Dive Brief: President-elect Joe Biden has proposed a sweeping $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package that would send $35 billion to colleges. However, the funding would be limited to public two- and four-year colleges and private minority-serving institutions, a restriction not present in previous relief legislation. Colleges would also likely benefit from local and state support … Read more
Dive Brief: New York University has received more than 100,000 applications for first-year students hoping to start college next fall, a 20% increase from last year. It will enroll only about 6,500 of them. The announcement mirrors news of big growth in early admission requests at other elite institutions. Elimination of standardized testing requirements could … Read more
Dive Brief: The U.S. Department of Education on Thursday released more than $21 billion in coronavirus relief money to colleges, funded by the rescue package Congress passed last month. Each colleges’ cut of the funding must be split between institutional costs associated with the pandemic and direct aid for students. Higher education groups and institutions … Read more
Historically Black colleges saw a significant uptick in donations last year, and several of the incoming president’s campaign proposals pledged them additional funding. Higher education experts say these schools are poised to build on that momentum in 2021. More than a dozen HBCUs recently attracted the interest of billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, who donated some … Read more
Dive Brief: Two University of California advisory groups suggest the system explores modifying an existing standardized test for use in admissions. However, they recommend against the exam being used as a way to select students for entry across its campuses. More than 1,680 four-year colleges are not requiring applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores … Read more
Dive Brief: An increase in reports of hate crimes at the state level drove up enrollment of Black, first-time college students at HBCUs by 20%, according to new research published by Stanford University’s Center for Education Policy Analysis. This amounts to an additional 33 students per school each year, using the average first-time enrollment at … Read more
Dive Brief: A new small study suggests reopening college campuses led to local coronavirus outbreaks, which schools were largely able to manage while their home counties were less successful. The researchers, which examined 30 universities, found cases spiked in the first two weeks of classes at 14 campuses. More than half of the colleges studied … Read more
Dive Brief: Colleges’ non-healthcare employees may have early access to the coronavirus vaccine in some states, though distribution strategies vary widely. New York began offering the vaccine Monday to college instructors who teach in-person. Oklahoma and South Dakota also list college staff among their priority groups. Campus workers in healthcare fields and some older adults would … Read more
Dive Brief: California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget for next fiscal year defies recent pandemic-induced trends and boosts funding to its public universities. Yet the pitch, unveiled Friday, doesn’t completely recover the hundreds of millions of dollars that both of the state’s four-year systems lost as a result of the health crisis. And Newsom said … Read more
Dive Brief: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is introducing a bill that would give the state’s licensed nurses and nursing candidates priority admission to its public colleges. The legislation would prioritize their entry into baccalaureate programs offered by New York’s two public university systems, which collectively enroll more than half a million students. The proposal … Read more