Daily Lumina News 062223

The expectation that the U.S. Supreme Court will soon end or limit race-conscious admissions in cases against Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is eliciting an array of partisan reactions.
But for many Black, Hispanic, and Native Americans whose lives were directly shaped by affirmative action, this moment is prompting a more personal reckoning.

Across the country, Republicans have attacked diversity, equity and inclusion offices on college campuses as being discriminatory, ineffective, and a waste of taxpayer money. They’ve introduced dozens of laws in 21 states to try to dismantle the work of these offices and, in some cases, shut them down.
In response, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor is doubling down on its commitment to one of the nation’s most expansive DEI efforts. But is it working?

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the “golden age” of higher education—where more and more adults were attending college every year—came to a halt, and California’s community college enrollment plummeted to a 30-year low.
The state community college system lost hundreds of thousands of students, with those 50 years and older hit the hardest. Now, schools are trying to reel these older learners back in with new programs and concerted outreach efforts.

Currently enrolled students, as well as people who stopped out or never attended college, are sharing what will keep them enrolled, re-enroll, or enroll for the first time.
In the second half of a two-part podcast, Lumina Foundation's Courtney Brown offers insight on the top three obstacles to continuing or starting education for all three segments, how important student loan forgiveness is to them, what students of color value, and much more.

Michigan is one of nine states to ban affirmative action. David Mickey-Pabello, who attended the University of Michigan at the height of the state’s affirmative action ban, saw firsthand the consequences of that action.
Mickey-Pabello says the experience would later motivate him to pursue higher education research focused on finding solutions to increase college pathways for underrepresented and minority students. He explains more in this interview.

For international students, the U.S. higher education system is considered the gold standard with the best teachers, labs, and innovation that few countries can match.
That may be changing. In recent years, international students have started to look elsewhere, including China, which sends the most students to the United States. Yingyi Ma, a professor of sociology at Syracuse University, weighs in on the latest trends.