parents/guardians

Who does need college anymore? About that book title … — from Education Design Lab

As you may know, Lab founder Kathleen deLaski just published a book with a provocative title: Who Needs College Anymore? Imagining a Future Where Degrees Won’t Matter.

Kathleen is asked about the title in every media interview, before and since the Feb. 25 book release. “It has generated a lot of questions,” she said in our recent book chat. “I tell people to focus on the word, ‘who.’ Who needs college anymore? That’s in keeping with the design thinking frame, where you look at the needs of individuals and what needs are not being met.”

In the same conversation, Kathleen reminded us that only 38% of American adults have a four-year degree. “We never talk about the path to the American dream for the rest of folks,” she said. “We currently are not supporting the other really interesting pathways to financial sustainability — apprenticeships, short-term credentials. And that’s really why I wrote the book, to push the conversation around the 62% of who we call New Majority Learners at the Lab, the people for whom college was not designed.” Watch the full clip

She distills the point into one sentence in this SmartBrief essay: “The new paradigm is a ‘yes and’ paradigm that embraces college and/or other pathways instead of college or bust.”

What can colleges do moving forward?
In this excellent Q&A with Inside Higher Ed, Kathleen shares her No. 1 suggestion: “College needs to be designed as a stepladder approach, where people can come in and out of it as they need, and at the very least, they can build earnings power along the way to help afford a degree program.”

In her Hechinger Report essay, Kathleen lists four more steps colleges can take to meet the demand for more choices, including “affordability must rule.”

From white-collar apprenticeships and micro-credential programs at local community colleges to online bootcamps, self-instruction using YouTube, and more—students are forging alternative paths to GREAT high-paying jobs. (source)

2025 College Hopes & Worries Survey Report [princetonreview.com]

On 03/12/2025, in assessment, colleges, community colleges, cost of getting a degree, credentialing, Emotion, funding / grants, higher education, learning ecosystem, parents/guardians, participation, society, student-related, United States, universities, user experience (UX), by Daniel Christian

2025 College Hopes & Worries Survey Report — from princetonreview.com
We surveyed 9,317 college applicants and parents about their dream schools and their biggest college admission and financial aid challenges.
.

Introducing NextGenAI: A consortium to advance research and education with AI — from openai.com; via Claire Zau
OpenAI commits $50M in funding and tools to leading institutions.

Today, we’re launching NextGenAI, a first-of-its-kind consortium with 15 leading research institutions dedicated to using AI to accelerate research breakthroughs and transform education.

AI has the power to drive progress in research and education—but only when people have the right tools to harness it. That’s why OpenAI is committing $50M in research grants, compute funding, and API access to support students, educators, and researchers advancing the frontiers of knowledge.

Uniting institutions across the U.S. and abroad, NextGenAI aims to catalyze progress at a rate faster than any one institution would alone. This initiative is built not only to fuel the next generation of discoveries, but also to prepare the next generation to shape AI’s future.

‘I want him to be prepared’: why parents are teaching their gen Alpha kids to use AI — from theguardian.com by Aaron Mok; via Claire Zau
As AI grows increasingly prevalent, some are showing their children tools from ChatGPT to Dall-E to learn and bond

“My goal isn’t to make him a generative AI wizard,” White said. “It’s to give him a foundation for using AI to be creative, build, explore perspectives and enrich his learning.”

White is part of a growing number of parents teaching their young children how to use AI chatbots so they are prepared to deploy the tools responsibly as personal assistants for school, work and daily life when they’re older.

2025 Survey of College and University Presidents
Learn about presidents’ takes on topics such as financial confidence, the 2024 election’s impact on higher ed & more.

Inside Higher Ed’s 2025 Survey of College and University Presidents was conducted by Hanover Research. The survey asked presidents from 298 public and private, largely nonprofit two- and four-year institutions timely questions on the following issues:

General financial and economic confidence, plus mergers and acquisitions
Politics, policy and the 2024 election’s impact on higher education
Public perceptions of higher ed and the value of a degree
Campus speech
Race on campus
Artificial intelligence
Environmental sustainability goals
Campus health and wellness, including student mental health
Management, governance and the hardest part about being a president

Assistive tech in your classroom: A practical guide — from understood.org by Andrew M.I. Lee, JD
Assistive technology (AT) are tools that let people with differences work around challenges. They make tasks and activities accessible at school, work, and home. Learn how AT apps and software can help with reading, writing, math, and more.

