Top Higher Education News for Wednesday
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Lumina Foundation is committed to increasing the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees, certificates and other credentials to 60 percent by 2025.

February 5, 2025

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Hundreds of Thousands of Students Are Entitled to Training and Help Finding Jobs. They Don’t Get It

Meredith Kolodner, The Hechinger Report

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There’s a half-billion-dollar federal program that is supposed to help students with disabilities get into the workforce when they leave high school, but most parents—and even some school officials—don’t know it exists.

 

As a result, hundreds of thousands of students who could be exploring and training for careers and establishing a pathway to independence after high school are missing out. New Jersey had the nation’s lowest proportion—roughly two percent—of eligible students receiving these services in 2023.

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Utah Higher Education Reinvestment Bill May Become a Model for Others

Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes

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Utah’s HB 265 took one step forward last week, passing out of the House Education Committee by a 10-3 vote. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Karen Peterson (R-Clinton), would require the state’s public universities to create reinvestment plans that reallocate some of their funding to strategic priorities.

 

HB 265 has been the subject of ongoing debate in the state, but its unique approach, involving the reallocation and subsequent reinvestment of millions of appropriated dollars, might take on national significance if other states consider it a model for similar bills.

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Higher Ed Is Trapped in Trump’s Chaos

Brendan Cantwell, The Chronicle Review

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The first weeks of the second Trump administration brought disruption and uncertainty to higher education through a torrent of executive orders. The specifics, logistics, and legality of those actions are changing by the day, but the sense of chaos in—and federal hostility toward—the sector seems to be here to stay.

 

Here’s how higher education can find its footing.

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Improving the Quality of AI Certificate Programs

Tiffany Thai, New America

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Employer demand for AI-related skills is rising across industries, and community colleges are stepping up to meet that need. These institutions, which have long served as key hubs for workforce development, play a critical role in training workers in an evolving job market.

 

As these efforts grow to encompass the full range of education and training, from K-12 to applied baccalaureate degrees, policymakers and college leaders can further enhance their offerings by listening to the voices of those enrolled in the programs.

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A Projected Pell Grant Shortfall

David Baime, Community College Daily

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Federal budget scorekeepers are providing both good news and bad news for the Pell Grant program. The good news is that more students are qualifying for grants, and many are receiving larger ones. These expansions largely stem from eligibility changes made in the FAFSA Simplification Act of 2020.

 

The bad news is that this increased student eligibility has created substantial financial pressures on the program. Pell Grants are now slated to run a deficit for the current fiscal year (FY) 2025, which funds grants starting in July.

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The University of California Increased Diversity. Now It’s Being Sued.

Anemona Hartocollis, The New York Times

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Over the last few months, University of California officials say they admitted the most racially diverse class ever to their sprawling system. They have managed to do this despite a 28-year-old state ban on considering race in college admissions, known as Proposition 209.

 

Now, a new group is suing, arguing the university system is cheating.

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

A Collective Workforce Effort

Tabitha Whissemore, Community College Daily

AI Is Driving Innovation and Changing Jobs Across All Industries

Ramona Schindelheim, Work in Progress

Commentary: College Presidents Are Right to Defy Trump’s War on Higher Education

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian, Time Magazine

Blog: Three Questions on the 'Post-Pandemic University’

Joshua Kim, Maggie Debelius, and Edward J. Maloney, Learning Innovation

EQUITY IN EDUCATION

Supporting Adult Students of Color With Flexibility, Relationships, and Empowerment

Wayne Taliaferro and Katy Launius, Lumina Foundation

Diversity Officers and Professors Sue to Block Trump’s DEI Orders

Julian Mark, The Washington Post

Republican Lawmakers Continue to Target DEI at Iowa Universities Through House Higher Ed Committee

Isabella Luu and Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio

Opinion: HBCUs and the Post-Election Landscape: Charting a Path Forward

Patricia Green-Powell and Adriel A. Hilton, Diverse Issues in Higher Education

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

New Data Shows Credential Attainment Increasing

Sara Weissman, Inside Higher Ed

More Than Half of Kentuckians Have a College Degree or Credential

Nadia Ramlagan, Public News Service

Report: Arizona Above National Average for Degree Attainment Among Adults

Alex Gonzalez, KAWC

More Michiganders Are Getting College Diplomas and Skill Certificates

Ed Coury, WKAR

Colorado Now Tied for Most Educated State in the Nation

Jason Gonzales, Chalkbeat Colorado

STATE POLICY

Budget Bills Targeting ‘Underperforming’ University Programs Press Forward

Alixel Cabrera, Utah News Dispatch (Utah)

California Should Continue to Invest in Teacher Recruitment, Retention, Study Says

Diana Lambert, EdSource

New Mexico Attorney General Announces Higher Education Legislation Reform Package

Jessica Barron, KRQE

Community Colleges for Iowa Seeks Increased State Allocations to Bridge Funding Gaps

Brooklyn Draisey, Iowa Capital Dispatch

NEW REPORTS AND EVENTS

Tackling Teacher Shortages: Investing in California’s Teacher Workforce

Learning Policy Institute

Webinar: Achieving Excellence: Community Colleges and the Carnegie Elective Classifications

American Council on Education

Webinar: Texas Community Colleges: How Funding Reform Is Shaping Their Future

The Texas Tribune

Grapevine Report on State Fiscal Support for Higher Education

State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

luminafoundation.org
Daily Lumina News is edited by Patricia Brennan.

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