Daily Lumina News 120522

After Evelyn De La Rosa gave birth to her daughter last summer, she knew she didn’t want to let motherhood stunt her academic goals. For the next year, De La Rosa told herself she would say yes to every opportunity that came her way.
Her breakthrough moment came in the form of a new program called the Transfer Scholars Network. The effort partners with community colleges and selective four-year schools to ensure that talented students have a clear transfer pathway.

First, Yale University’s top-ranked law school declared it would end cooperation with the U.S. News & World Report rankings. More big-name law schools soon followed suit.
There is no sign yet that their revolt will spread to become a more generalized boycott of U.S. News rankings of undergraduate and graduate programs. But it has seized the attention of university leaders across the country and elevated long-standing grievances about a process that relies on sometimes-flawed data and tends to reward wealth and prestige.

Community colleges in Texas typically serve a more diverse student body, including students of color, first-time college students, and adult learners. But these schools also face tremendous funding challenges.
That could soon change. State lawmakers are now considering new ways to fund schools that historically have given more students a chance to succeed beyond high school.

Last year, the governor of New Jersey unveiled an unprecedented state initiative for higher education called the "Pay It Forward Fund." The effort gives interest-free loans to students in certain training programs that they then pay back at a rate tied to their post-graduate income.
The layout bears much resemblance to income-share agreements—and these re-branded ISAs are quickly becoming a trend in nonprofit and government spaces.