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Should colleges help students pay for basic living costs?

Apr 8, 2022
The American Rescue Plan earmarked about $77 billion in higher education relief, with a significant chunk dedicated to helping students with costs outside tuition, including housing, food and clothes.
Above, transit passengers on the Metro C Line in Los Angeles, California.  Grants for schools made available through the American Rescue Plan are providing funds for college students' needs, like public transit or child care.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Would a new public college campus in California help provide spots for more qualified students?

Mar 31, 2022
There aren't enough seats at 4-year universities for qualified students. How can the state meet the rising demand?
Miranda Evans, special projects manager for the city of Chula Vista, stands on the site that the city has designated for a university or group of universities.
Jill Replogle/KPCC

Students face standardized test dilemma as colleges split on their use

Mar 30, 2022
Some colleges are bringing back SAT and ACT requirements. Others have dropped them permanently. What's a college applicant to do?
More than 1,800 colleges and universities in the U.S. don't require the SAT or ACT for admissions, the National Center for Fair and Open Testing says.
basar17/Getty Images

University students flock to supply chain majors

Feb 7, 2022
The pandemic boosted demand for these professionals — and upped their pay. New challenges include last-mile delivery and sustainability.
Widespread remote learning is one change the pandemic brought to higher education. New interest in supply chain management appears to be another.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Letting students work and learn during a unique college gap year

Aug 12, 2021
The program allowed students to craft their own independent study or work within a theme, like entrepreneurship or public service.
Boise State Broncos fans cheer during first half action between the Colorado State Rams and the Boise State Broncos on October 19, 2018 at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho.
Loren Orr/Getty Images

Some colleges and universities look to re-up their commitment to Black studies

Oct 2, 2020
Schools around the country are offering grants for research projects on anti-Black racism. And some are committing to hire more professors with expertise in the study of race.
Florida International University anthropology professor Andrea Queeley, seen here teaching on the public university's campus in Miami earlier this year, has been fighting for years for the survival of the African and African Diaspora studies program. Now the administration is committing to "enhance" it as part of a university-wide effort to battle racism and racial injustice.
Leslie Ovalle for The Hechinger Report

Dozens of Ph.D. programs are suspending admissions

Sep 29, 2020
Graduate schools are saving resources for existing students. But the temporary action could have long-lasting effects.
A student in a face mask studies outside the closed Wilson Library on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Aug. 18.
Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Some small colleges are closing their doors for good amid pandemic

Aug 20, 2020
By one estimate, about 200 private liberal-arts institutions are on the verge of going under.
Students on a North Carolina college campus. Smaller institutions are having a tougher time financially.
Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

Some Texas colleges are offering a new kind of scholarship — to fight hunger on campus

Jun 5, 2018
Several Houston community colleges and universities have launched food scholarships to help students get enough to eat. At Texas Woman’s University, students on the scholarships get free groceries twice a month, so long as they stay in school. The assistant director of student life there, Deborah Unruh, helped start the program after she noticed students […]

Small college closures can leave students in a bind as they seek to finish a degree

May 15, 2018
How can students tell if a school is in financial trouble and may close before graduation? Turns out the government has a rating system but it's not always that predictive.
Mount Ida students and personnel gather outside of Alumnae Hall for a meeting with UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Robert E. Johnson. Students in good academic standing will be allowed to complete their degrees at the school next fall. 
Carrie Jung for Marketplace