Daily Lumina News 042623

America is finally taking note to the unique benefits of Historically Black College and Universities for Black students. Enrollment is up, and after a century of underfunding, some money is coming in from sources both public and private.
A new report from the National Bureau of Economic Research delves into the many advantages that HBCUs offer and what other institutions can learn from them when it comes to helping Black students succeed.

Student mental health is in crisis, as today's learners report record levels of depression, anxiety, and other conditions; strain campus counseling and health centers seeking treatment; and struggle academically, sometimes to the point of stopping out altogether.
What should campus administrators and faculty members be doing to help? A panel of experts discusses this and other pressing issues regarding students' mental health concerns.

Politicians in states like Florida and Texas frequently suggest that chief diversity officers oversee vast bureaucracies of people and programs intent on indoctrinating students and employees with liberal ideas. Others describe them as under-supported but critically important administrators working to make everyone on campus feel welcome and valued.
To help make sense of such dueling perspectives, here are five questions and answers about chief diversity officers.

In the war of words between the U.S. News & World Report college rankings and college leaders, one set of voices may go unheard: those of the students that the rankings are purportedly designed to serve. Has the surge of new criticism reached students choosing colleges? How do they use college rankings, anyway?
Dozens of students offer their thoughts in this interview.

By the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on a case that may well end the practice of considering race as one facet of admissions in all U.S.-based institutions of higher learning.
What would the end of affirmative action mean for students and their families, particularly first-generation and low-income students? And how will colleges and universities pivot from what has been an entrenched status quo? Educators and policy experts weigh in.

The federal TRIO program is a collection of programs that started in 1965 to help underserved student groups go to college. But some students—specifically undocumented students—who need the program the most are unable to participate.
Many TRIO directors and advocates have long sought to change the requirement that students participating in TRIO be U.S. citizens. Now, the Biden administration might be gearing up to heed those calls.