Rebecca Koenig

Swashbuckling into an acting career, shielded by a college degree.

In the pandemic, strangers have been gathering on Zoom to read and discuss Homer, Virginia Woolf and bell hooks. No grades involved, no credit — and no universities. The humanities are fleeing campus. Where does that leave academia?

Companies selling admissions algorithms say they have a fairer, more scientific way to predict student success. They use games, web tracking, and machine learning systems to capture and process more and more student data, then convert qualitative inputs into quantitative outcomes. The pitch: use deeper technology to make admissions more deeply human.

Adults encourage teenagers who may struggle to afford college to consider alternative routes to adulthood—often specifically to employment. To a steady job. To a solid paycheck. But young people want more than good livelihoods. They want good lives.

In the 1970s, a university librarian applied her research skills to meet a growing need: helping women find scholarships for college. When she died, she left behind a meticulous database. Can it became a useful tool for college access in the internet age?

“I’ve never seen an administration, a staff, an agency so supportive of programming for its incarcerated residents. I think they’re a model of what corrections officials around the country should be.”