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January 20, 2025

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California Colleges Confront Loss as L.A. Burns

Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed

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Although most colleges and universities in Los Angeles escaped serious damage to their physical structures from the recent wildfires, leaders there say they face a long road ahead as hundreds of students and faculty try to rebuild their lives.

 

Beyond efforts to meet their communities’ most pressing needs, college officials are trying to figure out how to get through a semester already scarred by one of the most destructive fires in California history. The priority emerging for most institutions is moving forward with flexibility and compassion.

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Community College Bachelor’s Degrees Stall for Years Amid Cal State Objections

Michael Burke, EdSource

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Rudy Garcia was excited when he learned that his local community college, Moorpark in Ventura County, planned to offer a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity and network operations. A father of four and the only source of income for his family, Garcia believed that getting the degree would help him advance in his career.

 

But in the two years since Moorpark first announced the bachelor's degree proposal, the college has yet to receive final approval.

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How University of Arizona Global Campus' Online Recruitment Ads Drain Its Finances

Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, New America

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In 2020, the University of Arizona acquired Ashford University, an online for-profit college that a California court later found guilty of having deceived students about job prospects, transfer opportunities, and degree costs.

 

University of Arizona leaders immediately set out to rebrand Ashford as the University of Arizona Global Campus, with a focus on providing adult learners with affordable college credentials to prepare them for careers in a rapidly evolving global economy. But beneath the rebranding efforts, problems remain.

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The Grittiness of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Marcus Bright, Diverse Issues in Higher Education

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While many people often celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his soaring oratory and visionary leadership, the grit he and many others displayed in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s is equally significant.

 

That grittiness is worthy of study and emulation and offers vital lessons for contemporary struggles for progress, including contending against attacks on expanding access and opportunity in higher education, writes author and educator Marcus Bright in this perspective piece.

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W.Va. Governor’s DEI Ban Anti-Democratic, Censorious, Opponents Say

Katherine Mangan, The Chronicle of Higher Education

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Gov. Patrick Morrisey, the new Republican governor of West Virginia, used his first full day in office to issue several aggressive executive orders, including one ending all diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at state-run institutions.

 

The DEI order, both sweeping and sudden, comes at a time when Republican lawmakers, buoyed by support from President Donald J. Trump, are gearing up for another round of bans and restrictions on colleges’ diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

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The Unlikely Friendship Between a Pre-Med Student and a Man Serving Life Without Parole

Charlotte West, Teen Vogue

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A chance encounter with Colie "Shaka" Long in a Georgetown University theology class forever changed Noa Offman's life. Long, who was on a Zoom call from the D.C. Jail, told the class about being sentenced to life without the possibility of parole as a teenager, his experience with solitary confinement, and how he became a mentor for young men in prison.

 

Offman's experience is just one example of the ripple effects that prison education programs can have on college campuses and their ability to challenge preconceptions, influence career paths, and inspire activism.

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

Landing Jobs, Paying Bills, Finding Success: How Vol Edge Gets Students Real-World Ready

Keenan Thomas, Knoxville News Sentinel

America’s Best College Degrees If You Want to Avoid Being Underemployed

Mark C. Perna, Forbes

Employers Face ‘Skills Mismatch’ Between Job Seekers and Company Needs, LinkedIn Finds

Laurel Kalser, HR DIve

EQUITY IN EDUCATION

'An Alarming Overreach': Florida Professors Sue Over DeSantis-Signed DEI Restrictions

Douglas Soule, Naples Daily News

College Teachers, Students File Federal Suit Against Anti-DEI Law

Jacob Holmes, Alabama Political Reporter

A Black Student at UChicago Says She Experienced Racial Discrimination. Now Her PhD Is at Risk.

Lisa Kurian Philip, WBEZ

Analysis: Lawmakers Seem Determined to (Really) Kill DEI on Campus

Kevin Richert, Idaho Education News

STATE POLICY

Group Weighs Potential and Peril of Performance Funding for Pa. Universities

Ian Karbal, Pennsylvania Capital-Star

Michigan Board of Education Seeks Greater Technical Education Funding

Jon King, Michigan Advance

Legislators Seek Greater Loan Forgiveness for Prosecutors, Public Defenders

Rebecca C. Lewis, City & State New York

State Governments Seek to Leverage AI’s Promise While Mitigating Its Hazards

Melissa Maynard, The Pew Charitable Trusts

Universities Say Expanding Their Missions Would Meet Kentucky's Needs. Will Legislature Agree?

McKenna Horsley, Kentucky Lantern

FEDERAL POLICY

HBCU Leaders Prepare for ‘Delicate Dance’ Under Trump

Sara Weissman, Inside Higher Ed

Under Trump, Changes Are Coming for Oregonians With Federal Student Loan Debt

Tiffany Camhi, Oregon Public Broadcasting

Education Experts Warn Against Potential Dismantling of U.S. Department of Education

Angela Dennis, Diverse Issues in Higher Education

Miguel Cardona Signs Off as Top Education Official

Arthur Jones II, ABC News

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Daily Lumina News is edited by Patricia Brennan.

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