People who learn and think differently can use technology to help work around their challenges. This is called assistive technology (AT). AT helps people with disabilities learn, communicate, or function better. It can be as high-tech as a computer, or as low-tech as a pencil grip. It’s a type of accommodation that involves tools.

Assistive technology has two parts: devices (the actual tools people use) and services (the support to choose and use the tools).

Students who struggle with learning can use AT to help with subjects like reading, writing, and math. AT can also help kids and adults with the tasks of daily life. And many adults use these tools on the job, too.
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Degree in hand, jobs out of reach: Why recent grads are struggling in a competitive market [Jaramillo-Plata]

On 02/07/2025, in business, career development, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, curriculum, expectations, faculty/staff, higher education, parents/guardians, skills, staying relevant, student-related, surviving, United States, universities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Degree in hand, jobs out of reach: Why recent grads are struggling in a competitive market — from cnn.com by Nayeli Jaramillo-Plata; via Ryan Craig

Bellebuono’s story isn’t unique. A recent study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported the widest unemployment gap between new graduates and experienced degree holders since the 1990s.

The struggle to find work
The unemployment gap is partly due to the increase in competition and changing employer expectations, said David Deming, professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.
…
Skill requirements for entry-level roles are higher today than a decade ago, he said. But the change has been gradual from year to year.

10 Extreme Challenges Facing Schools — from stefanbauschard.substack.com by Stefan Bauschard

TL;DR
Schools face 10 extreme challenges

– assessment
– funding
– deportations
– opposition to trans students
– mental health
– AI/AGI world
– a struggle to engage students
– too many hats
– war risks
– resource redistribution and civil conflict

Hundreds of thousands of students are entitled to training and help finding jobs. They don’t get it — from hechingerreport.org by Meredith Kolodner
The best program to help students with disabilities get jobs is so hidden, ‘It’s like a secret society’

There’s a half-billion-dollar federal program that is supposed to help students with disabilities get into the workforce when they leave high school, but most parents — and even some school officials — don’t know it exists. As a result, hundreds of thousands of students who could be getting help go without it. New Jersey had the nation’s lowest proportion — roughly 2 percent — of eligible students receiving these services in 2023.

More than a decade ago, Congress recognized the need to help young people with disabilities get jobs, and earmarked funding for pre-employment transition services to help students explore and train for careers and send them on a pathway to independence after high school. Yet, today, fewer than 40 percent of people with disabilities ages 16 to 64 are employed, even though experts say most are capable of working.

The article links to:

Pre-Employment Transition Services

Both vocational rehabilitation agencies and schools are required by law to provide certain transition services and supports to improve post-school outcomes of students with disabilities.

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and requires vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies to set aside at least 15% of their federal funds to provide pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS) to students with disabilities who are eligible or potentially eligible for VR services. The intent of pre-employment transition services is to:

improve the transition of students with disabilities from school to postsecondary education or to an employment outcome, increase opportunities for students with disabilities to practice and improve workplace readiness skills, through work-based learning experiences in a competitive, integrated work setting and increase opportunities for students with disabilities to explore post-secondary training options, leading to more industry recognized credentials, and meaningful post-secondary employment.

Repurposing Furniture to Support Learning in the Early Grades — from edutopia.org by Kendall Stallings
A kindergarten teacher gives five practical examples of repurposing classroom furniture to serve multiple uses.

I’m a supporter of evolving classroom spaces—of redesigning the layout of the room as the needs and interests of students develop. The easiest way to accommodate students, I’ve found, is to use the furniture itself to set up a functional, spacious, and logical classroom. There are several benefits to this approach. It provides children with safe, low-stakes environmental changes; fosters flexibility; and creates opportunities for spatial adaptation and problem-solving. Additionally, rearranging the room throughout the school year enables teachers to address potential catalysts for challenging behaviors and social conflicts that may arise, while sparking curiosity in an otherwise-familiar space.

How Teacher-Generated Videos Support Students in Science — from edutopia.org by Shawn Sutton
A five-minute video can help students get a refresher on important science concepts at their own pace.

