A new deep-dive into the 2022 Lumina Foundation-Gallup study on assessing the relationship of postsecondary education to different economic and
non-economic outcomes finds that half of Hispanic students report finding it difficult to maintain their college enrollment, the highest share of any race or ethnicity surveyed. Hispanic students are the demographic most likely to have thought about quitting college over a six-month period. Emotional strain, mental health issues, financial constraints, and challenging coursework were cited as factors in considering withdrawal. However, students reported that financial aid, program satisfaction, greater personal income, flexible schedules, and a desire to graduate early were all factors that kept them enrolled.
An op-ed in Higher Ed Dive argues that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against race-conscious admissions has implications for diversity and inclusivity on college campuses, stating that colleges must take targeted action to strengthen and maintain campus diversity initiatives. The article asserts that test-free admissions policies may be more effective in promoting campus diversity than test-optional procedures, as well as making a case for proactive outreach, equity-minded recruitment, and enhanced visibility from elite universities to prospective students in disadvantaged communities.
New College of Florida settled with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights following allegations of discrimination against people with disabilities, Higher Ed Dive reports. The Office of Civil Rights found New College’s website and social media to be inaccessible to those with disabilities. Richard Corcoran, interim president of New College, stated that the college will correct website issues in compliance with federal disability standards.
Inside Higher Ed reports on a recent study by Temple University’s Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice that examined how the pandemic affected students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. According to the study, over 70% of Indigenous, Native American, and Black pupils reported feeling insecure about their fundamental necessities, compared to 54% of white students. The research states that Pacific Islander and Indigenous students made up the majority of students who reported having trouble accessing a computer or the internet, accounting for four out of every five students.
The American Anthropological Association canceled a panel titled “Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby: Why biological sex remains a necessary analytic category in anthropology” from their annual conference, The New York Times reports. The panel would contend that biological sex is still fundamentally important in many fields of study. Other academics, however, said that the panelists were promoting detrimental viewpoints that ran counter to accepted scientific knowledge. The scheduled panelists included Silvia Carrasco, a social anthropology professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, who told Inside Higher Ed that “trans children do not exist; they are being fabricated en masse by a very well-planned and financed initiative that has to do with transhumanism and the loss of women’s rights in democracy.” The organizer of the panel was Kathleen Lowery of the University of Alberta, who tacked to her office door an impression of William Carlos Williams’ “This Is Just to Say.” The parody read: “I have ignored the pronouns that were in your profile, and which you were probably hoping were important. Forgive me they were ridiculous so needy and so mad.” In the wake of controversy, the association’s executive board canceled the panel and issued a statement that the ideas advanced in the session would harm members belonging to the LGBTQI+ community.