Maine education officials are encouraging residents who never graduated from high school to return to adult education and complete the High School Equivalency Test (HiSET).
Maine has been using the HiSET since 2014. It’s made up of five sections: reading, writing, math, science and social studies.
Joe Fagnant, director of Houlton/Hodgdon Adult and Community Education, said it has become harder in recent years to get a good-paying job without a high school diploma.
“We know it will open up so many more opportunities and so many more doors,” Fagnant asserted. “Including the new agreement that the community college system has come out with to offer free community college for graduates of the Class of 2020, ’21, ’22 and ’23.”
He noted it includes adult learners who complete the HiSET. Maine has more than 60 adult education programs, and since 2020 more than 1,700 Mainers have completed the HiSET. Fagnant noted there is no cost for the test or prep classes, and those who may have taken or passed part of the exam can come back later to complete it.
Fagnant added the difference in pay for an entry-level job can be drastically different depending on the workers’ level of education. He pointed out some companies require a high school degree, but are struggling to find applicants, so they work with adult education to find people who would be a good fit and help them earn their degree.
“The job market has also changed these past couple years through COVID and the pandemic, where people are paying higher wages,” Fagnant acknowledged. “But with that, you also have some more competition to find a quality candidate.”
He emphasized there are many directions students can go with those two years of community college, including straight into the workforce, or they can transfer the credits and work toward a bachelor’s degree.
Studies have shown by age 35, workers with a bachelor’s degree are twice as likely to have a good job as those with only a high school diploma.
Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.
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A new survey of 28,000 high school seniors found more than one in four changed their life plans during the pandemic.
In 2019, 25% of students planned to attend a two-year college; now down to 19%.
Jennifer Wilka, executive director of YouthTruth, a nonprofit based in San Francisco specializing in surveying students, said the disruption was more pronounced for certain groups.
“There were many, many more differences for certain groups of students,” Wilka reported. “Including Hispanic or Latinx students, Black or African American students, LGBTQ+ boys, and students attending high poverty schools.”
Compared with 2019, fewer kids said they want to go to community college, more LGBTQ+ students said they considered dropping out, and more seniors said they are unsure of their next move. The survey found financial stress played a big part, as did battles with anxiety and depression.
Wilka pointed out many students are weighed down by grief and struggled to adapt to distance learning.
“It feels to them as if time has stopped,” Wilka explained. “They have lost their study skills, a lot of them have lost focus, lost motivation, you know, lost, lost people that they cared about. So those absolutely are trends that come through loud and clear.”
The survey found fewer kids are connecting with school counselors these days to talk about college or financial aid. Wilka would like states to better fund schools, so they can beef up their counseling staff and offer more targeted interventions for groups of students having a hard time getting back on track.
Support for this reporting was provided by the Annie E Casey Foundation.
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Kentuckians collectively owe more than $20 million in student loan debt, and a new informal survey sheds light on how hefty student-loan payments affect the lives of borrowers in the Commonwealth.
Research from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy found nearly one in five residents owe student debt, including 20,000 people at or near retirement age.
Ashley Spalding, research director at the Center, said the situation is preventing many individuals from purchasing a home, starting a business, or accessing health care.
“Wages aren’t going up that much, and the cost of college is skyrocketing, and interest rates have been high on these loans,” Spalding explained.
The US Department of Education estimates within the past year it has canceled more than $17 billion in debt for more than 700,000 borrowers. The Biden administration’s pause on student-loan repayment is set to expire August 31. Experts said it remains unclear whether the pause will be extended into the fall.
Celine Mutuyemaria, a Louisville resident, said she currently has more than $100,000 in student loan debt, and said her financial situation is affecting her mental health.
“It affects me in a number of ways,” Mutuyemaria pointed out. “I actually have a lot of anxiety about if and when student loan repayments are going to restart.”
She added her student loans negatively affect her credit score, which is a barrier to her dream of owning a home.
“I think that homeownership feels really out of sight for me right now because of the burden of my student loans,” Mutuyemaria lamented.
The White House also recently announced it would cancel the student loans of all former Corinthian Colleges students, after investigations revealed the for-profit colleges defrauded students, the most significant loan discharge by the federal government to date.
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North Dakota is among the top five states for college affordability. That ranking is in a new national report, and higher-education officials say there’s still a lot of work to do to attract and retain students.
North Dakota landed second on the website dealA’s college affordability list. In addition to reasonable tuition at the state’s public and private institutions, low cost of living for students was cited as another factor.
Lisa Johnson – vice chancellor for academic and student affairs for the North Dakota University System – said with schools around the country facing enrollment challenges, they can’t let these rankings be their only selling point.
“Looking at sort of non-traditional populations of older adults,” said Johnson. “So, how do we position ourselves by looking at online? Hybrid-type instruction? Accelerated courses?”
Mirroring national trends, some North Dakota schools have seen enrollment declines in recent years. However, the losses aren’t as pronounced when compared with colleges and universities in other states.
Last fall, the University of North Dakota reported its highest total enrollment since 2018.
Johnson acknowledged that many families face more economic pressure these days, and that requires additional steps to help meet basic needs so that students don’t have to lose sight of their academic career.
“A number of our campuses have organized food pantries,” said Johnson. “Some of those kind of started with student organizations.”
North Dakota State University has a Food Insecurity Task Force, and a 2020 survey showed more than one in three NDSU students had experienced food insecurity.
Meanwhile, Johnson said they remain focused on providing value for the education students are paying for, with an emphasis on campuses having to demonstrate demand for new programs.
Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.
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