Education

In our new ‘Ask CJN’ feature, student reporters with the CalMatters College Journalism Network answer readers’ questions about college in California. This week: At a time when California desperately needs nurses, why is it so hard to get into nursing school?

A federal judge last year found that the room scans performed by some remote proctoring software are unconstitutional. But some California colleges continue to use the software, which is designed to prevent cheating in online exams.

Sonya Christian, current chancellor of Kern Community College District, will be the first woman appointed as permanent chancellor and the first person of South Asian heritage to lead the nation’s largest system of public higher education.

Officials hope to double enrollment at Cal Poly Humboldt by 2027. Plans to reserve all on-campus housing for first-years were scaled back last week after current students staged protests – but some returning students may still end up living in hotels or even on a barge. The uproar illustrates the severity of the state's student housing crisis.

California is one of only 10 states in the country that does not require schools to screen children for dyslexia. Experts agree early diagnosis is key to helping dyslexic students learn to read, yet the statewide teachers union and others have blocked those efforts.

Two California community colleges built housing in the last couple of years, with very different approaches. The projects give a peek at the future of student housing as the state rolls out $500 million in grants to build or expand dorms and apartments on a dozen community college campuses.

The University of California said it would claw back wages paid to workers who went on strike in late 2022. The move affects 48,000 workers.

Cal State leaders revealed a new plan that will take money from campuses missing enrollment targets and give it to schools exceeding their targets.

Last year, a bill would have directed more funding to the student group with the lowest standardized test scores, which would have been Black students. Instead, the governor is proposing extra money for high-poverty schools, not Black students specifically.

The recent agreement between striking graduate student workers in the UC system did little to solve their housing woes.