Lumina Foundation has initiated Tuning USA, a faculty-led pilot project designed to define what students must know, understand and be able to demonstrate upon degree completion in a specific field. Tuning USA methodology is based upon similar work to increase the transparency around what a degree represents under Europe's Bologna Process.

Tuning aligns well with Lumina's "Big Goal " of increasing the share of Americans with high-quality postsecondary degrees and credentials from 39 percent to 60 percent by 2025. Because the nation's overall degree-attainment rate has not risen in 40 years, Lumina and higher education leaders are focusing on new models that build on existing learning outcomes efforts in the United States and abroad.

The leading U.S. expert on the Bologna Process, Cliff Adelman, has produced a comprehensive analysis on the first decade of this cooperative process that has been adopted in Latin America, North Africa and Australia. Read The Bologna Process for U.S. Eyes: Re-learning Higher Education in the Age of Convergence, and listen to our podcasts.

Merisotis: Position postsecondary education as the nation's workforce development system

In a speech to a recent statewide higher education conference in Pennsylvania, Lumina Foundation President Jamie Merisotis emphasized the collaborative role of higher education leaders, employers, policymakers and the public in achieving the access and success objectives of Lumina's "Big Goal." Merisotis suggests that the nation's need for a highly skilled workforce will require a high level of proficiency in both general thinking and communication skills as well as an ever-changing set of skills and knowledge linked to a specific occupation.  National data indicate that nearly all Americans need both kinds of knowledge and skills, "and our postsecondary education system is where people should come to get them."

Preserving college opportunities in a recession
Challenging economic times call for policymakers and campus leaders to preserve college access and affordability, concludes a report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The Challenge to the States: Preserving College Access and Affordability in a Time of Crisis outlines specific strategies for states to retain college opportunity and ensure the future economic well-being of states and the nation.

G-8 comparisons: How the U.S. stacks up
International comparative data show that many countries continue to outperform the United States in college-degree attainment. Find out how the United States compares with other G-8 countries in Comparative Indicators of Education in the United States and Other G-8 Countries: 2009, from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Positive evidence on how grants impact college-going
Between 1996 and 2002, Pell awards grew steadily and more rapidly than the list prices of public two-year and four-year colleges. At the same time, states and institutional grants to lower-income students grew in real terms during these years, resulting in a decline in the net-of-grant prices facing lower-income students. Brookings Institution research finds that these grant-induced reductions in net prices stimulated small but meaningful increases in college-going among lower income youth. Learn more in a policy brief and the full research report .

Onus is on states to invest in what works
Accurate, reliable data will be instrumental to determine how effectively states use the one-time infusion of federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to close achievement gaps and boost college-degree attainment. The Education Trust's Education Watch series provides policymakers and the public with a running account of which states are making progress with their ARRA spending and those lagging behind.

Developmental education & community colleges
Improving developmental education at community colleges is key to a larger, national solution to ensure employees have the skills and credentials necessary for a 21st century workforce. A policy brief from The Working Poor Families Project offers policy recommendations to help states increase the success and credential attainment of developmental education students.

New analysis dissects community colleges
Community colleges are an entry point to higher education for 46 percent of U.S. undergraduates. At the same time, students who attend two-year schools report dramatically higher dropout rates than their four-year counterparts. Community Colleges: A Route of Upward Economic Mobility , from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, offers a new comparative analysis of community colleges and four-year institutions, incorporating data on student types, economic returns, and students' educational objectives.

Study: Do what works for community college students
Expectations for success are not panning out as well as they could and should for many community college students. Findings from the Survey of Entering Student Engagement reveal that almost 70 percent of these students have high aspirations for success, yet about half are dropping out of school before their second year. The report suggests six design principles to help schools retain students and foster academic achievement.

How community colleges are weathering the economic storm
Enrollment at community colleges is up, budgets are down, and online courses have experienced increased demand, according to a new national survey of 120 community college presidents and district chancellors. The survey was conducted by the League for Innovation in the Community College and The Campus Computing Project.

When do students stop out?
The first of a two-part Data Notes series from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count investigates which academic terms have the highest frequency of drop-out, or "stop-out" rates, at Achieving the Dream colleges. Students are examined by enrollment status, gender, and race/ethnicity.

Economy weighs on college applicants
Nearly seven in 10 high school students say the economy has affected where they applied to college this year. The College Hopes & Worries Survey, from The Princeton Review , shows that the biggest concern for students is getting into their first-choice college but not being able to attend because of financial reasons.

Report: Colleges play key role in military restructuring
States must step up their education strategies to support the challenges of a growing defense community, according to an issue brief from the National Governors Association. Among the report's recommendations include: providing in-state tuition rates at postsecondary institutions for military service members, spouses, and dependents and supporting colleges that offer degrees or credentials related to military needs.

Turning military training into college credit
Members of the military service and veterans can be confused about how military training and education translate into college credits. Transfer Guide: Understanding Your Military Transcript and ACE Credit Recommendations, from the American Council on Education (ACE), provides answers in an online guide containing a transfer credit checklist, education resources for military service members and veterans, and more.

Tracking achievement, attainment
» In only three states-California, New York, and Indiana-does need-based state aid intended to help low-income families pay for college amount to more than 20 percent of the average tuition costs at the states' four-year colleges and universities. View other state summaries.

Source: Education Watch State Summary Reports 2009

Silent and costly epidemic
» Over the course of their lifetimes, high school dropouts of the class of 2008 will cost the nation $319 billion in lost wages.

Source: Every Student Counts: The Role of Federal Policy in Improving Graduation Rates

Engagement and academic success
» Seventy-five percent of entering community college students are not enrolled in a student success course.

Source: Imagine Success: Engaging Entering Students

College degrees conferred
» The respective increases in the number of individuals earning associate's degrees, bachelor's degrees and master's degrees between the years of 1996-97 and 2006-07 are 27 percent, 30 percent and 44 percent.

Source: The NCES Mini-Digest of Education Statistics 2008

Hispanic college enrollment up
» Hispanic students comprised 12 percent of full-time college students in 2007, up from 10 percent in 2006. View additional enrollment statistics of students.

Source: School Enrollment-Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2007

Improving developmental education outcomes
» An estimated 60 percent of first-time community college students who enroll directly from high school do not have the basic academic skills needed to successfully complete college-level courses.

Source: The Working Poor Families Project