While instructional videos were prepared out of necessity in the past, I’ve rediscovered their utility as a quick, flexible, and personal way to enhance classroom teaching. Instructional videos can be created through free screencasting software such as Screencastify, ScreenRec, Loom, or OBS Studio. Screencasting would be ideal for the direct presentation of information, like a slide deck of notes. Phone cameras make practical recording devices for live content beyond the computer screen, like a science demo. A teacher could invest in a phone stand and ring light at a nominal cost to assist in this type of recording.

However, not all teacher videos are created equal, and I’ve discovered four benefits and strategies that help make these teaching tools more effective.

Building Connections With Students as a Middle School Principal — from edutopia.org by Cristiana Jurgensen
This simple (and tasty!) strategy can help middle school principals get to know their students and create a welcoming school community.
6 Strategies for Building a Sustainable STEM Ecosystem — from edutopia.org by Rich Schiccatano
Upper elementary teachers can use these ideas to create meaningful, interdisciplinary STEM opportunities that encourage experimentation.

A researcher said the evidence on special education inclusion is flawed. Readers weighed in [Barshay]

On 02/01/2025, in Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), education, education reform, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning preferences, neurodivergent/special needs, parents/guardians, strategy, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, United States, youth, by Daniel Christian

A researcher said the evidence on special education inclusion is flawed. Readers weighed in — from hechingerreport.org by Jill Barshay
Clear solutions elude parents, teachers and researchers

I am always happy when my work generates a public discussion. That happened after a January column I wrote about a prominent scholar’s critique of the evidence for including children with disabilities in general education classrooms. Advocates, parents and teachers argued for inclusion, against inclusion and for some hybrid of the two. The director of education at the Learning Disabilities Association of America weighed in, as did the commissioner of special education research at the U.S. Department of Education. More than 160 people commented on one Reddit discussion about the story. Here’s a sampling of views I received or saw on social media.

Build-your-own media literacy calendar — Introducing the 2025 Calendar from Wonder Media [Sue Ellen Christian & Students]

On 12/29/2024, in 21st century, adjunct faculty, adult learning, business, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, curriculum, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, experimentation, faculty/staff, global / globalization, graphics, higher education, ideas, internet, journalism, K-12 related, liberal arts, library / librarians, media/film, Michigan, multimedia, music, new media literacies, online media, parents/guardians, platforms, podcasting, political science, reading, skills, social learning / networks, social media, society, sociology, story, student-related, teachers, technologies for your home, TVs, United States, universities, vendors, writing, youth, by Daniel Christian

Introducing the 2025 Wonder Media Calendar for tweens, teens, and their families/households. Designed by Sue Ellen Christian and her students in her Global Media Literacy class (in the fall 2024 semester at Western Michigan University), the calendar’s purpose is to help people create a new year filled with skills and smart decisions about their media use. This calendar is part of the ongoing Wonder Media Library.com project that includes videos, lesson plans, games, songs and more. The website is funded by a generous grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, in partnership with Western Michigan University and the Library of Michigan.

I love this posting about a teen with Down syndrome visiting his mother’s grave to tell her that he graduated

On 12/17/2024, in neurodivergent/special needs, parents/guardians, youth, by Daniel Christian

A teen with Down syndrome visits mother's grave to tell her that he graduated pic.twitter.com/4QNghy5AVy

— Fascinating (@fasc1nate) October 26, 2024

“The Potential of GenAI to Promote Access to Justice” [Sprague] + “The legal tech trends that defined 2024” [ Black] + numerous other items re: legaltech

On 12/17/2024, in 21st century, Access to Justice (A2J), Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Canada, change, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, parents/guardians, podcasting, society, United States, youth, by Daniel Christian

The legal tech trends that defined 2024 — from abajournal.com by Nicole Black

The year 2024 was one of change. In the midst of a largely unpopular back-to-office push, technological innovation and development occurred at a rapid clip. Legal professionals approached technology with a newfound curiosity and appreciation gained as a result of pandemic-era remote work experimentation. The increasing demand for generative artificial intelligence tools fueled heavy investments in the legal technology industry.

Simultaneously, law firm technology adoption was supported by a flurry of guidance released by ethics committees across the country. As technology upended traditional ways of working, some state bars reconsidered bar exam requirements and others experimented with loosening licensing regulations.

