In this week’s roundup:
The Biden administration is taking a look at changing Title IX regulations, admissions continues to be a hot topic this spring and international students are speaking out about how the pandemic affected college for them.
Warmer weather is on the horizon and we are ready to kiss this winter goodbye!
March 4 – 10
- On Monday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order directing the Education Department to conduct an expansive review of Title IX regulations. Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s controversial rule strengthened the rights of those accused of sexual harassment or assault, and Biden noted in his new order that Education Secretary Miguel Cardona should consider “suspending, revising or rescinding” it.
- The Supreme Court ruled this week in favor of two former Georgia Gwinnett College students who sued the institution over restrictive campus free speech policies that barred them from speaking out about religion and distributing religious literature.
- As the pandemic and economic recession exacerbate food insecurity, some state lawmakers are renewing efforts to pass hunger-free campus legislation.
- Some spring breakers are still making their way to popular destinations, including Florida, despite COVID-19 regulations. Others are just heading home, if they’re going anywhere at all.
- Proposed edits to the Second Chance Pell program for incarcerated individuals show promising progress for enabling more people to take advantage of the program and receive college credits while incarcerated.
- The President of Norwich University moved into student housing during an in-room lockdown, learning from his previous experiences with student suicide partially brought on by pandemic quarantine and isolation.
- The systemic lack of resources for low-income and first generation students compounded with challenges to finishing the application process and the burdens of living through a pandemic, have groups like the National Association for College Admission Counseling fear that higher education is missing out on “an entire generation.”
- When discussing the fall 2020 return to campus and impending football season, presidents, chancellors and athletic directors from the Big Ten conference tried to keep their conversations out of public record spaces, leading to questions about transparency at these institutions.
- Admissions staff are wary at best when it comes to feeling comfortable making predictions for fall 2021 enrollment. The uncertainty about yields will likely lead to miles-long waitlists.
- International students have been hit especially hard by the pandemic, with students having to choose between staying in America or heading home, with either decision resulting in strain on their personal and academic lives.
