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.
Many college-bound students may be tempted to use artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT to write their college applications or scholarship essays. After all, the technology can quickly organize information and supposedly create humanlike conversational dialogue.
Not so fast. When students use AI to help write their essays, experts say they are wasting a valuable opportunity. At the same time, the software can’t produce the reflective personal essays that colleges are looking for, meaning students who use the technology may not have the best chance at being selected.
Colleges are expecting what could be the largest freshman class ever this fall at a moment of extraordinary turmoil, as campuses face financial pressures from the federal government and political conflict over diversity and other cultural issues.
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to ban affirmative action led to a revamp of admissions processes. Budget pressures and worries about financial aid and tuition loom for colleges and families alike. Campuses have been grappling with protests and the sanctity of academic freedom. And that was before President Trump’s return to power.
Ricardo Alcaraz is taking three of his five courses online this semester at Santa Ana College: an anthropology class, business calculus, and business law. It’s a course schedule that reflects a new reality and shift toward distance learning across California’s community colleges, largely sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 40 percent of California's community college classes remain online as of this year, about double before the pandemic, and a much higher rate of remote education than exists at the state’s four-year universities. That includes hybrid classes, which mix online and some required in-person instruction.
As colleges and universities navigate increasing financial pressure, many struggle to balance mission with sustainability.
On this podcast, Rick Staisloff, the founder of rpk GROUP, breaks down the fundamentals of higher education finance. From centralized vs. decentralized models to the challenges of tuition discounting, Staisloff talks about the major drivers of revenue and expense in higher education. He also highlights why better business intelligence, clearer accountability, and a shift toward ROI thinking are essential for financial sustainability.
Melanie Storey has left the U.S. Department of Education, but she will not be stepping away from the political fray in Washington. Storey, who served as director for policy implementation and oversight at the department’s Federal Student Aid office for the last five years, will become the next president and chief executive of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
The former federal official will take the helm of the prominent association during a tumultuous time for the financial aid profession. In this interview, she discusses the recent upheaval in Washington, its potential impact on the federal aid system, and what financial aid officers need to thrive in their jobs.
Since plunging during the COVID-19 pandemic, international student enrollment in the United States has been rebounding—a relief to American universities that count on their tuition payments. Two months into the new Trump administration, educators fear that could soon change.
Fearful of efforts to deport students over their political views, students from other countries already in the United States are feeling new pressure to watch what they say and do.
.jpg?upscale=true&width=500&upscale=true&name=istockphoto-496708071-612x612%20(1).jpg)