No matter where you looked, change was occurring at a breakneck pace as technology’s impact on the practice of law became inescapable. Through it all, a few key trends emerged that offer clues on where we’re headed in the coming year.

Meanwhile, some states, including Oregon, Washington and Nevada, explored allowing unlicensed professionals to practice law in limited areas, such as family law and small claims. These efforts seek to improve access to justice, representing a revised perspective on long-standing rules about who can —and cannot—deliver legal services.

What to Expect in 2025: AI Legal Tech and Regulation (65 Expert Predictions) — from natlawreview.com by Oliver Roberts

As 2024 comes to a close, it’s time to look ahead to how AI will shape the law and legal practice in 2025. Over the past year, we’ve witnessed growing adoption of AI across the legal sector, substantial investments in legal AI startups, and a rise in state-level AI regulations. While the future of 2025 remains uncertain, industry leaders are already sharing their insights.

Along with 2025 predictions from The National Law Review’s Editor-in-Chief Oliver Roberts, this article presents 65 expert predictions on AI and the law in 2025 from federal judges, startup founders, CEOs, and leaders of AI practice groups at global law firms.

The Potential of GenAI to Promote Access to Justice — from law.com by Joanne Sprague
GenAI-assisted legal support is not a substitute for lawyers, but may help legal aid professionals serve more clients efficiently and effectively.

Generative AI (GenAI) has been heralded as a transformative force, poised to revolutionize everything from medicine to education to law. While GenAI won’t perform surgery or earn diplomas, it holds the promise of enabling lawyers to get due process for more of their clients or even empowering individuals to represent themselves in court. The harsh reality is that low-income individuals do not receive sufficient legal help for 92% of their civil legal problems, and legal aid organizations must turn away one of every two requests they get, according to the 2022 Justice Gap Report. GenAI-assisted legal support is not a substitute for lawyers, but may help legal aid professionals serve more clients efficiently and effectively.

If implemented equitably, GenAI could democratize legal knowledge and empower individuals to navigate the complexities of the justice system more easily.

In her new book “Law Democratized,” Renee Knake Jefferson says that GenAI “has the potential to become the single most important tool in solving the legal justice crisis … if harnessed to do so ethically.” With GenAI, we can envision a possible future of informed self-representation and legal decision-making regardless of ability to pay.

Experimenting in the sandbox — from nationalmagazine.ca by Julie Sobowale
Ontario Bar Association launches AI platform for lawyers to learn tech

The Ontario Bar Association has launched a new, free interactive learning platform for lawyers looking to learn about generative AI.
…
The new learning platform, created to clarify some of that and help lawyers navigate this technology, is part of OBA’s Real Intelligence on AI project. It is being spearheaded by Colin Lachance, the association’s innovator-in-residence.

Users can ask questions to LawQI, an AI assistant specializing in Canadian law, and work through learning modules about prompt engineering, different generative AI tools and best practices. The portal is free for OBA members and Ontario law students.

“Lawyers need to know how AI works,” says Lachance, principal at PGYA Consulting and former president and CEO of the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII).

“I wanted to create an environment where lawyers can experiment. By using the technology, you learn how to use it.”

The Innovation Strategist: Nicole Black — from substack.com by Tom Martin and Nicole Black
Where I interview Nicole Black about how she merged her legal expertise with her passion for technology to become a leading voice in legal innovation

Excerpt from Key Takeaways:

Her role as employee #1 at MyCase in 2012 allowed her to combine her legal expertise with her passion for technology, leading to her current position as Principal Legal Insight Strategist at Affinipay
She believes generative AI will fundamentally transform the legal profession, potentially more significantly than previous technological innovations like PCs and the internet
Her advice for new lawyers includes actively experimenting with AI tools like ChatGPT and preparing for significant changes in legal education and entry-level legal work

Legal Liabilities of AI for Attorneys and Small Firms — from ethicalailawinstitute.org by Trent Kubasiak

Many small firms and solo attorneys could be in for a nasty shock when it comes to the use of AI. A detailed report from NYU’s Journal of Legislation and Public Policy is shedding light on the potential legal liabilities of using generative AI. Co-authored by EqualAI CEO Miriam Vogel, former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, and others, the report underscores a widespread misconception—that liability for AI-related outcomes rests solely with the developers of these technologies.

