Daily Lumina News 052224

As recently as 2016, 70 percent of high school graduates were still going straight to college. That figure is now 62 percent. What factors contribute to this new enrollment reality, and how can we guarantee that students continue to have access to opportunities?
On this podcast, policy expert and researcher Terrell Dunn offers her thoughts on today's enrollment picture, the importance of exposing students to diverse career paths, and the potential benefits and challenges of integrating work experiences into the college curriculum.

A new white paper from the Center for Higher Education Policy and Practice highlights the limited potential for community college students and adults with some college credit to obtain a degree because of what it says is a higher education system that has not fully embraced their varied pathways to completion.
In response, some institutions are prioritizing student success by embracing broader transfer credit acceptance and cost-reduction practices, resulting in improved enrollment, retention, and completion rates.

The path to college has not been easy for Marcos Farias. As a first-generation student, he often found himself struggling to navigate college life. During his second semester at a community college, he failed two classes and dropped out.
Despite continued obstacles and challenges, Farias didn't give up on college. Today, he's preparing to graduate and ready to pay it forward.

As the school year nears its end, many college counselors are seeing some high school seniors rethinking their plans to attend college because the revamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid still isn’t working for them.
Meanwhile, advocates for low-income and first-generation students fear a longer-term consequence: that this year’s FAFSA fiasco will erode some of the most vulnerable students' faith in higher education and the federal government.

At pro-Palestinian student encampments on campuses nationwide, a familiar chant—a demand—has rung out: “Disclose, divest; we will not stop; we will not rest.”
Students are using the oft-repeated protest slogan to call for greater transparency in how colleges invest endowment funds and to urge officials to pull institutional dollars from a range of companies, including weapons manufacturers and consumer favorites.

Pursuit, a nonprofit job-training program in Queens, has a track record of success, helping to lift low-income workers into good-paying jobs as software engineers.
Experts say Pursuit, though small, is at the forefront of emerging trends in upward mobility programs for low-income Americans. Now the company is attempting to use its model as a way to lead a workforce development revolution.