Lumina Foundation is working to increase the share of adults in the U.S. labor force with college degrees or other credentials of value leading to economic prosperity.
Cornell College, in Mount Vernon, Iowa, recently sent an email to 16,000 soon-to-be high school seniors who had expressed interest in the institution. The message contains a personalized financial aid estimate listing the total amount of institutional grants and scholarships the student would get if accepted. About one in five messages includes an estimate of federal Pell Grant support, too. The net cost of attendance is also shown, plus an incentive to apply by July 31—and commit to the college a month later.
By jumping far ahead of the standard admissions schedule, Cornell College hopes to reassure families—and lock a few in early.
Parenting students are enrolled at every kind of college: public nonprofit institutions like community colleges and state universities; private nonprofit colleges, which are often more selective and expensive; and private for-profit colleges, which operate more like businesses than other types of colleges.
The differences in institutional type matter, not only in terms of access and affordability, but also in how well students’ basic needs—like housing—are supported, experts say.
While the number of U.S. farms continues a slow decline, and with technology playing an expanding role in all industries, the rural American job market is diversifying. As a result, the shift from traditional agricultural jobs toward manufacturing, clean energy, and health care is creating new opportunities that can provide better employment options.
In many instances, community colleges will play a key role in providing the skills and training necessary to take advantage of these in-demand jobs.
Ezequiel Wilbur, 24, has experienced a challenging couple of years. A fight with a family member landed him in jail. Once he got out, he struggled to readjust and started using drugs. Then, he discovered the Pine Ridge Job Corps Center in Chadron, Nebraska, where he got sober and landed in an apprenticeship program for painting.
But right now, nearly 100 Job Corps centers around the country are in a state of limbo while a federal judge weighs whether the Trump administration can freeze operations at those centers. And the Job Corps Center, where Wilbur resides, is on the list targeted for closure.
Last week, the Trump administration secured perhaps the most significant victory in its pressure campaign on higher education, forcing the resignation of the University of Virginia’s president, James E. Ryan, over the college’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
The extraordinary wielding of federal power to oust the 58-year-old college president shows the unusual lengths the administration will go to pursue President Trump’s political agenda and shift the ideological tilt of academia, which he views as hostile to conservatives.
With the reinstatement of Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated individuals in 2023, more colleges have launched or restarted prison education programs. Wayne State University in Michigan will join their ranks this fall, offering a bachelor’s degree to incarcerated individuals for the first time.
Twenty-five students will join the inaugural cohort in August, and the university is forging ahead with program plans despite looming Pell Grant cuts.
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