Daily Lumina News 070822

As schools and communities scramble to find more ways to support the well-being of youth amid a pandemic-fueled mental health crisis, some think part of the answer lies with students helping other students.
While peer support systems aren’t meant to replace trained adults equipped to handle severe issues, they can be a first line of early intervention and empowerment—though experts say research on their effectiveness remains limited.

A question that has long vexed American secondary education is whether to prepare students for college or a career.
Now, with the creation of the Golden State Pathways Program, California has decided to invest in both.

Bowdoin College will extend its need-blind admissions policy to international students, joining just a half-dozen other American colleges with comprehensive need-blind aid programs regardless of citizenship.
The Bowdoin announcement contrasts with recent trends. Less than 20 percent of international students say an American college is the primary funding source for their education, with most relying on personal or family sources or employment.

More public colleges and universities, prodded by new state laws, are ending the use of withholding transcripts from students with institutional debts. This week, Illinois joined that list.
The system's three campuses at Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, and Springfield previously withheld transcripts if a student had unpaid university debts of $25 or more. Officials say the change will provide immediate access to some 10,000 people—about 2,300 current students and more than 8,000 former ones.

Dressed in blue scrubs, the students are gathered near the patient. One measures breathing with a stethoscope; others monitor the heartbeat on the screen. It's all part of a respiratory therapy program class at the Community College of Allegheny County.
Health and medicine have become pillars of the Pittsburgh economy, but training programs are struggling to attract students. Colleges and hospital systems in Pittsburgh are scrambling to respond, devising new ways to showcase job opportunities in healthcare.

Last week, the University of Massachusetts Global named a new chancellor to lead the institution as it attempts to grow its presence nationally and internationally.
In this interview, David Andrews explains his vision for UMass Global, the need for new learning models that target working adults, and larger trends in online higher education.