Highlights of the 2005 Opinion Leader Survey | Print full guidelines

In July 2005, Lumina Foundation for Education surveyed 130 individuals identified by staff as key opinion leaders in the field of access, success, and philanthropy, including:

College presidents and executives (43)
College association heads (15)
Content experts (19)
Policy makers (10)
Community leaders (7)
SHEEO/System heads (7)
Partners of the Achieving the Dream (AtD) community college initiative (4).

We achieved a response rate of 66 percent. In addition, we sent a customized version of the survey to 70 leading individuals associated with projects funded though the Achieving the Dream (AtD) community college initiative; 74 percent responded.

Our external consulting firm, Patrizi Associates, captured these perceptions, and we would like to share highlighted survey results. Recognizing the complete report is lengthy, we present a summary prepared by the evaluation consultant.

Considering Foundation Mission, Execution, and Impact

Opinion leaders (85 percent) "agree" or "strongly agree" that Lumina Foundation has a distinctive mission and does a good job in communicating that mission.
Opinion leaders see Lumina as a leader in advancing access for postsecondary education (92 percent) and success in postsecondary education (86 percent).
High percentages see Lumina as a strong executor of its mission in "being a good source of information and guidance" (87 percent); in "being a good collaborator and partner" (89 percent), and in funding valuable research (83 percent).
A smaller share (78 percent) see Lumina as having a "good understanding of the greatest needs in postsecondary education," although this percentage increased 11 points over last year's survey result (67 percent.)
There is far greater agreement (78 percent) among opinion leaders that "the Lumina Foundation responds to its stakeholders," over the 48 percent to 49 percent ratings on a comparable item used in earlier surveys.
Foundation staff members received laudatory ratings on questions introduced in the 2005 survey: Staff members are seen as courteous (98 percent), accessible (93 percent), and knowledgeable (88 percent). In terms of how Lumina conducts its work, it gets high marks for its "support for high priority issues" (93 percent) and promotion of "data-driven decision making" (84 percent).
Opinion leaders placed Lumina Foundation along a seven-point continuum of "impact" from "no impact" to "significant positive impact" on five important elements of its work in the field. Ratings increased notably between 2004 and 2005 in all areas. Substantial increases registered in the Foundation's impact on postsecondary access, success, advancing the state of knowledge in the field, informing public policy and, finally, in affecting practice in the field.
When asked to name up to three foundations making the most positive impact on the field, almost 70 percent of all stakeholders responding to the question included Lumina. When asked to rank Lumina Foundation among foundations making the most positive impact in their field, 69 percent of opinion leaders rank Lumina among the top 5 percent of foundations working in their field, followed by the Ford Foundation (36 percent), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (27 percent) and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation (23 percent).
AtD respondents consistently rated Lumina Foundation even more positively than did opinion leaders in the broader survey. In seven of nine key measures, their ratings were 10 to 15 points higher than the positive ratings of other respondents.

Conclusion

The striking improvement in ratings of Lumina Foundation performance in this year's assessment suggests that surveyed opinion leaders give Lumina substantial credit for steadfastly focusing its efforts on postsecondary access and success, especially among underrepresented populations. Opinion leaders warn, however, that real substantive change will not be easy or quick. They note that Lumina must take a long view if it is to realize its goals in postsecondary education. Lumina's vision, mission and approach are seen as appropriate and timely.

While the complexity of postsecondary educational reform is seen by some as staggering, Lumina is credited for its holistic approach in looking at financial aid, pre-collegiate education, college costs, student services, etc. Nevertheless, there is some concern that any one of these areas could require all of the Foundation's attention, time and resources to make a discernible, positive impact. Thus, in its work and decision-making, the Foundation must balance the breadth of its endeavors with the likelihood of beneficial results.