You might say "every day is 'bring your child to college day'" at New Hampshire's Manchester Community College. On-campus childcare programs are helping to retain students and provide others with hands-on work experience. Students can apply for a regular childcare slot or Head Start, which offers comprehensive education, health and nutrition services to low-income families.

Carrie Marshall, early childhood education professor at Manchester Community College, says the programs can help remove barriers to higher education.

"You know, your child can just come right here with you. You can go to your classes. You can go to the library. Sometimes, they'll go and work and then come back and get their child," Marshall explained.

Research shows that access to affordable childcare is linked to higher graduation rates among college students with children.

Marshall added the campus location also offers other students real-world work experience at a time when childcare workers are in high demand.

Nearly one-quarter of college students are raising children, but fewer than 100 community colleges offer a Head Start classroom on-site. A new five-year initiative called Kids on Campus aims to nearly double that number, and supporters are taking cues from well-established programs like the one in Manchester. Marshall says the program is creating student pathways for upward mobility and exposing others to a rewarding new career in childcare.

"In our program, we've had parents who bring their children in as parents into the Head Start program and then enroll into the early childhood program and become teachers themselves," she continued.

Marshall added students regularly discuss the current shortages in childcare and median low pay for early childhood education workers, which in New Hampshire is about $13 an hour. Still, she said, most students are passionate about their careers.

State data first reported by EdSource show that fraudsters have stolen more than $7.5 million in student financial aid from California community colleges so far this year.

The theft amounts to less than one-tenth of 1% of student aid awarded in the Golden State.

Victor DeVore, dean of student services with the San Diego Community College District, said they use technology to flag suspicious applicants, and require them to submit proof of identity and residency, but it's still a game of cat and mouse.

"Last year, we had about 10,000 fraudulent applications that we blocked," said DeVore. "But even with that, every time we have some kind of metric or filter, the fraudsters are able to get through that."

The California Community College Chancellor's office says about 25% of applications are flagged as suspected fraud, up from 20% two years ago - as both fraud and its detection get more sophisticated.

The problem got worse during COVID as so many classes went online, making it difficult to require students to get financial aid checks in person.

The financial fraud means less money goes to students in need.

But Nicole Albo-Lopez, vice chancellor of educational programs and institutional effectiveness with the Los Angeles Community College District, said the enrollment fraud that goes with it has real consequences.

"The biggest frustration is when our classes are being filled by individuals that have no intention of actually attending the class," said Albo-Lopez, "keeping students from completing their educational goals within a preferred time frame, because they'll have to wait a semester or two to be able to take that class."

Many schools now require students to meet via zoom with staff trained to detect fraud - and they drop students who haven't verified their identity a few weeks before classes start.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.




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Educators across the state are watching the University of North Texas, as the school denies it overstepped the parameters of Senate Bill 17.

The legislation went into effect in January and forbids public colleges and universities from having Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices and programs.

The accusations were made after UNT faculty members realized the university changed course titles and class descriptions.

Brian Evans, Ph.D, president of the Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors - said they first noticed the changes in May.

"You had about a couple of hundred of fall course syllabi that the UNT administration required instructors to scrub words like class, equity, and race," said Evans. "And then more recently - in October - the UNT administration censored over 200 courses in a similar way."

During a faculty senate meeting, UNT Provost Michael McPherson said the changes were not related to SB 17, but were an exercise to bring the College of Education into alignment with standardized testing.

Evans' organization, along with two other education groups, sent letters of concern to the university. He added that UNT administrators crossed a huge red line when they unilaterally censored course content.

"It appears that the UNT administration is doing the opposite of what Senate Bill 17 is saying," said Evans. "Senate Bill 17 was not about curriculum. Senate Bill 17 was about employment practices."

The groups want university administrators to reverse what they call the "scrubbing" of curriculum, stop censoring the professors work, and involve educators in any future changes to course work.





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Maine's College of the Atlantic has once again topped the Princeton Review's Guide to Green Colleges.

The Bar Harbor-based school has been recognized as the nation's "greenest" nine years in a row, based on student surveys regarding administration, student support and conservation efforts.

Rob Levin, dean of communications for the college, said the school's location between Acadia National Park and Frenchman Bay draws students looking to channel their environmental passions.

"Sustainability is really at the heart of this pedagogy," Levin explained. "It underlies so much of what we do here at COA and why students choose to come here."

Levin pointed out the school is reducing its carbon footprint with construction of a new dormitory and academic center, both built with sustainable materials. College of the Atlantic was the first school in the U.S. to achieve carbon-neutrality in 2007 and is working to be completely fossil fuel free by 2030.

The school's system of inclusive governance was also a factor in the school's top "green" ranking. The population of 360 full-time students are highly involved in campus policymaking, as well as day-to-day campus operations.

Levin noted students have laid insulation in at least 10 campus buildings and worked on alternative heating and cooling systems, which has already led to a 50% reduction in fossil fuel use over the past three years.

"Engaging students in a real way in campus decision-making can create a very productive channel for institutional change while also providing meaningful, valuable educational experiences," Levin emphasized.

Levin stressed students have been crucial in school initiatives to use nontoxic cleaning products, boost recycling and composting programs and phase out single-use plastic. All undergraduate students receive a self-designed degree in human ecology, which focuses on the connection between humans and their environment.


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