Top Higher Education News for Friday
Lumina

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

February 7, 2025

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Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Sparks Panic, Protests, and ICE Impersonators

Alissa Gary and Maya Stahl, The Chronicle of Higher Education

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Last month, as part of the Trump administration’s plans for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, President Donald J. Trump rescinded a decade-old policy that designated colleges as “sensitive” areas not subject to deportation activities except in rare cases.

 

Most institutions already have protocols in place to respond to law enforcement, and many have released statements highlighting existing and updated policies. For some faculty and student groups, campus guidelines aren’t going far enough. So they’re mobilizing to protect their peers.

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A Mom, a Student: How a San Antonio Parent Juggles School, Work, and Child Care for a Better Future

Sneha Dey, The Texas Tribune

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One in four Texas students is raising a child while working toward their college degree. For Isabella Mapes, it has meant little sleep and, at times, a lonely journey.

 

Texas desperately needs these students to meet a growing demand for workers with postsecondary credentials. But while student parents get better grades than their classmates, they are also less likely to finish school: Fewer than four in 10 parenting students get their degree within six years, compared to six in 10 students without children.

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As White House Targets Agencies, Education and Training Initiatives Could Be on the Chopping Block

Paul Fain, Work Shift

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The Trump administration is pressing forward with sweeping efforts to downsize the federal government, including the elimination of workers, funding, and entire agencies.

 

Led by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency team, White House officials say they are seeking deep budget cuts and assurance that continuing federal work aligns with presidential priorities. A widening range of programs related to workforce education and training could be in the crosshairs.

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Viewing Student Parent Homelessness Through an Equity Lens

Richard Davis Jr., New America

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As the sun sets on a community college campus, a young mom gathers her textbooks, picks up her toddler from daycare, and walks hand-in-hand to their Honda Odyssey. Once inside, she carefully arranges blankets in the backseat, trying to make the cramped space feel a little more like home. Stories like hers are far too common among the roughly 213,900 parenting college students experiencing homelessness.

 

Yet, this crisis doesn’t impact all parenting students equally. Black and Latino student parents experience homelessness at greater rates than the overall undergraduate population. These disparities reflect the compounded effects of systemic inequities, including structural barriers that have long hindered equal access to economic opportunities and educational success.

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State Money for Ohio Colleges May Be Tied to Whether Graduates Get Employed

Jessie Balmert, Cincinnati Enquirer

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Ohio could soon tie millions for state universities and colleges to whether their graduates land jobs.

 

Ohio doles out more than $2 billion annually to public universities and colleges based on the number of students completing courses, certificates, and degrees. Under Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's new plan, a portion of that funding—initially about $100 million of the annual pot—would be tied to whether graduates are employed.

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Selective Colleges Double Down on QuestBridge

Liam Knox, Inside Higher Ed

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As colleges and universities look for new ways to diversify their student bodies and increase access to low-income students, one national program is emerging as an increasingly popular tool in those efforts.

 

QuestBridge, a national match program that places promising low-income students at selective colleges, is seeing record early-admittance rates and new university partnerships. What’s behind the surge in interest?

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

When Adopting AI, Colleges Shouldn’t Override Human Connections

Ruth Bauer White, eCampus News

Blog: Three Questions on ‘The Work Goes On: Centering Relationships and Reimagining Practices That Support Learning’

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

EQUITY IN EDUCATION

As the DEI Crackdown Escalates, Faculty Choose Between Silence and Resistance

Ryan Quinn, Inside Higher Ed

Texas Lawmakers May Ban Certain Lessons at State Colleges Under Expanded DEI Crackdown

Jessica Priest and Sneha Dey, The Texas Tribune

How Are Changes to College DEI Programs Affecting Students’ Mental Health?

Nicole Clark and Zoe Slemmons, Spectrum News

Opinion: What Dr. Ibram Kendi’s Appointment to Howard Means for HBCUs—and Black Scholarship

Crystal A. deGregory, Diverse Issues in Higher Education

FEDERAL POLICY

High Costs, Uneven Value: Repairing the Federal Role in Postsecondary Education

Preston Cooper, American Enterprise Institute

Poll Finds Abolishing the Education Department ‘Wildly Unpopular’

Sara Weissman, Inside Higher Ed

How the Department of Education Came Into Existence

Robin Young and Gabrielle Healy, WBUR

STATE POLICY

Arizona to Consider a Bill That Caps University Presidents’ Salaries

Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes

Outcomes-Based Funding: Why It Should Focus on Students’ Earnings

Alcino Donadel, University Business

Higher Education Leaders See Challenges in Governor’s Budget Proposal

Keith Phaneuf and Jessika Harkay, CT Mirror

Iowa House Higher Education Committee Focuses on Civics Education in Meeting, Legislation

Brooklyn Draisey, Iowa Capital Dispatch

NEW REPORTS

Geography of Opportunity: Mapping the Availability of Broad-Access Institutions

The Institute for College Access & Success

Long-Term Evaluation of the Urban
Alliance High School Internship
Program

Urban Institute

How Much Do College Students Get From CalFresh Each Month?

California Policy Lab

Reducing College Costs for Low-Income Students

Public Policy Institute of California

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

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