skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, July 27, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed rail network hours before start of Olympics, the Obamas endorse Harris for President; A NY county creates facial recognition, privacy protections; Art breathes new life into pollution-ravaged MI community; 34 Years of the ADA.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Harris meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu and calls for a ceasefire. MI Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces backlash for a protest during Netanyahu's speech. And VA Sen. Mark Warner advocates for student debt relief.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

There's a gap between how rural and urban folks feel about the economy, Colorado's 'Rural is Rad' aims to connect outdoor businesses, more than a dozen of Maine's infrastructure sites face repeated flooding, and chocolate chip cookies rock August.

Report: How colleges can re-enroll students who’ve stopped out

play audio
Play

Wednesday, February 28, 2024   

More than 6 million Californians stopped out of college before getting a degree and a new report has laid out a plan to bring them back on campus.

Researchers from the nonprofit California Competes in Oakland interviewed more than 50 students they call "comebackers" for the report, entitled "From Setback to Success: Meeting Comebacker Students Where They Are."

Laura Bernhard, senior researcher for California Competes, noted students said when it comes to outreach, an encouraging personal call from the school is much more effective than a form letter or email.

"Some of them just said, 'If someone had just reached out and assured me that this taking a break is fine,' and sort of outline what steps they need to do to be able to come back," Bernhard reported. "So that would have been very helpful."

The report also praised such schools as Shasta College and Sacramento State, which have flexible options where classes can be taken online, or in compressed eight-week terms rather than the typical 16-week term. The schools and California Competes are part of a collaborative called California Attain!, which aims to increase educational attainment and economic mobility of California adults who have some college but no credential.

Bernhard noted students are often hesitant to return because they cannot afford to pay back fees or fines they may have racked up in the past.

"Research has shown that if you actually waive some of these fees and institutional debt that students have, more students are likely to return," Bernhard emphasized. "That will obviously lead to more tuition income, so it can actually be like a very beneficial initiative for colleges to take."

Schools are encouraged to make their marketing materials show students of all ages, not just recent high school graduates. The report advised schools to reframe their language around academic probation, letting students know it is just a temporary setback, not a reason to get discouraged.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
According to the Tax Policy Center, for higher-income earners, sales taxes consume a lower share of their income than for other households. (Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As Nebraska state lawmakers convene for a special session on property tax reform called by Gov. Jim Pillen, groups are weighing in on the details …


play sound

Traveling around rural Minnesota can be difficult but in more than half the state, nonprofit transit systems are helping people get where they need …

Social Issues

play sound

Recent Supreme Court rulings on air pollution are affecting Virginia and the nation. Climate advocates said the court overstepped its bounds in …


The Oregon Health Authority's hepatitis plan includes four goals: prevent new infections, improve health outcomes, eliminate health disparities and inequities, and improve the use of surveillance and data. (Azeemud-Deen Jacobs/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

World Hepatitis Day is this Sunday, and for the Oregon Health Authority, it's an opportunity to promote its plan to eliminate hepatitis across the …

Social Issues

play sound

Columbia County, New York, is implementing new facial recognition and privacy policies, following new upgrades to the county's surveillance cameras…

Although the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing barriers to employment for people with disabilities, it created new opportunities through remote work. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

New York disability-rights advocates are celebrating the 34th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The 1990 …

Social Issues

play sound

A new design competition is looking to find better housing for Fargo's aging population. Like many other states, North Dakota has a growing number …

Health and Wellness

play sound

CoveredCA announced Wednesday that the average premium for plans on the marketplace will rise 7.9% in 2025, but subsidies are expected to blunt the …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021