College Beat

People walk past an “End Overdose” outreach table with informational materials and QR codes set up in a public plaza.

This new California law will offer college students rehab before discipline for overdosing

College students who seek help for substance use after an overdose face disciplinary action by their campus. A new California law, written in part by students themselves, will require public universities to offer rehabilitation services to students rather than discipline.

By Alina Ta

Small bottles of a product labeled “feel free,” advertised for mood lift, energy, and focus, are displayed for sale inside a convenience store. A sign indicates the product costs $8.99 and must be purchased by customers age 21 or older.

Once given out at USC, this banned, opioid-like product is still cropping up in California

A drinkable product called Feel Free was once marketed to USC students as a wellness tonic. It contains an addictive, opioid-like ingredient called kratom leaf, now banned for sale by the California Department of Public Health but still available in many stores. A new bill in the Legislature would make the ban permanent in California.

By Phoebe Huss

A person wearing a white sweater with blue stripes on the arm and a blue UCLA shirt underneath stands in a field near an apartment building, with tree branches poking into the background.

How college students can earn $10,000 for making a difference in CA communities

The popular College Corps program pays students up to $10,000 for community service work including tutoring incarcerated youth, assisting at food banks and more. The program is expanding from 45 to 52 campuses, adding hundreds of more students.

By Brittany Oceguera

An illustration in green, red, blue and yellow tones that shows a desktop computer screen with an open window tab that resembles a Pokemon battle scene. At one end of the screen is a pixelated student and at the other is a wolf that represents a chatbot. The illustration includes a bubble text that reads "where can students get free food on campus?" alongside other bubbles of text with red exclamation points.

California colleges spend millions on faulty AI systems: ‘The chatbot is outdated’

Community colleges are spending millions on AI-powered chatbots that students say often give inaccurate answers. Many might see upgrades this year.

By Martin Romero

Amanda Reyes helps her kids Claudio, 13, and Evangelyn, 9, with their school work. Photo courtesy of Amanda Reyes

Higher Education

A new reality for student parents: Teaching their children’s classes while taking their own

Lee este artículo en español. Before the coronavirus, Katie Self’s days followed a predictable routine. At 5:00 a.m., she woke up her three children and got them ready for school. By 7:00 a.m., Self was hitting the books at Fresno City College, where she was studying to be a radiology technician. Classes and tutoring wrapped up […]

By Adria Watson • April 29, 2020

More than 500 students gathered at UC Davis to make demands of the administration and stand in solidarity with striking graduate student workers at UC Santa Cruz on February 21, 2020. The demonstration was one of many across UC campuses this week. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Higher Education

How do you hold a strike online? UC teaching assistants are finding out

Just a month ago, picket lines surrounded the base of the University of California at Santa Cruz campus, the halls of buildings filled with chants like “My neck, my back, the UC is wack.” The graduate student strike calling for a cost of living adjustment started in Santa Cruz but quickly sparked solidarity actions at […]

By Janelle Salanga • April 15, 2020

Timothy P. White, Chancellor of the California State University system, prepares to testify on the failure to fully disclose a $1.5 billion surplus in a joint hearing of the Joint Legislative Audit, Senate Education, Assembly Higher Education and Assembly subcommittee on Education Finance committees on August 12, 2019. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Higher Education

How Cal State is navigating the coronavirus: Your questions answered

You’ve got questions about how your CSU education will be disrupted during the coronavirus pandemic. Chancellor Tim White has answers.

By Aidan McGloin • April 6, 2020

San Jose State University incoming freshman James Soberano, 17, plans to major in computer engineering and works in the student union on campus in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, July 25, 2019. Photo by Alison Yin for the Hechinger Report

Events

Is CSU ready for online learning? Watch our interview with Chancellor Tim White

Are you a college student whose semester has been turned upside down by the pandemic? Are you a professor who is getting acclimated to teaching your students via video conference? CalMatters College Journalism Network Editor Felicia Mello and fellow Aidan McGloin moderated a conversation with California State University Chancellor Tim White on April 2 to […]

By CalMatters Staff • April 2, 2020

Higher Education

A’s for all? Universities debate how to grade during a pandemic

The coronavirus is disrupting college grading in California, as students stressed out from sheltering in place and transitioning to online classes push for schools to adopt flexible grading policies that account for the upheaval in their school year.

By Vanessa Arredondo • March 31, 2020

Laney College has cancelled all classes through April 6 in the wake of coronavirus concerns, while faculty train to teach online. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Higher Education

California colleges are going online. How ready are they?

California is about to embark on an enormous, unplanned experiment in remote learning — and no one knows how long it will last.

By Vanessa Arredondo, Felicia Mello and Janelle Salanga • March 17, 2020

College Beat

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