For attorneys and small business owners, this misconception can be dangerous. As Vogel explains, “There are so many laws on the books that people need to know are applicable.” From lending and housing regulations to employment law, the use of AI—even indirectly—can expose firms to significant risks.

Challenges And Opportunities Of Digital Transformation In US Law Firms — from forbes.com by Chad Sands

So, what is driving the transformation?

Some adoption of new “legal tech” is literally being forced by legacy software companies who are shutting down older, server-based technology platforms. But most law firms are now increasingly becoming more proactive in planning and executing their digital transformation strategies on their own.

This is no longer a choice or matter of “Why should we?”

It’s a question of “When will we?”

There are several factors driving this shift, one being client expectations.

Fresh Voices On Legal Tech with Ilona Logvinova — from legaltalknetwork.com by Dennis Kennedy, Tom Mighell, and Ilona Logvinova

The world of AI and legal tech is evolving ever more rapidly, and it is all too common for lawyers to feel intimidated at the thought of keeping up with the constant barrage of change. How should lawyers maintain their tech competence? Dennis and Tom talk with Ilona Logvinova about her work in tech and AI innovations for lawyers. She shares her career journey and offers perspectives on leveraging technology to create new and better opportunities for attorneys to thrive in their work.

AI Insights for Legal: Ten Key Takeaways from Summit AI New York — from techlawcrossroads.com by Stephen Embry

Despite the shortcomings, it still was a good Conference. (i.e., the Summit AI New York). I learned some things and confirmed that many of the AI related issues being faced by legal are also being faced by many other businesses. What were my top ten takeaways? Here they are in no particular order:

Several ideas for K-12 teachers from Monica Burns out at classtechtips.com

On 12/07/2024, in digital learning, digital video, education, education technology, engagement / engaging students, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, parents/guardians, podcasting, student-related, teachers, tools, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Focus on School-to-Home Resources for the Holidays — from classtechtips.com by Monica Burns

As the holiday season approaches, families might reach out to educators looking for resources to support learning over school break. By leveraging high-quality, vetted resources, you can ensure that the school-to-home connection stays strong, even during winter break. Today on the blog, I’m excited to share some resources for the holidays from the team at Ask, Listen, Learn.

Also see:

Tech-Savvy Approaches for a Differentiated Classroom with Dr. Clare Kilbane and Dr. Natalie Milman – Easy EdTech Podcast 296

In this episode, educational leaders and fellow ASCD authors Dr. Clare Kilbane and Dr. Natalie Milman share expert strategies for using EdTech to personalize learning. Explore insights from their book, Using Technology in a Differentiated Classroom, and discover practical tips to thoughtfully integrate digital tools and support diverse learners. If you’re ready to elevate all students’ learning journeys, this episode is a must-listen!

Also see:

Lesson planning resource — short, engaging videos for students
This post is sponsored by ClickView. All opinions are my own.

Where do you go to find engaging, high-quality content for your lesson plans? Searching for short videos for students might feel like a time consuming task. As a classroom teacher there were plenty of times when I knew watching a video clip would help students better understand a concept, but I couldn’t always find the right videos to share with them. ClickView is a platform with video resources curated just for K-12 educators.

Today on the blog we’ll take a look at ClickView, a video platform for K-12 schools designed to make lesson planning easier. Whether you’re introducing a new topic or diving deeper into a complex unit, ClickView’s range of videos and innovative features can transform the way you teach.

Reflections on “US College Closures Are Expected to Soar, Fed Research Says” [Bloomberg.com]

On 12/07/2024, in 21st century, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assessment, business side of he, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, economics, faculty/staff, game-changing environment, higher education, ideas, law schools, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, legislatures / government / legal, liberal arts, new business models, parents/guardians, policy, reinvent, society, staying relevant, student-related, surviving, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

US College Closures Are Expected to Soar, Fed Research Says — from bloomberg.com

Fed research created predictive model of college stress
Worst-case scenario forecasts 80 additional closures

The number of colleges that close each year is poised to significantly increase as schools contend with a slowdown in prospective students.

