Report shows a majority of students who took a gap year in 2020 did not return in 2021
UNIVERSITY BUSINESS — The latest High School Benchmarks report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows that the majority of students who took a gap year in 2020 did not enroll at colleges and universities in 2021. Despite a huge downturn in the number of students immediately entering postsecondary education after graduating in 2020, a year…
Read More about Report shows a majority of students who took a gap year in 2020 did not return in 2021How experiential learning and policy experiences benefit graduate students
INSIDE HIGHER ED — Efforts are taking shape across the nation to involve more scientists in policy at the local level. Largely absent from that process, however, is an approach that many other academic disciplines use effectively but is lacking in the pure sciences: classes that offer students real-world local policy engagement for academic credit as…
Read More about How experiential learning and policy experiences benefit graduate studentsA look at White House student loan forgiveness initiatives
NPR — The Biden administration’s approach to student loan relief began with improving, extending or expanding a handful of programs that were already on the books. “We’re working really hard to get students the relief that they’re entitled to” through these preexisting programs, Undersecretary of Education James Kvaal told NPR on Friday. While it’s not loan forgiveness, Biden…
Read More about A look at White House student loan forgiveness initiativesColleges face challenges as federal pandemic relief funds end in 2022
HIGHER ED DIVE — The findings are consistent with other leading indicators of the higher ed sector’s condition. Colleges have benefited from substantial federal relief funding, but the 2022 calendar year is likely the last in which that pot of money will buoy institutions’ budgets, Fitch Ratings said Tuesday. Admissions and retention challenges mount, as undergraduate…
Read More about Colleges face challenges as federal pandemic relief funds end in 2022Stop-gap federal budget bill delays higher education funding changes until February
INSIDE HIGHER ED — Congress reached an agreement Thursday to temporarily fund the federal government, once again delaying the annual appropriations process and locking in the Trump administration’s higher education funding levels for at least the next two months. With passage of the stopgap funding bill, Congress met its Friday deadline and averted a government shutdown. The…
Read More about Stop-gap federal budget bill delays higher education funding changes until FebruaryUndocumented students confront barriers post-graduation
HIGHER ED DIVE — The report casts light on how unauthorized immigrant students are faring in the workplace and graduate school as two major events unfold affecting this population. One is the ongoing coronavirus crisis, which has hit the employment levels of foreign-born workers harder than those of native-born workers in the U.S. And the other…
Read More about Undocumented students confront barriers post-graduationEarly data shows possible recovery for college admissions in 2022
INSIDE HIGHER ED — It’s still early, but data released last week by the Common Application suggest that the 2021–22 admissions year could be much better for many colleges than the last year was. For instance, in 2020–21, many colleges reported “delayed application activity in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.” But the Common App’s examination…
Read More about Early data shows possible recovery for college admissions in 2022How colleges can prepare for Omicron COVID-19 variant
INSIDE HIGHER ED — When the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 appeared in South Africa, students at the Tshwane University of Technology were some of the first people to test positive for the variant, which the World Health Organization has labeled “of concern.” In response, officials at the public university in Pretoria delayed exams, the Associated…
Read More about How colleges can prepare for Omicron COVID-19 variantStudents report continued struggles with mental health during the pandemic despite vaccines and easing of lockdowns
U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT — College students are not bouncing back from the changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, a troubling new study finds. Researchers were surprised to find that one year after the start of the pandemic, college students were still less active and more at risk for depression even as social restrictions…
Read More about Students report continued struggles with mental health during the pandemic despite vaccines and easing of lockdownsNew report shows college boards lack diversity
INSIDE HIGHER ED — The board members who oversee America’s colleges and universities are still overwhelmingly white and male, though institutions have diversified their boards somewhat in recent years, a new report from the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges shows. The new report—titled “Policies, Practices and Composition of Governing Boards of Colleges, Universities and…
Read More about New report shows college boards lack diversity