Daily Lumina News 050123

Most statewide free college programs don’t necessarily help the lowest-income students finish or pay for college. What low-income students really need is help with other expenses, such as housing, books, and transportation—things free college programs don’t often cover.
Now, some states are trying something different. They’re launching “first-dollar” programs, in which money from the state can be applied first to tuition. Low-income students can then use their Pell Grants and other federal aid for other costs of college.

For many college students, warming weather signals the end of classes and the start of summer internship season. Hannah Ng, a junior at Boston College, started her quest in October.
Competition for those coveted positions can be brutal. Ng is a business analytics and finance major. She's applied to 73 internships, both inside and outside of Massachusetts. That is modest compared to some of her classmates, she says.

Today’s learners may take multiple pathways to and through a post-high school education and into the workforce. Stackable credentials are often part of this equation.
A report by the RAND Corporation examines the stackable credential pipeline, calling on state and college officials to raise awareness among low-income students and those from underrepresented backgrounds about stackable credential options and their value through college advising, career services, and other means.

Sonya Christian, the chancellor-select of California’s community colleges, is credited with spearheading a statewide committee on Guided Pathways and helping to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in state investments for that effort.
Supporters of Christian are hoping she will continue to work her magic on a system that grapples with pandemic-related enrollment drops and lags behind lofty goals set by its predecessor to substantially increase transfer rates and eliminate achievement gaps for Black and Latino students.

In recent months, there has been a new focus on admissions workers themselves. In April, the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources released data revealing that admissions departments have some of the worst rates of turnover in higher education.
A 40-year admissions veteran offers his assessment of a profession at its breaking point.

Amanda Lowery, 32, had a dream and that dream included college. But as a single mother who dropped out of high school at the age of 16, getting there would not be easy.
Enter the Anderson Scholar House. The program creates a support system for people like Lowery, helping single mothers attain a college degree while providing stable housing and other resources.