Harvard University (MA) student Jin Park remembers being told to always be mindful of his surroundings growing up in New York City, to keep quiet about being undocumented, and to avoid busy streets where he might encounter immigration agents. Park is one of four undocumented Harvard undergraduates who spoke to the Harvard Gazette in May, prior to the Trump administration’s decision in September to rescind DACA, about their challenges, concerns and hopes
Author: Laurie Arnston
New Postsecondary Data Includes Expanded Look at College Completion
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has released a new report providing data on degree-seeking undergraduate students and their completion outcomes. The report includes graduation statistics by race, ethnicity, and gender and is further organized by institutional type and student status (i.e., first-time, full-time vs. part-time students).
Faces of Dreamers: Karina Aguilar Guerrero, Princeton University
DACA recipient Karina Aguilar Guerrero, who is studying public policy and education at Princeton University (NJ), is five Dreamers on the cover of People en Español‘s November issue. Born in Mexicali, Mexico, after years of uncertainty about her immigration status in the United States Guerrero told the magazine she was finally able to breath when the DACA policy was put in place in 2012.
Faces of Dreamers: Linda Escot and Ricardo Lujan, Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University student Linda Escot was brought to the United States at age 6 and dreams of becoming a pediatrician, but says the Trump administration’s decision to rescind DACA “was like a punch in the face.” Recent Southern Oregon graduate Ricardo Lujan, who worked his way through college, is now reconsidering his plans to go to law school.
How Predominantly Black Institutions Help Low-Income, First-Generation African American Students Succeed
Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs) are not well understood in the higher education lexicon, despite serving a large number of students of color: namely, a large number of black or African American students. Robert T. Palmer and Jared Avery of Howard University look at the role of PBIs in facilitating access and success for low-income, first-generation students of color.
IIE Study Shows That Studying Abroad Has a Direct Impact on Skills Needed for Career Success
The Institute of International Education (IIE) has released a new study that demonstrates the links between international educational experience and the critical skills needed for employment in today’s workforce.
Community Insights: 15 to Finish, Or One More Course?
In their third “Community Insights” report, Civitas Learning examines persistence among part-time students and the gap in persistence rates between part-time and full-time students. The brief also provides examples of what institutions successfully working to close these gaps are doing to support their part-time students.
Faces of Dreamers: Roshell Rosales and Fernanda Herrera
The percentage of immigrants in Alabama is relatively small—under 4 percent in 2015, according to the American Immigration Council. As of 2016, 55 percent of immigrants in the state eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)—or 4,803 people—had applied for DACA. Two of those Alabamans with DACA status are University of Montevallo student Roshell Rosales and recent Samford University graduate Fernanda Herrera, profiled over the summer by AL.com.
Faces of Dreamers: Bryan Peña, California State University, Los Angeles
Growing up, Bryan Peña’s parents were guarded about their immigration status—they arrived from Guatemala when Peña was just a baby. But he is a vocal advocate, telling the Los Angeles Times, which profiled him and four other DACA recipients at a rally last month, “This is where I want to live. This is the only life I know.”
Public Research Universities Increase Low-Income Graduates by Nearly 25 Percent
Three years ago, the University Innovation Alliance (UIA), which includes 11 universities across United States, set a goal to graduate an additional 68,000 undergraduates by 2025 with at least half of those students come from low-income families. Since 2014, the total number of undergraduate degrees awarded by UIA members has increased by 9.2 percent from 79,170 to 86,436.
ProPelled: The Effects of Grants on Graduation, Earnings and Welfare
The report found that while Pell eligibility does not necessarily increase or change the likelihood of a student choosing to go to college or not, relatively small additional grant aid at college entry substantially increases college completion and earnings.
Faces of Dreamers: Gloria Oduyoye, William and Mary Law School
Gloria Oduyoye, who was brought to the United States as a one-year-old, is in her final semester at William and Mary (VA) Law School, after earning her undergraduate dual degree in political science and music at Wesleyan College (GA). She is on track to become the first DACA recipient to graduate from law school in Virginia.