When students return to a North Dakota college this fall, some will be in a new nursing program. Leaders say not only will it help with workforce shortages, the approach could set easier career pathways.

The University of Jamestown has announced a new degree offering focused on getting more bedside nurses out into regional hospitals and clinics. In partnering with various health providers, the school will open a learning center in Fargo later this year.

Polly Peterson, president of the university, said based on how the degrees are structured and other factors, prospective students might see them as manageable options in pursuing a new career.

"It is significant because of a new population that will be able to access nursing education in an accelerated fashion," Peterson explained.

One program is a "direct-entry" master's in nursing. It is for those with a non-nursing bachelor's degree to begin navigating the profession at an advanced level without taking certain undergrad courses. Peterson acknowledged such degrees are hard to find in the region.

North Dakota's shortage woes aren't as dire as in other states, but industry forecasters say by 2030, it is projected to meet only 84% of its nursing demand.

According to Peterson, the new initiative aims to lure nontraditional college students. In doing so, school leaders realize they cannot adhere to the traditional class schedule.

"These are people that are already probably working, need to continue to work," Peterson pointed out. "We've worked with several of the employers to offer flexible scheduling to allow for that learning to occur."

Peterson noted clinical settings are still an important part of nursing education. But she added the leaning center will lean on emerging technology, such as lifelike simulation dolls, to enhance the experience for students. The school anticipates over the next four years, the degree programs will produce about 350 new nurses.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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Groups that advocate for equity in higher education are speaking out in favor of a bill in the California Legislature to make sure college financial aid offers take into account the extra costs faced by students who have children.

It's estimated that student parents have to spend an extra $7,500 a year compared to non-parents, to cover childcare, housing, transportation, and food.

Su Jin Jez, CEO of the nonprofit California Competes: Higher Education for a Strong Economy, said the bill is critical.

"It addresses college affordability by making financial aid adjustments for student parents to cover the true cost that they face to attend college," she said. "And the other piece is around improving data collection."

The bill, A.B. 2458, has no registered opposition. It passed the State Assembly and is working its way through the State Senate.

Jez said 4 million parents in California have a high school diploma but no college degree. About 400,000 students are enrolled in higher education. About 300,000 are undergraduates, and 61% of them are first-generation college students.

"Serving student parents really helps to advance more equitable outcomes, not only for the student parent, but also for their children. A parent's educational attainment level is one of the best predictors of whether or not a child will go to college," Jez added.

California Competes recently teamed up with Ed Trust-West to launch The California Alliance for Student Parent Success - a coalition of student parents, education leaders, and advocates.


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A new center coming to Utah State University this fall will provide accessible digital materials to students with disabilities.

Cynthia Curry, director of the National Center on Accessible Digital Educational Materials and Instruction, or NCADEMI, said the facility will address, what she calls, the "longstanding and historical issues" around access to educational materials for students with disabilities. She added the role of NCADEMI is to help ensure those with disabilities receive digital educational materials in a way that they can use them.

"The standard way that a lot of educational materials are produced and provided to students, inherently have those barriers to students with sensory disabilities, physical disabilities and learning disabilities. NCADEMI is a technical assistance center that sets out to provide support and services specifically to educational agencies," she explained.

Curry said NCADEMI will help educational agencies conduct accessibility reviews of materials before they reach students and will support techniques in creating other materials. NCADMI is funded by a four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs. It's slated to open October first.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice issued final accessibility rules for websites and mobile applications of state and local governments. Brenda Smith, the center's principal investigator, said the initiative will work with two existing national programs: Web Accessibility In Mind and the Center for Technical Assistance and Excellence in Special Education, or TAESE, to help schools come into compliance.

"NCADMI is a collaboration between our two projects. Our proposal was written with staff from both projects and so it really is marrying our ability to meet federal special education requirements in our previous work with state special education departments and school districts with the WebAIM content knowledge around accessibility," she continued.

Leaders say by the end of the four-year project they want to ensure they've helped the education sector at various levels tap into cultivating accessible, digital educational materials. They say the processes and systems they will foster will have the potential to be adopted and scaled nationally.


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Alabama's universities and community colleges will receive increased funding for 2025.

The state's universities are set to get a 7% boost equivalent to about $100 million.

Jim Purcell, executive director of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, said during a quarterly meeting he expressed satisfaction with the outcome in the state Legislature. He stressed it came close to achieving its funding target.

"We had made budget recommendations relatively close but as you know, some people have better politics than others," Purcell acknowledged. "It's not exact science."

The commission also saw budget increases bolstering the state's student assistance program and allocated additional funds to aid in FAFSA completion for prospective college students.

Despite increased funding for schools, Purcell stated Alabama is lagging behind in terms of state aid for higher education. In 2023, Alabama allocated the smallest percentage of its education funding for financial aid compared to most states, except for Hawaii and Montana.

"State aid in this state is problematic and we've been working hard to increase it," Purcell asserted. "Gov. Ivey has increased need-based aid, tripled it since she's been in office."

The national average for need-based aid allocation is about 10%.


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