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FAFSA Simplification: Harder Than It Seems
Making it easy for students and families to apply for federal student aid is a little like the Holy Grail—universally sought for its extraordinary value, but never found. And the search likely will intensify as Congress works to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, writes Terry Hartle. At issue is the FAFSA, the form that students and families must fill out to get federal student aid.
Fighting Food Insecurity on Campus
College and university administrators and leaders around the country increasingly are realizing that undergraduate students are among the millions of Americans who experience food insecurity, or a lack of resources to obtain nutritional food. Chris Nellum looks at what we can do about the problem, which has grown significantly in the years since the Great Recession.
DMU President Angela Franklin: An Unconventional Journey
Higher education leaders from around the country gathered last week in Arlington, Virginia to discuss the progress of ACE’s Moving the Needle initiative, which is working toward the goal of women holding 50 percent of college and university presidencies by 2030. In this post, Des Moines University President Angela Franklin talks about the importance of women leaders sharing their personal stories.
Southern Utah University Program Saves Time & Tuition
Southern Utah University is hoping to save its students time and tuition spent on general education requirements through a specialized new program called Jumpstart GE. The program will launch this fall with an initial cohort of 50 freshmen, who will register for the same 17 credits per semester, cutting general education requirements down to one year instead of the typical two.
UMass Attracts Community College Honors Students With New Scholarship
The University of Massachusetts Amherst has launched a new scholarship program designed to encourage top students from the commonwealth’s community colleges to finish their bachelor’s degrees. The scholarship will expand on the work of MassTransfer, an initiative to encourage students to take advantage of community college’s lower costs before completing their degrees at UMass.
Mapping New Pathways for Native Youth
While 208,838 American Indian and Alaska Native students were enrolled in college in 2012—a 17 percent increase from 2004—46 percent are first-generation and low-income, a population that often struggles with college completion. As the White House gears up for the first Tribal Youth Gathering, Christine Nelson looks at efforts to expand higher education opportunities for these students.
HBCUs Investing in STEM Careers
Several HBCUS are getting an extra boost encouraging careers in STEM fields thanks to a unique new partnership with Google. Designed to diversify the STEM workforce and bring students out west to the hubs of innovation in Silicon Valley, Google software engineers spend the semester on a campus to mentor and teach students and advise the institutions on the curriculum.
Opening Cuba and the World to Webster University Students
On Dec. 17, 2014, President Obama announced that he was restoring full diplomatic relations with Cuba, a historic decision that is ending over 50 years of frozen relations. Higher education has been one of the main beneficiaries of these early efforts. Beth Stroble, president of Webster University in Missouri, explores the future for continued cooperation between U.S. and Cuban institutions.