Daily Lumina News 101223

The violence in Israel and Gaza is reigniting tensions on U.S. college campuses over a conflict that, for decades, has fueled student and faculty activism and divided academic communities.
Across the country, college leaders appear to be walking a tightrope: renouncing the violence and pleading for security and civility on their campuses, while often sidestepping the contentious politics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

At a small private university in Ohio, faculty and staff contend they haven’t been paid consistently all year. Students say they’ve been waiting on tuition refunds for months. And the first half of the fall semester was called off shortly before it was supposed to begin.
Now the clock is ticking for Union Institute and University. It has until the end of this week to secure $12 million in credit or lose access to federal aid.

Ever since President Joe Biden said that his administration would try again to offer broad student debt relief after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his first plan, experts and advocates have wondered what shape that relief would take.
This week, the U.S. Department of Education offered some answers.

Reforms to the federal financial aid process that will more accurately calculate a student’s need and improve estimation of these costs are on the horizon. While these changes represent an important step in the right direction, more must be done to help parenting students pay for college.
Building more generous financial aid systems, financial support for child care, and support for emergencies can help ensure that student parents not only access but also complete college, say advocates.

Addressing inequities in student success is the core tenet of Achieving the Dream’s mission and has been since its inception 20 years ago. This work is particularly critical for the nation’s community colleges, which enroll a higher share of students who are racially and economically marginalized, first-generation students, adult learners, and student parents.
Achieving the Dream is now releasing an 87-page toolkit that brings together lessons from research and two decades of experience working with community colleges to create more equitable institutions.

At a time when the Latino population in the United States is growing and students are still facing daunting obstacles, Excelencia in Education is recognizing nine institutions for their clear and decisive commitment to Latino student success with the "Seal of Excelencia."
Additionally, five institutions that previously received the designation will re-certify their status by demonstrating how they continue to utilize the Seal’s core principles to create an environment in which Latino students can thrive.