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College graduation rates are up. We can thank community colleges.

Dec 4, 2024
When enrollment declined during the pandemic, two-year institutions boosted support for continuing students.
Dual enrollment programs, which allow high schoolers to take community college courses, are one reason college graduation rates have improved.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Home away from home: The history of college dormitories

Nov 29, 2024
"You could teach the entire history of American architectural style just using dormitories," says Carla Yanni of Rutgers University.
Students at the University of Michigan use a large rolling bin to move out of their dorm.
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

For college grads, the labor market grows a bit weaker

Nov 20, 2024
At 5.3%, the unemployment rate for young university graduates is at its highest in around three years, said New York Fed economist Richard Deitz.
At 5.3%, the unemployment rate for young university graduates is at its highest in around three years, said Richard Deitz at the New York Fed.
Christina House/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

For Illinois students, the promises of for-profit colleges often ring hollow

Jul 23, 2024
For-profit colleges sell a promise of success to marginalized groups, but often haven't delivered. Now, they may have to pay for it.
Some for-profit colleges, including DeVry University, are under fire for allegedly misleading students.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Why alumni magazines continue to be a standby of print journalism

Jul 10, 2024
During the pandemic, many colleges cut costs by taking their magazines entirely online. Since then, there's been a big shift back to print. 
“You can't put a digital magazine on your coffee table," said alumni magazine consultant Erin Peterson.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace

If the divestment movement succeeds, will it have an economic impact?

May 3, 2024
Divestment might not move the needle on government or corporate policy, but it could shift "hearts and minds," says Alison Taylor of NYU.
Allison Bailey/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Free community college programs increase enrollment — and strain staff

Apr 24, 2024
Free tuition programs in two New England states have brought thousands of new students into community college classrooms. But they're also straining some schools' faculty and financial aid staff.
Fernando Garcia-Rodriguez, assistant director of Mount Wachusett Community College Educational Opportunity Center, and Cassie Peltola, a community outreach counselor, look at a FAFSA online application form.
Robin Lubbock/WBUR

For public good, not for profit.

Brenda Brooks dropped out of college 40 years ago. Federal rules mean she can’t afford to return.

Feb 29, 2024
Now 60, she learned that her decades-old GPA disqualifies her from receiving federal loans or grants.
Brooks started college in the 1980s as a young adult with two small children. Like 40 million other Americans, she didn't finish.
Courtesy Brooks

Another FAFSA snag is delaying financial aid offers for prospective college students

Feb 1, 2024
There's a push to convince colleges and universities to extend their admission deadlines to give students — and schools — more time.
The most recent delay means school counselors will have a month less than usual to help students understand financial aid options.
Richard Stephen/Getty Images

The economic implications of graduating college at an older age

A new study finds that "a large fraction — around 20% — of college graduates obtained their degree after age 30."
"Late bloomers account for more than half of the growth in the share of college-educated adults from 1960 to 2019," said Marketplace senior economics contributor Chris Farrell.
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