Daily Lumina News 082123

As Historically Black Colleges and Universities prepare to welcome students for the fall semester, some are struggling to overcome enrollment losses and deficits due to the pandemic, but others are thriving.
Many, in fact, are experiencing a renaissance, driven in part by an increase in funding, their nurturing mission, and an ability to create a sense of belonging.

Christian Adams wants to be an immigration or labor lawyer, so he planned to major in Chinese studies at West Virginia University, with an emphasis on the Mandarin language.
But as part of a plan to close a $45 million budget deficit through faculty layoffs and academic program consolidation, the university may eliminate its world languages department, gutting his major. The school's president says it's a sign of the future at many public universities.

Most students experience gaps between what their families can pay and their college costs. Those gaps are significantly larger for students of color and low-income students compared to white students on average, according to a new study from the Institute of Higher Education Policy.
The analysis, which draws on data from the U.S. Department of Education’s 2019-20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, shows that 90 percent of students who received a Pell Grant still have unmet need, compared to 56 percent of students who never received a Pell Grant.

As more companies, states, and employers move to drop degree requirements, a common refrain is emerging: “Skills are the currency of the future.”
But, as with any currency, the skills that workers accumulate throughout their lives need to be both securely held and easily accessible. Naomi Boyer of Education Design Lab explains about the efforts underway to construct digital billfolds for collecting and organizing the wide range of credentials, certifications, and other indicators of skill-based learning.

When legislatures in Florida and Texas adopted laws this year to all but eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at public colleges and universities, it was unknown what the impact might be on the ground.
An analysis of websites at two institutions, the University of Texas at Austin and Florida State University, offers some clues.

Many colleges around the country that spent decades building up their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are now having to rethink—and in some cases completely dismantle—those efforts.
As of July 2023, 40 bills have been introduced in 22 states that would place restrictions on DEI initiatives at public colleges. Legislation has officially passed in five states: Florida, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas.