West Virginia is among a handful of states with the highest increases in educational attainment between 2019 and 2021, according to a new report from the Lumina Foundation.

Overall, around 44% of adults age 25-64 have completed a degree or certification, but the state still lags behind the national average of around 53%.

Sarah Armstrong Tucker, chancellor of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, explained several initiatives are in place to try to make college completion within reach, including shifting to an open educational resource model, where textbooks are free online and low-cost to print.

"We know that the cost of textbooks is an impediment for students," Tucker observed. "A lot of students actually drop after they find out how much money they have to pay for in books."

In 2019, lawmakers passed House Bill 2853, which established the West Virginia Program for Open Educational Resources, making it easier to share and redistribute learning and resource materials.

According to the Education Data Initiative, college students spend on average between $628 and $1,400 each year on books and supplies.

Tucker pointed out over the past few years, West Virginia's colleges have focused more on mental health, overcoming Covid challenges, and assisting student parents who are navigating work and caregiving on top of classes.

"Community colleges have been really focused on making sure that we have students who are able to work while they're going to school and are able to receive benefits," Tucker noted. "So that they can help to support their families."

Tucker added the state is now working to expand opportunities for high school students to take college-level classes. She added the Dual Enrollment Initiative seeks state funding, so parents don't have to pay tuition for dual enrollment.

"Low-income students, first-generation students are much more likely to go to college. If they take dual enrollment courses, they're much more likely to graduate college if they take dual-enrollment courses."

According to state data, Nearly 67% of students in the class of 2021 who took dual enrollment courses went to a community college or a four-year institution after graduation.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

A new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finds the repayment process for federal student loans has been filled with errors.

Repayments began in October following a three-year pandemic-related pause. Since then, complaints of inaccurate bills, late notices and poor customer service have increased. Officials with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said they are working to protect borrowers from incompetent or predatory student loan servicers.

Rohit Chopra, director of the bureau, said borrowers should be cautious, especially when talking to third parties contracted by loan servicers for bill payments.

"If you're having trouble, please file a complaint," Chopra urged. "We're often able to get those individuals across the country fixes - and sometimes, clear answers on what really needs to happen."

The Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan earlier this year, affecting almost 1.8 million Ohioans carrying student debt. Average student loan debt in Ohio is more than $34,000, according to the website educationdata.org.

Judy Dollison, president of the Better Business Bureau of Central Ohio, said now is the time for borrowers to carefully read and understand the terms of their loan and become familiar with legitimate student loan repayment assistance programs.

"It's important to know what services those lenders provide," Dollison noted. "And what are the legitimate companies that are part of the program."

This week, the U.S. Department of Education released draft rules for expanding federal debt relief. Hearings on the plans will be held Dec. 11-12.


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Fewer college students are taking foreign language courses, and a new report warns this could affect how well students are prepared for a globalized world.

The Modern Language Association survey finds fewer students chose to study languages other than English between 2016 and 2021. Nationally, enrollment dropped 17% during the same period, and the impact in Indiana is far greater.

Deborah Cohn, provost professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Indiana University, explained the dropping numbers could spell trouble for students applying for college, and have implications for equity.

"In Indiana, between 2016 and 2021, they dropped from 42,000 to 30,000. So, that is a drop, in that five-year period, of 29.4%," she said.

Cohn pointed out that foreign language studies provide cultural knowledge and open doors for many types of jobs. The report says adequate funding for language programs, and support from the schools, are needed to help keep them going.

According to the report, making foreign language courses more career-focused might attract more students. Cohn underscored that the nation is becoming more diverse - so it's important to understand and be able to connect with others.

"We actually need language study for jobs to serve both the domestic market but also the international market. We need people who can speak languages who can offer social services, legal services, medical services within this country," she continued.

One thing that might turn the ship, according to Cohn, is getting students involved in studying languages at all levels - especially when they are young. The report also recommends schools build partnerships with multicultural organizations.


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The Students for Justice in Palestine chapters at the University of Florida and the University of South Florida are filing lawsuits against the deactivation orders issued by State University System Chancellor Raymond Rodrigues and Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The groups claim the looming orders come at a time when the conflict in the contested territories of Israel and Palestine are a matter of vital public discourse, depriving them of essential resources.

Hina Shamsi, director of the National Security Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, is part of the legal team representing the students.

"Our client has made a very brave decision to challenge state officials' attempt to restrict student speech, in a case that they and we hope sends a strong message that censorship in our schools is unconsitutional," said Shamsi.

The state's deactivation was based on the groups' alleged connection to a toolkit supporting Hamas' attack on Israel, which violates a Florida law against providing material support to foreign terrorist organizations. However, neither group has a formal relationship with the National Students for Justice in Palestine, which the Chancellor later acknoledged.

According to Shamsi, the groups recognize that colleges are contending with how to manage increased tensions and threats on their campuses while keeping students safe, but pointed out that it doesn't mean they have to abandon students' rights to do so.

"We take the weight and complexities of those issues seriously," she added, "but it is precisely in times of heightened crisis that university leaders must remain steadfast in their commitment to free speech, to open debate and peaceful dissent on campus."

While the Chancellor Rodrigues says they are reviewing legal and deactivation options, a spokesman for the governor's office said it was "reprehensible to see some university administrators, after the fact, creating bureaucratic roadblocks."



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