That’s the finding of a new working paper published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, where researchers created predictive models of schools’ financial distress using metrics like enrollment and staffing patterns, sources of revenue and liquidity data. They overlayed those models with simulations to estimate the likely increase of future closures.

Excerpt from the working paper:

We document a high degree of missing data among colleges that eventually close and show that this is a key impediment to identifying at risk institutions. We then show that modern machine learning techniques, combined with richer data, are far more effective at predicting college closures than linear probability models, and considerably more effective than existing accountability metrics. Our preferred model, which combines an off-the-shelf machine learning algorithm with the richest set of explanatory variables, can significantly improve predictive accuracy even for institutions with complete data, but is particularly helpful for predicting instances of financial distress for institutions with spotty data.

From DSC:
Questions that come to my mind here include:

Shouldn’t the public — especially those relevant parents and students — be made more aware of these types of papers and reports?
.
How would any of us like finishing up 1-3 years of school and then being told that our colleges or universities were closing, effective immediately? (This has happened many times already.) and with the demographic cliff starting to hit higher education, this will happen even more now.
.
Adding insult to injury…when we transfer to different institutions, we’re told that many of our prior credits don’t transfer — thus adding a significant amount to the overall cost of obtaining our degrees.
.
Would we not be absolutely furious to discover such communications from our prior — and new — colleges and universities?
.
Will all of these types of closures move more people to this vision here?

Relevant excerpts from Ray Schroeder’s recent articles out at insidehighered.com:

Winds of Change in Higher Ed to Become a Hurricane in 2025

A number of factors are converging to create a huge storm. Generative AI advances, massive federal policy shifts, broad societal and economic changes, and the demographic cliff combine to create uncertainty today and change tomorrow.

Higher Education in 2025: AGI Agents to Displace People

The anticipated enrollment cliff, reductions in federal and state funding, increased inflation, and dwindling public support for tuition increases will combine to put even greater pressure on university budgets.

On the positive side of things, the completion rates have been getting better:

National college completion rate ticks up to 61.1% — from highereddive.com by Natalie Schwartz
Those who started at two-year public colleges helped drive the overall increase in students completing a credential.

Dive Brief:

Completion rates ticked up to 61.1% for students who entered college in fall 2018, a 0.5 percentage-point increase compared to the previous cohort, according to data released Wednesday by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
The increase marks the highest six-year completion rate since 2007 when the clearinghouse began tracking the data. The growth was driven by fewer students stopping out of college, as well as completion gains among students who started at public two-year colleges.
“Higher completion rates are welcome news for colleges and universities still struggling to regain enrollment levels from before the pandemic,” Doug Shapiro, the research center’s executive director, said in a statement dated Wednesday.

Addendum:

Attention Please: Professors Struggle With Student Disengagement — from edsurge.com

The stakes are huge, because the concern is that maybe the social contract between students and professors is kind of breaking down. Do students believe that all this college lecturing is worth hearing? Or, will this moment force a change in the way college teaching is done?

Hopping on the Affordability Bandwagon [Knox]

On 11/27/2024, in business side of he, change, changing business models, colleges, cost of getting a degree, higher education, parents/guardians, student-related, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Hopping on the Affordability Bandwagon — from insidehighered.com by Liam Knox
Five selective colleges launched strikingly similar student aid initiatives last week for low- and middle-income students. What’s behind the frenzy to boost financial aid?

The announcements have come pouring in at a time when public resentment of elite institutions has reached a fever pitch, doubts about the value of college are at a historic high and the impact of the Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling on demographics is becoming clear. And after last year’s bungled FAFSA rollout, families are warier than ever of financial aid promises.

“We know what’s going on with confidence in higher education, and one element of that is increasing cost and increasing debt levels,” said James Milliken, chancellor of the UT system.

It’s part of a broader marketing and recruitment effort to raise awareness of the financial aid resources at colleges with staggeringly high sticker prices—she calls it a “clear cost” initiative. And as more colleges expand financial aid, it creates a domino effect among peer institutions looking to compete for highly qualified applicants from lower income brackets, she said.

Tania LaViolet, director of research and innovation at the Aspen Institute

Learning Ecosystems

I love this posting about a teen with Down syndrome visiting his mother’s grave to tell her that he graduated

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