Welcome back to Interact’s news roundup, where you’ll find the most pressing headlines in education and martech. Here’s the breaking news you won’t want to miss:
Education News
Are Latino/a/x Students Facing Mounting Food Insecurity and Mental Health Issues?
Across the country, Latino/a/x students are facing major hurdles, according to the civil rights and advocacy organization UnidosUS’s new national survey. The report reveals systemic and institutional challenges for this demographic in higher ed.
“Too many [Latino students] find that college is no escape from the struggle against poverty and food insecurity,” says Eric Rodriguez, Senior Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at UnidosUS. “We must invest in supporting these students to ensure that higher education can deliver on its promise.”
Latino/a/x students comprise one in five postsecondary students, so supporting this burgeoning demographic is crucial.
Read more on Diverse Education.
While Undergrad Enrollment Climbed This Fall, First-Year Students Declined
This fall, first-year student enrollment dropped by 5%, marking the first decline since the pandemic of 2020, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
The skinny on the first-year student declines:
Four-year public colleges: -8.5%
Private colleges: -6.5%
Community colleges: -0.4%
The decline could be partly because of the botched FAFSA rollout, among other considerations.
However, despite the fall drop in first-year students, the center’s report states that undergraduate enrollment is up 3% overall. This increase is in part thanks to non-first-year enrollment and dual-enrollment programs. Bachelor’s degree programs were up by 1.9%, and associate degree programs were up by 4.3%.
Read more in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Congrats to Our Partner, Allan Hancock College, on Moving Forward with Bachelor’s Degrees!
Allan Hancock College may now be able to offer bachelor’s degrees as early as fall 2026. The Santa Maria community college recently received provisional approval from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office for a Bachelor of Science in applied professional studies. The degree could cost students as little as $7,800 and would prepare learners for a variety of in-demand careers, including agriculture, manufacturing, and health care.
Congrats! Read more on KEYT News.
The Price of a Community College Education Rises by 2.5%
The average price for a community college climbed by about $100 to $4,050 for full-time students, according to a report from the College Board. California had some of the lowest tuition at about $1,440, up to Vermont’s $8,660 on the higher end.
Meanwhile, public four-year tuition and fees increased by 2.7%, amounting to about $300.
Martech News
YouTube Gets a Makeover
Have you checked out the tube? New features make the mobile, web, and TV apps more user-friendly, including more fine-tuned controls for playback and collaborative playlists, shareable via link or QR code.
And stay tuned: The company plans to add voting on videos for increased collaboration in the future!
The 411 on New Rules for Bulk Email
Google and Yahoo have new rules for sending bulk email — are you in the know? The rules focus on outgoing email authentication, spam rates, and being able to unsubscribe from email lists easily.
According to Google, a bulk email sender sends 5,000+ messages to Gmail addresses in one day. Error codes may ensue if you fail to meet the newly enforced sender requirements.
Get the full scoop on MarTech.
New Advertisement Techniques on Snapchat
Do you Snap? New solutions can allow you to send videos directly to users using Sponsored Snaps. Meanwhile, you can become a star on the Snap Map via highlighted Promoted Places.
Snapchat’s active advertisers have more than doubled year-over-year, with the platform’s revenue increasing by a whopping 16%. And it’s possible that with time, Sponsored Snaps could open up a two-way interaction between advertisers and users by utilizing artificial intelligence to facilitate customer support.
From our aggregated national Media Prefs data, we know that +34% of community college students nationally use Snapchat frequently (at least once a week), making it even more popular than Facebook! So, catching students on Snap could be a snappy idea.
Learn more on the Marketing Dive.
We hope you enjoyed this month’s roundup! Stay tuned for next month’s news, but if you want to keep reading, check out our last news roundup:
