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.

January 10, 2025

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Painful, Pragmatic, or Both?

Sara Weissman, Inside Higher Ed

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Advocates for undocumented students have their hands full as they prepare for President-elect Donald Trump to take office later this month.

 

They’re fielding questions from nervous students fearful of Trump’s promises of mass deportations and advising college staff members seeking to support these students within legal bounds. But then, the Biden administration dropped a fresh disappointment on top of their concerns when it pulled back on a proposal to make undocumented students eligible for some TRIO programs.

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Private-College Presidents Brace for a Year of ‘Conflict’

Eric Kelderman, The Chronicle of Higher Education

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The job of a college president often involves being optimistic, even when that attitude appears to defy reality. But there was little of that positivity this week as the presidents of several hundred private nonprofit colleges met to commiserate about what they saw as the future of their institutions and the state of higher education.

 

The Council of Independent Colleges’ annual meeting, in San Antonio, instead focused around a theme of navigating “conflict.” With whom? Virtually everyone: elected officials, trustees, faculty, students, alumni, and the general public.

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A Leader in Manufacturing Education Takes on AI

Colleen Connolly, Work Shift

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A decade ago, Greenville Technical College opened a world-class training facility to meet the growing demand for skilled manufacturing workers for companies such as BMW, Michelin, GE Vernova, Vermeer MV Solutions, Bosch Rexroth Corporation, Magna, and Lockheed Martin.

 

Greenville Tech is now looking to replicate that investment for a world of manufacturing driven by AI. The college is seeking $30M in funding from the legislature to finish work on a new facility focused on industrial cyber and AI—likely the first community college to embark on such an ambitious project.

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Trump Wants to Change Colleges Nationwide. GOP-Led States Offer a Preview

The Associated Press

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Nearly a decade ago, intense protests over racial injustice rocked the University of Missouri’s flagship campus, leading to the resignation of two top administrators. The university then hired its first-ever vice chancellor for inclusion, diversity, and equity.

 

Today, the entire diversity office is gone, an example of changes sweeping universities in states led by conservatives—and a possible harbinger of things to come nationwide.

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What Do FAFSA Completion Rates Look Like Post-Pandemic?

Lilah Burke, Higher Ed Dive

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Federal student aid in the United States depends on one form—the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. But not every student fills it out.

 

Recently, researchers at The Century Foundation looked closely at completion rates for the FAFSA and cataloged some surprising trends. Among them: Completion rates for low-income students have mostly rebounded after dips seen during the pandemic, while completion rates for most other income groups have declined. Middle-income students, in particular, still have lower completion rates than they did pre-pandemic.

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Four Campuses Where Students Are Having Hard Conversations

Sahar Habib Ghazi, Greater Good Magazine

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For higher education, the headlines over the past year echo a familiar theme: conservative backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; police in riot gear appearing on college campuses; and presidents of top universities called into congressional hearings.

 

Some institutions are working to change that narrative, creating programs and initiatives designed to foster a culture of understanding and a critical space for learning during divisive times.

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

Three Questions for BrandEd CEO Brandon Busteed

Joshua Kim, Learning Innovation

CES 2025: AI Is Transforming the Workforce, But It’s Not the Only Tech We Should Be Watching

Ramona Schindelheim, Work in Progress

Data and Conversations Point the Way to Better Education-Jobs Linkage

Adam Bruns, Site Selection Magazine

The Future of Jobs, According to the World Economic Forum

Jack Kelly, Forbes

Opinion: Embracing the Future: Why Higher Education’s Transformation Is Just Beginning

Mordecai Ian Brownlee, Diverse Issues in Higher Education

STUDENT SUPPORT

Colorado Wants to Recognize First-Generation Students; This University Wants to Make Sure They Succeed

Tom Hesse, Colorado Public Radio

Success Program Launch: Meet Your Substitute, Professor Health

Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Ed

Law for Learners Offers Free Legal Advice for College Students

Frank Zufall, Wisconsin Examiner

Solution to Dorm Vacancies? Oakland University Rents Rooms to Community College Students

Tribune News Service

Views: Change Is Needed in Higher Education to Support Neurodivergent Students

Rebecca Engle, Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint

Blog: Golden Bulls Adult Student Success Organization: Meeting the Needs of Adult Learners at Johnson C. Smith University

Monique Tuset, Council for Adult and Experiential Learning

COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY

$1.6 Million in Parent Pathways Grants to Help More Pennsylvanians Afford Higher Education

PennWatch

Pell Grants Disbursements

Kent Phillippe, DataPoints

College Costs Fall Significantly at Public Universities, Easing Student Debt Load

Nick Perry and Cheyanne Mumphrey, The Associated Press

STATE POLICY

Higher Education Dominated Much of North Carolina's Headlines in 2024. A Look Back and What's Ahead in 2025.

Leoneda Inge, WUNC

Texas Community Colleges Push Legislature for Additional Funds, Job Tracking System

Daniel Perez, El Paso Matters

DeSantis Appointee to University Board Says Women Should Become Mothers, Not Pursue Higher Ed

 Kate Payne, The Associated Press

Here’s Why Better Funding Doesn’t Equate to Stronger Student Outcomes

Alcino Donadel, University Business

State Renews, Adds Commitments for Northern Essex, UMass Lowell Early College Programs

WHAV

NEW REPORTS AND EVENTS

Future of Jobs Report 2025

World Economic Forum

Webinar: Advancing Economic Mobility for Adult Learners: Lessons From the Field

Jobs for the Future

Academic Freedom and Civil Discourse
in Higher Education: A National Study of Faculty Attitudes and Perceptions

American Association of Colleges and Universities

Virtual Forum: Unapologetically Working for Change: Moving Forward to the Future

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Formula for Success : How to Support Every Student Through Math Pathways

Complete College America

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Daily Lumina News is edited by Patricia Brennan.

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