Daily Lumina News 060420

Alexis Turner is a freshman at Kent State University at Ashtabula. If she graduates, she will be the first in her family with a college degree.
Making sure she succeeds is an urgent challenge for this state, and the region. But it won't be easy. The success rate for Black college students at several Ohio campuses—including Kent State Ashtabula—has been abysmal for years, even as Ohio pushes for, and desperately needs, more graduates.

With the threat of the coronavirus continuing into the fall and next year, colleges and universities across the country are struggling with whether to reopen their campuses—and if so, how.
Administrators, professors, a union representative, and students offer their perspectives on the new realities of life on campus in the midst of a pandemic.

A new initiative aims to expand the college pipeline in Colorado and increase degree completion by giving students at the state's 13 community colleges guaranteed admission to a participating four-year college once they complete their two-year degree.
Partner universities in the Bridge to Bachelor’s Degree Program will collaborate with community colleges in joint academic counseling, streamline transfer processes through new IT data systems, and engage early and often with students to better support their transition.

Like many postsecondary institutions, the University of Alaska Anchorage has experienced its share of tight budgets and other crises, including an earthquake and merger proposals.
Cathy Sandeen, chancellor of the multi-campus institution, discusses how her school remains focused on its open-access mission while trying to prevent education deserts amid budget turmoil and other challenges.