SEATTLE - Congress has abandoned plans for two free years of community college in its expansive spending bill. But low and middle income families in Washington state still have an option to make college more affordable.

Lawmakers approved the Washington College Grant in 2019. Michael Meotti, executive director of the Washington Student Achievement Council, called it one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country.

"If you are eligible for the full award amount," said Meotti, "it happens to equal tuition and fees at any public college or university - whether it's the University of Washington, Washington State University or a community college."

Students from a family of four that makes $56,000 a year or less are eligible for the full award. Partial awards are available for families making up to $102,000 a year.

The grant is available to undocumented students as well.

Meotti noteed the grant doesn't just cover public university and community college tuitions. It also covers participating technical colleges, apprenticeships and short-term higher education programs.

"All of those programs are covered under our Washington College Grant," said Meotti, "and it doesn't make any difference whether you just got out of high school or that you're 40 or 50 or 30 or anything. You're going to be covered and we can make those pathways affordable for your to advance in your personal life goals."

Members of Congress from Washington State, including Sen. Patty Murray - D-Wash. - and Rep. Pramila Jayapal - D-Seattle - have pushed for even more ambitious plans than the measure included in President Joe Biden's budget plan.

But Meotti said even Biden's proposal to make the first two years of community college free would most likely allow the state to cover other costs for students, such as child-care, transportation and housing.

"We would be able to be an extremely generous environment for those families to know they're not only getting free college," said Meotti, "they're getting support for these other life expenses while they're completing a degree."

Washington state students who graduated in 2019 owed an average of about $24,600 in debt, according to the Institute for College Access and Success.

In Tennessee and across the country, the rapidly growing Hispanic population made remarkable strides in college enrollment and educational attainment, according to a recent analysis by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The number of Hispanic students ages 18 to 24 enrolled in college increased to 2.4 million in 2021.

Emily Labandera, director of research for the group Excelencia in Education, said its mission is to accelerate Latino student success in higher education. It came about from its knowledge of the community and the data, tracking with the census report, showing the Latino community has been growing for decades in the nation.

"The future of our country for an improved workforce, civic leadership, the economy and really looking ahead to the future," Labandera asserted. "This is an important community and group to pay attention to because of those key statistics and population demographics."

Labandera noted some of the networks of institutions with which they partner and collaborate are Hispanic-Serving Institutions. She explained they created the Seal of Excelencia, a national certification for colleges and universities striving to go beyond enrollment and more intentionally serve Latino students in order to become institutions where Latinos thrive.

Labandera pointed out their website includes a Latino college completion interactive map showing state-by-state data including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, which looks at enrollment metrics, population demographics, completion, and degree outcomes. She added they are working on a series "Finding Your Workforce" which will focus on three specific disciplines.

"In STEM-related disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math, in the health care field, as well as in education," Labandera outlined. "Those are key disciplines, key areas that we've noted Latino students earning degrees in."

Labandera said the group is also working on four different reports coming out later this summer with additional information on degree attainment for Latinos students at Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

A recent analysis from Excelencia in Education found Latina students at Hispanic-Serving Institutions earned more than 300,000 degrees in 2020 and nearly 120,000 more than their Latino counterparts.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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College is the opportunity to gain some independence, learn time management and make new friends. But high school graduates with autism spectrum disorder often choose not to enroll because of the academic and social demands of college life.

One university in Indiana is working to help them get their degrees. Marian University's "Spectrum of Knights" program offers individualized support for these students, who can choose to study for any major and pursue internships the university offers.

Marian University Autism Coordinator Hannah Melton said class instruction is one-on-one and was created to meet specific needs.

"Social engagement, academic support, and life and professional skills development," said Melton. "As we know, these are often the areas that students on the spectrum may have some challenges during their college studies."

Melton said autistic students can thrive with additional support to navigate the college environment.

According to the Organization for Autism Research, of the 50,000 teens on the spectrum graduating from high school annually in the U.S. - at least one-third go on to college, but experience lower employment rates.

The report suggests taking a gap year or attending summer college-readiness programs may lead to a more successful college experience for those with ASD.

A report by the National Center for Learning Disabilities says college students with ASD often skip higher-ed because they're concerned about what others may think of them, or that they'll be perceived negatively by faculty who don't know about certain disabilities.

They also aren't sure what kinds of disability-related services are available at college or how to access them.

Melton said Marian is reviewing more ways to make its campus more accommodating to ASD students.

"Something that we are trying to get started is to create a Neurodiversity Advisory Council," said Melton. "We're hoping to have some faculty members who also identify as either autistic or neurodiverse."

Research indicates college students with ASD may have trouble managing money, organizing their time or communicating their needs to a professor or counselor.

Melton said peer tutors are available weekly for support, academic tutoring, and a comfortable environment to discuss how the student is doing.

The academic year that starts this fall will be Marian University's first full year to have an entire cohort of students in the Spectrum of Knights program.




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The House of Representatives is set to vote today on a bill that would repeal President Joe Biden's plan to wipe out $10,000 to $20,000 in student loan debt for more than 30 million borrowers.

Opponents of Biden's plan are invoking the Congressional Records Act, which allows lawmakers to nullify recently passed bills.

Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, said the bill could also revive some debt already canceled under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

"The student debt CRA scheme would reinstate student loan debt of more than 260,000 public service workers nationwide," said Pierce, "dropping a nearly $20 billion debt burden onto the backs of these hardworking teachers, nurses, first responders and service members still emerging from the pandemic."

Opponents of the debt forgiveness complain Biden's plan transfers the debt to taxpayers. The president has threatened to veto the act should it cross his desk.

A new study by the American Federation of Teachers and the Student Borrower Protection Center finds that more than 615,000 public employees have had $42 billion in debt canceled via the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program since 2007.

The program allows participants to discharge the remainder of their debt after ten years in the field.

Jessica Saint-Paul, Ph.D, is a physician assistant and professor who teaches public health in the Los Angeles Community College District. She said she no longer has to pay back $144,000 - thanks to the PSLF program.

"To release this burden of student loan debt, that's one less thing that I need to be concerned about," said Saint-Paul. "I don't have to worry about taking multiple jobs. I can truly, truly focus on doing what I love doing and I don't see myself ever leaving public service."

Biden's student debt cancellation plan was blocked by the courts before it could go into effect and goes before the U.S. Supreme Court in June.





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