Today's Students Coalition / April 21, 2021
Today’s students—of whom 34 percent are older than 25, a quarter are parents, 60 percent work while in college, and of whom 15 percent are Black, 20 percent are Hispanic, and 6 percent are Asian—lost more than access to lecture halls because of the coronavirus pandemic. They lost access to stable and secure housing, affordable and nutritious meals, on-campus child care, WiFi and connected devices, and other supports that enable them to succeed in postsecondary education. Recent reports of enrollment and persistence declines are troubling, especially at a time when higher education should remain an engine of economic growth and a steady connection to in-demand, high-wage jobs. The Department of Education (ED) has important and urgent opportunities to make substantial changes to benefit today’s students, both immediately through regulatory actions and in the longer-term through partnership with other agencies and Congress.
