Top Higher Education News for Tuesday
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 25, 2025

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TOP STORIES

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Weeks and Months After Natural Disaster, Colleges Stand by Their Students

Johanna Alonso, Inside Higher Ed

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The summer after the COVID-19 pandemic began, Glendale Community College in California launched its basic needs department with a staff of one, in the hopes that the university would be well positioned to support its students if another disaster came to pass.

 

Four-and-a-half years later, the department sprang into action. This time, wildfires erupted in Los Angeles and the neighboring suburbs in January, destroying roughly 13,000 houses, including many inhabited by GCC students and their families. Students also lost jobs and cars due to the blazes. Others kept their homes but had to evacuate for multiple weeks.

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Florida Dreamer Tuition Policy Reversal Threatens $25 Million Economic Impact

Walter Hudson, Diverse Issues in Higher Education

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Education advocates and immigration policy experts are warning of significant economic and workforce impacts following Florida's decision to rescind in-state tuition waivers for undocumented students who graduated from Florida high schools.

 

The policy change, signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis, marks a significant shift in the state's approach to higher education access for Dreamers.

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Community College Students Take to the Capitol

The Education Trust

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Policymaking can often feel distant and disconnected from the people it affects most. However, when students participate in the process, the conversations shift from abstract policy debates to real-life impact.

 

That's why efforts such as Community College Day and the Justice Fellows Policy Program are so important. When students engage in direct advocacy, they gain firsthand knowledge of the democratic process and grow as leaders capable of driving systemic change well into the future.

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Report: Competition for College Internships Is Getting Tougher

Laura Aka, WorkingNation

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Internships have always been an important step in the college-to-career journey, and that’s true now more than ever. Today’s students rely on internship experience not only to stand out in a competitive job market but also to explore potential career paths and build the skills they’ll need to succeed in their first job and beyond.

 

A new survey of more than 6,000 students and recent graduates identifies five internship trends to watch in 2025.

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What It Would Mean to Eliminate the Education Department

Jordan-Marie Smith, Courtney Dorning, Scott Detrow, and Elena Burnett, NPR

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President Donald Trump has repeatedly called the U.S. Department of Education "a big con job." The goal now is to reportedly eliminate one of the most high-profile departments in the federal government.

 

Two former education secretaries—John King and Margaret Spellings—take a deep dive into what this means and whether it's possible.

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The Trump Administration Wants Colleges to End DEI Programs. But What Do Those Programs Do?

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, LAist

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Earlier this month, a "Dear Colleague" letter from new leaders at the U.S. Department of Education sent shockwaves through higher education institutions. The department gave schools until the end of February to stop using race to admit students or for any other consideration, including any kind of targeted programs, graduation services, or dormitories.

 

Some California college educators are waiting for leaders of their campuses to give them clear direction as to whether diversity programs and efforts will be curtailed or shut down—or whether the institutions will resist the Trump administration’s directions in court. How colleges and universities react could shape generations to come.

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

Here Are Four Ways Curriculum Must Evolve for a 21st-Century Breakthrough

Alcino Donadel, University Business

From Vocational Education to Career and Technical Education

Bruno Manno, Forbes

STUDENT SUPPORT

How One Community College Is Leveraging Perkins to Support Student Parents

Tia Caldwell, New America

Opinion: Why Every Campus Should Have a Student Director of Public Health

Elsabella Wang, Harvard Public Health

‘There for Our Students When the Student Needs It’

Samantha Davis, Marshall Independent

STATE POLICY

Vocational School Lotteries Proposal Gets Cool Reception From Activists

Chris Lisinski, State House News Service

Opinion: Senate Bill 1 Was Overwhelmingly Opposed in Public Testimony. Why Did It Pass?

Deborah Smith, Akron Beacon Journal

Opinion: An Investment in Higher Education Is an Investment in Oregon’s Economy

Jayathi Murthy, Jordan Papé, and Karl Scholz, The Oregonian

Opinion: Senate Bill to Ban DEI and Faculty Strikes Is a Solution in Search of a Problem

Nicholas Abel, The Enquirer

FEDERAL POLICY

Republicans' Love/Hate Relationship With the Education Department

Cory Turner, NPR

What Cuts in Institute of Education Sciences Funding Means For Higher Education Research

Maria Carrasco, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators

Commentary: Brookings Scholars’ Reflections on the U.S. Department of Education

Brookings Institution

NEW REPORTS AND EVENTS

Making It Work: Ten Stories of Promise and Progress in High School Work-Based Learning

American Student Assistance and Bellwether

50-State Comparison: Developmental Education Policies

Education Commission of the States

Virtual Forum: Improving Operations With AI: Case Studies

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Accounting for Additional Credentials in Postsecondary Earnings Data

Urban Institute

Beyond Transfer: Insights From a Survey of American Adults

Public Agenda

A Conservative Vision for Higher Education Reform

American Enterprise Institute

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

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