Daily Lumina News 050924

More policymakers and campus leaders recognize that today's college students include many adults beyond traditional high school graduates, highlighting the diverse range of individuals pursuing higher education.
But recognition goes only so far. Too often, existing systems and programs fail to cater to students who can't make college their sole priority because of work, family, and other commitments. Higher education policy expert Julie Peller weighs in on what "today's students" need to thrive.

Demonstrations on college campuses are forcing some teachers to contemplate how far outside of the classroom their support for students should extend.
Some faculty members have become the faces of pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel movements at their colleges, defending their students’ right to protest even if it means arrests and suspensions.

State support for public colleges continued to rise last year, surpassing pre-Great Recession levels for only the second year since 2008, according to the latest annual State Higher Education Finance report.
But this nominal good news obscures a more complicated story in the report’s data. The growth in state support comes in part due to dwindling federal stimulus dollars and a downturn in enrollment. The former will continue to decrease, and the latter could have worrying long-term ramifications.

America is facing a Catch-22. While college enrollments are decreasing, the demand for talent is growing. Yet, for many learners, the hefty price tag of higher education is all too often a barrier to earning a degree.
In this interview, Lumina Foundation's Courtney Brown and Stephanie Marken of Gallup discuss the cascading effect of college costs on students, enrollments, and communities.

Jeanette Sanjurjo, Christina Romero, and Eboniee Rose share something in common: All three were drawn to teaching but, for a variety of reasons, didn’t immediately pursue it.
The Nevada Forward Initiative, housed within the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, offered them a unique and cost-effective way into the profession. It also helps people with degrees in other fields get licensed to teach.

In what could be Miguel Cardona’s final appearance before the House Education and Workforce Committee—pending election results in November—Virginia Foxx, the North Carolina Republican who chairs the committee, didn't hold back in letting the education secretary know what she thought of his time at the agency.
While Cardona apologized for delays with the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid and pressed for more funding to support investigations into campus antisemitism, his answers frustrated Republicans.