Mar 27, 2020, 2:33 PM
(From Brookings) Unemployment insurance claims for the week ending March 21, 2020 totaled a record-breaking 3,283,000, almost five times the highest previous weekly total. However, there are hopes that this could be temporary. New analysis from Brookings shows that half of Americans still expect to return to work within six months or have been provided with a specific recall date, meaning employment relationships may be able to be maintained — at least for a certain length of time — after a temporary shutdown of the economy.
(From The 74 Million) As features of the coronavirus recession are swiftly coming into view, economists who have spent the last decade surveying that damage of the 2008 Great Recession warn of declining student performance and widening achievement gaps to come. A 2019 Pennsylvania State University study found that the funding cuts imposed on schools by the Great Recession were associated with measurable declines in student math and reading scores, which were felt most acutely in school districts serving predominantly low-income and minority students. That finding is consistent with an emerging body of research pointing to the importance of money in K-12 schooling.
(From Inside Higher Ed) College and university presidents most concerned about the toll the crisis could take on the mental health of their students and employees, according to a recent survey by Inside Higher Ed and Hanover Research. While nine in 10 campus leaders say mental health is their top concern, only 18 percent said they had invested in additional mental or physical health resources. Institutions must now consider how to take forms of student engagement and support that have formerly been campus-based and turn them into services online or at a distance.
Meanwhile, some schools have shifted their fundraising efforts to helping students facing emergency situations, including international students who have no way of returning home to their families. "Fundraising should not stop during a time like this but rather can be directed to help those being impacted by the crisis," says William & Mary vice president Matthew Lambert.
More on Inside Higher Ed's survey of college and university presidents
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