly emerging: access to reproductive rights.

Like many U.S. postsecondary institutions, the University of Washington has sought to create the kind of diverse student body that education advocates would like to see. But for 25 years it has had to do so without one critical tool: affirmative action.
Affirmative action has been illegal in Washington state since 1998. Eight other states have also banned affirmative action: Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma. The movement has spread slowly, but that might be about to change.

At many of the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities, just 1 in 3 undergraduate students are men. It’s true at some of the largest public institutions, including Texas Southern University, and some of the most-selective private ones, such as Howard University.
And, it is happening even as overall enrollment numbers at some HBCUs are rising. HBCUs educate most of the nation’s Black engineers, lawyers, and judges. Fewer men in these programs means that the diversity of the professions will suffer and that the racial wealth gap will grow.

As the nation powers up to transition to clean energy, the need for electricians is taking on a heightened focus. But how many of these skilled people are there in the labor force to complete the task?
Not enough, according to experts. Some companies are betting on apprenticeship programs to provide a solution.

Over the past year, Florida and Texas have made headlines over efforts by lawmakers to create sweeping reforms to higher education. Now, the state of Ohio is taking center stage.
Last week, concerned college students, worried university staff, and outraged advocates packed the Ohio Statehouse to speak out against a massive higher education bill—Senate Bill 83—that aims to fundamentally transform college campuses.