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.
The higher education sector has become accustomed to preparing for government shutdowns in the past dozen years, even prolonged ones. The immediate impacts are well known: A large number of U.S. Department of Education employees are furloughed, resulting in limited support and technical assistance. The awarding of new research grants is stalled. While student aid disbursements and loan-forgiveness plans continue, no one is on hand to process new applications.
But what happens if the shutdown persists beyond a few weeks?
Every morning, Arely Solis packs healthy lunches and snacks to fuel her as a full-time student at East Los Angeles College. Thanks to federal food assistance, she says she can focus on her studies rather than on where her next meal is coming from. That changed on Nov. 1, when the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the federal program that helps feed low-income families, became delayed indefinitely for the first time in its history.
Meanwhile, colleges are already hearing from anxious students and their families. Staff members are building up their stores of food, grocery cards, and other donations or connecting students with local food banks. The uncertainty, however, is taking a toll on students.
The allied health workforce, which provides specialized care in various disciplines, is facing a critical shortage of workers, including medical assistants, phlebotomists, and technicians.
In this interview, Van Ton-Quinlivan, CEO of Futuro Health, discusses how her organization is addressing the shortage through a debt-free model that integrates 40 education partners with data-driven coaching and wraparound support. The conversation explores broader lessons regarding adult learner success and examines how an essential skills curriculum that includes digital badges helps build confidence for adults who are re-entering education.
A group of University of Pittsburgh professors is asking Pitt leadership to publicly reject a Trump administration proposal to give colleges and universities easier access to federal dollars if they agree to a list of conditions furthering the president’s agenda.
Several universities have already rejected the White House’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” which was presented Oct. 1 to a set of nine schools around the country. Seven of those schools have rejected the compact, saying it infringes on academic freedom.
Indiana University has reversed course on its decision to stop student journalists from including news coverage in the print version of their college newspaper, after weeks of intense criticism from the community and accusations of censorship.
In a letter to The Indiana Daily Student, David Reingold, the university’s chancellor, said he recognized the university had not handled recent decisions around the newspaper “as well as we should have.” The university will now allow The Indiana Daily Student to use its budget “as the editors see fit” through June 30.
A new analysis from The Education Trust warns that the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and gut federal financial aid programs are making college increasingly unaffordable for low-income families, potentially leaving states as their only recourse.
The report examines state financial aid programs in Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota, revealing that while some states are making progress, critical gaps remain in helping students who need assistance most.
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