Reported by Higher Ed Dive, this increase comes 10 months ahead of schedule in response to a state-wide worker shortage, hoping both to attract new local employees and retain their existing workforce that has stayed through the pandemic.

Reported by Higher Ed Dive, The U.S. Department of Education is tripling the number of participating colleges and universities, from 67 up to 200 based on the positive results of the first six years of this pilot.

Reported by Inside Higher Ed, Harvard University’s Kennedy School has announced their new integrated enrollment staffing model, in which their enrollment counselors will also serve as financial aid counselors.

Reported by Higher Ed Dive, 10,000 high school students from low-income districts will take asynchronous cloud computing classes this fall, earning an AWS certification along with college credit from ASU.

Reported by EdSurge, a 2019 study found that University of Maryland, Baltimore County was the most successful at retaining diverse STEM students. From their Meyerhoff Scholars program, to their alumni mentorship strategies, to their high school bridge programs, UMBC has a comprehensive approach to enrolling and retaining diverse STEM students.

Reported by EdSurge, we’re up against a sheer logistical limitation for our faculty alone to be able to fully support the academic and personal struggles of our students.

Reported by EdSurge, while the emergency remote learning experience of Spring 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic provided a fairly negative online experience for both students and faculty, a recent study showed that faculty opinions of online learning haven’t actually improved since.

Reported by Higher Ed Dive, both Northeastern and Boston University are requiring weekly testing for their on-campus students and employees. Above and beyond the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations, this weekly testing mandate also includes their fully vaccinated students and employees.

Reported by Inside Higher Ed, a full 43% of University of California freshman came from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups this year, the most in system history, through a 13% total increase in student applications.

Reported by Inside Higher Ed, the high school graduating class of 2021 completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid at a rate nearly 5% lower than the preceding class. For schools with majority black and latino student populations, this decline was greater than 8%. And with the FAFSA being the primary mechanism for students to access federal grants and loans as well as state and institutional aid, this is an incredibly depressing statistic.