AKA Review– July 15, 2022

From The Washington Post:
Vital education issues the Supreme Court could revisit
By Valerie Strauss
The Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe V. Wade has set the stage for it to revisit several earlier Court rulings. Decisions on school prayer and allocation of public funding for religious education have already been or have the potential to be revisited. Affirmative action issues in universities are on the docket for next year: cases at Harvard and the University of North Carolina deal with discrimination against Asian American students and preferential admission toward other racial minorities, respectively. Read this article

From Fortune:
Stanford’s first new school in 75 years aims to help address green talent gap
By Ambreen Ali
With an investment of $1.69 billion, Stanford University has opened a new School of Sustainability. The school will provide resources for all undergraduates to take at least one climate related course, enable future innovators to learn about climate science and solutions, and allow for significant investments in sustainable research projects. It is anticipated that millions of new climate jobs will be added in the next 10 years, and the current growth of skilled labor is not keeping up with the demand; the new school intends to help bridge that gap. Read this article

From Brookings:
Do Pell Grants increase dual enrollment for low-income students?
By Kaylee T. Matheny, Amanda Lu, Eric P. Bettinger, and Gregory S. Kienzl
In efforts to increase dual enrollment for low-income students, the office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) allowed colleges to award Pell Grants to eligible high school students pursuing college coursework. The initiative not only failed to increase access of dual enrollment to low-income students but may have decreased it. Because of laborious financial aid processes and a lack of coordination in outreach and recruitment, dual enrollment appears to have been less appealing to and feasible for prospective students. Read this article

From University World News:
Microcredentials: A new category of education is rising
By Alejandro Caballero, Sean Gallagher, Hanne Shapiro, and Holly Zanville
This overview of microcredentials delves into what is driving their growth, how they are developing, and how employers are receiving them. Due to digitalization, it is estimated that by 2025, fifty percent of employees worldwide will need reskilling, and greater access to these online credentials will make this easier for both employee and employer. In 2013 only 40 percent of companies accepted online learning when evaluating candidates; by 2021 that number jumped to 71 percent. Read this article

From United Nations Department of Economic & Social Affairs:
World Population Prospects 2022
This report projects global population to reach a peak of approximately 10.4 billion by the 2080s, up from the current level of 7.96 billion, and remaining there until 2100. India is expected to surpass China as the world’s most populous country by next year. Population growth in Europe and the U.S. is estimated to be more moderate, plateauing shortly before 2100 due to decreasing birth rates. The U.S. is currently at 2.3 births per woman, a steep decline from the average five in 1950, and is projected to dip to just over two by 2050. Read this report