2021 Survey of Journalism & Mass Communication Enrollments

In contrast to 2018, the 2021 Survey of Journalism & Mass Communication Enrollments showed a decrease in undergraduate student enrollment in journalism and mass communication programs as well as decreases in the percentage of minority undergraduate and graduate students enrolled. In addition, it showed an increase in the percentage of programs reporting decreases in their operating budgets and increases in hiring freezes for faculty and staff. These findings, which undoubtedly were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, reflect overall trends in student enrollment and finances at colleges and universities nationwide. However, on a more positive note, the 2021 survey also showed increases in graduate student enrollment as well as continued growth in the percentage of programs offering online degrees and the percentage of students enrolled in journalism sequences. © AEJMC 2023.

Infection with Covid Variants of Concern in a Lung Transplant Population

The COVID pandemic has evolved as the SARS-2 Coronavirus (CoV-2) mutated into unique variants of concern (VOC). The clinical approach to COVID has evolved as new therapeutics have become available. Previous reports demonstrate differences in patient outcomes based on VOC, however outcomes in a lung transplant population have not been described. Our lung transplant program follows over 300 transplant recipients. Relevant information including date of first positive test, hospital admission, monoclonal antibody (mAb) or oral anti-viral treatment, CoV-2 vaccination history, tixagevimab/cilgavimab (T/C) and COVID attributed mortality have been tracked for quality improvement purposes. Outcomes were stratified by predominant US VOC at time of positive testing: wild strain 02/2020-02/2021, alpha strain 02/2021-05/2021, delta strain 06/2021-12/2021, omicron strain 01/2022- 09/25/2022. From 03/20/2020 through 09/25/2022, 142 recipients were diagnosed with COVID 152 times, including 9 recipients infected twice and 1 recipient infected 3 times. Most infected recipients tested positive with CoV-2 during the omicron wave. All recurrent infections occurred during the omicron wave. 8 deaths (5.6%) were attributed to COVID: 6 due to COVID respiratory failure, 1 stroke and 1 new restrictive-chronic lung allograft dysfunction. Therapies directed against CoV-2 were more likely administered in delta and omicron waves. Recipients were more likely to require hospital admission in wild type and alpha waves of CoV-2. Most deaths occurred in the wild type and delta waves. Deceased recipients, and those requiring hospital admission received less vaccinations and were less likely to have received T/C. (Table) This analysis shows changing trends in management and outcomes over the COVID pandemic. Future research should focus on transplant specific outcomes, including post-infection changes in allograft function and risk of developing chronic lung allograft dysfunction based on likely infecting VOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Heart & Lung Transplantation is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Key to Engaging Every Student: Building Greater Linkages Between National, State, and Local System Leaders

The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated how essential summer and after-school programs are for youth and their families. Policymakers took note of the needs and the evidence base, and prioritized stimulus funding to expand access and accelerate learning. American Rescue Plan (ARP) and Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds were quickly released to schools through different mechanisms, initially prioritizing speed over infrastructure design. The funds were intended to fuel robust school-community partnerships to provide students who suffered from pandemic-related learning and developmental setbacks with comprehensive, high-quality programming;yet the timeline for planning and implementation often hindered progress toward that vision. This article discusses the challenges to scaling critical services, the strategies that states and partners are putting into place, and opportunities to strengthen relationships and infrastructure at the national, state, and regional or local level.

Lifting an LI, FG, and/or UR Support Program Off the Ground during COVID-19: Successes and Lessons Learned

Researchers describe a need for increased access to and transitional support into STEM graduate education for low-income, academically talented, first-generation and/or underrepresented and minority (LIATFirstGenURM) students [1]. In October 2019, we were awarded an NSF scholarship grant to build infrastructure and provide support to low-income, academically talented, firs-generation, underrepresented, and minority (LIATFirstGenURM) graduate engineering students. As part of the internal evaluation of the program, we interviewed seven enrolled and funded graduate student beneficiaries to determine if they encountered any barriers during their recruitment and first semester of graduate study. Additionally, we asked them what support they valued most. We found that these students valued the organizational program support system, and as a result, we also found several opportunities to improve the system. In this paper, we share our findings and discuss implications for program updates. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021