At Innovative Educators, we have and always will stand for non-violence, equality, education and kindness. 

Our Friday 5 Live podcast kicks off again on January 22 when we will discuss mental health strategies for students, faculty and staff in this new year with Dr. Jena Morrison.  We hope you will join us!!

The Centers for Disease Control released a study last week detailing the impacts on local communities by institutions that operated in the fall with in-person classes. In the fall semester, those counties with large colleges that had in-person instruction saw a 56 percent increase in COVID cases. The inverse was also true: those counties with large colleges that taught primarily online saw COVD cases fall by 18 percent.  The CDC is asking colleges to do more to mitigate COVID spread as the spring semester starts across the country.

This week, Education Dive and Inside Higher Ed examine a new memorandum from the Department of Education’s Office of the General Counsel which states that LGBTQ students are not included in protections under Title IX.  The Department’s Office of Civil Rights is directed to “only consider certain forms of discrimination based on LGBTQ identity as discrimination under Title IX and said that ‘sex’ should only be interpreted to mean ‘biological sex, male and female’.” The memo is a direct contradiction to recent federal appeals court decisions. The new Secretary of Education is expected to overturn this interpretation of Title IX.

At Innovative Educators, we have and always will stand for non-violence, equality, education and kindness. 

Our Friday 5 Live podcast kicks off again on January 22 when we will discuss mental health strategies for students, faculty and staff in this new year.  As a reminder, Friday 5 Live pairs nicely with a good walk or a warm beverage!

Major changes are coming to the FAFSA process for the 2023-2024 academic year.  The online form will be reduced from over 100 questions to 36.  Additionally, most aid applicants will no longer have to self-report income data on the FAFSA.  The Pell Grant will expand allowing for   1.7 million more students to qualify for the maximum award each year while hundreds of thousands of more students will be eligible for a partial award. The creation of a new “lookup tool” will allow families to see if they will be eligible for Pell aid: the goal is to increase the number of households applying for aid. Incarcerated students will no longer be barred from receiving Pell Grants (more below). The streamlined form is designed to  make the process less time consuming and reduce the anxiety around FAFSA filing.

This week the Hechinger Report examines institutions who are utilizing the pandemic to innovate quickly.  Higher education is notorious for changing slowly, but COVID is providing an opportunity for some universities to quickly transform.  Unity College in Maine has adjusted its academic calendar from a semester system to “eight five-week terms, year-round, during which students can take one or two courses at a time, either in person or online.”  They’ve also lowered the cost of tuition and been able to expand academic offerings.  Other institutions have acquired smaller schools.  Metropolitan State University of Denver quickly created a skills lab to retrain people who lost jobs; the free program is so successful it will continue permanently.

Hard to believe this is our final Friday 5 of 2020.  It’s been such a joy to bring this to your inbox each week as we examine the news of the week in higher education.  We hope that this winter break allows you time to pause, to rest and to renew.  This article on self-care during the winter months has been especially helpful to me.  Our Friday 5 Live podcast recordings pair nicely with a good walk or a warm beverage! Take care, and we look forward to connecting again in the new year!

Inside Higher Education reports this week on the results of a Gallup/Lumina poll examining students’ experience this fall semester.  “Eighty-five percent of students whose curriculum was ‘completely’ in person said their education quality was ‘excellent’ or ‘very good,’ while 71 percent of those learning ‘completely’ online said the same.”  Thirty percent of students reported that they had considered discontinuing their education in the last six months.  Students cited COVID, emotional stress and the cost of attendance as the top reasons they would stop their education.  Half of the survey respondents indicated that COVID will likely or very likely hinder their ability to continue through college.

We’ve reported for weeks about the significant and troubling decline in community college enrollment.  Diverse Issues in Higher Education this week examines how institutions can address the drop in enrollment.  Researchers at the Center for Community College Student Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin recommend institutions clearly communicate with students, letting students know they are supported, as well as mitigating technology issues like access to Wifi and computers.

We hope that you were able to join us for our final Friday 5 Live of 2020! We looked back on this year with Dr. Denise Swett.  This was our final podcast for 2020. We will kick off Season 2 on January 15 as we discuss faculty and staff health for the year ahead!  If you missed our conversation, please check out our Friday 5 Live podcasts and share with colleagues!

This week, the Chronicle of Higher Education examines the reasons behind the bleak community college enrollment numbers.  At times of economic downturn, historically community colleges see increased enrollment.  Across the nation enrollment is down 9% at community colleges. The article highlights the remoteness of online learning as a barrier to enrollment.  In addition, students lack technology and childcare and in this downturn must prioritize work over school.  There is grave concern that  minority, refugee, undocumented, and low income populations have not been able to enroll this fall in community colleges across the U.S., and as a result, equity gaps will only continue to increase.  The article highlights Guided Pathways programs as having a positive impact on enrollment and student success.

A federal judge has reinstated DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.  Over 200,000 current college students potentially would have seen their education put in jeopardy had the restrictions imposed by the current administration been allowed to stand.  The Homeland Security Department is now accepting new DACA applications, and has extended one-year requests to two years.

We hope that you were able to join us for our Friday 5 Live with Dr. Denise Swett.  We examined 2020 and where we can go and grow in the new year.  As always, I left our conversation feeling renewed and excited for the work ahead.  If you missed our conversation, please check out our Friday 5 Live podcasts and share with colleagues!

Inside Higher Ed reports this week on outcomes from Florida’s redesign of developmental education.  According to research published in Educational Researcher, the number of students taking and passing general education requirements in math and English has increased since 2013 when legislation altered developmental education.  The study also found that Black and Hispanic students had greater gains in passing rates than their white peers. Researchers hope that COVID will accelerate additional developmental education reform.

Federal lawmakers appear to be renewing conversations about a new coronavirus aid bill.  A proposal by Mitch Romney, Susan Collins and Joe Manchin provides $4 billion to student loan relief. Republican Senators have created a separate plan which sets aside $105 billion for an "Education Stabilization Fund” and grants legal liability protections for colleges.  This week the American Council on Education reiterated its message to lawmakers that colleges and universities need “at least $120 billion to address the pandemic's financial fallout.”