America needs clear paths to learning and success after high school that make the nation stronger and meet the needs of today’s student.

No matter where you come from, what you look like, or how much money your family has, you should have what you need to learn, grow, and thrive. Read more about Lumina’s Commitment to Racial Equity.

Lumina Foundation works in partnership with education and business leaders, civil rights organizations, policymakers, and individuals who want to reimagine how and where learning occurs.

AREAS OF FOCUS

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Justice for Today's Students
Policies, practices, and beliefs—rooted in history and still affecting people today—keep many Black, Native American, and Hispanic people from the education and skills they need.
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Our commitment to racial equity
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Lumina wants to ensure quality education for all Americans.
Find out how Lumina's efforts support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal of Quality Education.
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The Nation’s Progress

The United States faces an urgent and growing need for talent. Many more people of all races, ethnicities, ages, and income levels will need college degrees, certificates, industry certifications, and other credentials of value to join or remain in the middle class.

Success Stories

Aggies Elevated students Bret Giebel (left) and Willy Wilson.
Focus Magazine
Utah State program links students to good jobs
Aggies Elevated is a two-year program at Utah State University that is designed to serve students with intellectual disabilities well – not merely by providing opportunities for learning, but also by helping students land competitive, “real-world” employment after they graduate. The staff-intensive Aggies Elevated program typically serves about 15 students at a time. As of…
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Daniel Castellanos shows off his signature salad outside The Pressroom restaurant in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Focus Magazine
‘Special ed goes to college’? Not at Millersville
The goal of the Integrated Studies program at Millersville University is to fully merge its students into college life. The 25 students on the university’s southeastern Pennsylvania campus live with roommates who aren’t part of the program. No classes or social events are designed exclusively for them. They join clubs on campus, but they do…
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Focus Magazine
Western Kentucky serves students on the spectrum
Western Kentucky University’s Circle of Support surrounds high-functioning students on the autism spectrum. Within the Circle—which is a feature of the university’s Kelly Autism Program (KAP)—services are robust: everything from single-room housing to frequent attendance at required “study table” sessions. The sessions are staffed by KAP employees who tutor students on academics while also advising…
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Isolated suit in a Tron-esque lightscape of a server farm.
Feb. 23, 2021
Minneapolis IT firm boosts workers—and profits—by promoting ‘human work’
By Jamie Merisotis
In my new book, Human Work in the Age of Smart Machines, I write that nearly everyone will have to become a continuous learner to adapt to changes in the modern workplace. Workers will have to learn new skills to retain their jobs, and students will need to acquire skills to become workers and constantly…
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Ruth Simmons at graduation.
Feb. 15, 2021
Equity First: Trailblazing Prairie View President Turns Black Pain into Social Change
By Katherine Wheatle
When Lumina Foundation decided to put $15 million toward fighting systemic racism in response to the killing of George Floyd, we imagined funding the efforts of leaders like Dr. Ruth Simmons and institutions like Prairie View A&M University in Texas.
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COVID-masked woman picking up a coffee from shop counter.
Feb. 15, 2021
A higher minimum wage will matter, but bringing real meaning to work must be the ultimate goal
By Jamie Merisotis
This week’s planned walkout by fast-food workers, demanding a higher minimum wage, highlights the need to push livable wages to the forefront. A higher minimum wage is essential. Overdue. And right.
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Ethnically diverse study group in library.
Feb. 9, 2021
Community-based programs, first-year seminars, learning communities: How to assure equity and quality in higher ed
By Debra Humphreys
New research emerging from a recent project led by the National Association of System Heads provides some useful insights into how, even during the enormous challenges of this pandemic moment, we can assure both equity and quality as we seek to grow the number of people with learning beyond high school.
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Black man at graduation holding his diploma victoriously high in the air.
Feb. 2, 2021
Higher-ed’s pandemic roadblock stops growth in college degrees
By Courtney Brown
A new report from the National Student Clearinghouse shows an alarming trend: COVID-19 has slowed the growth of college degree and certificate earners to a standstill. The numbers are the lowest in eight years – and come at the worst possible time, as unemployment soars and millions of Americans are suffering.
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Worker in an industrial environement
Jan. 28, 2021
In this COVID recovery, it’s time to get serious about apprenticeships
By Jamie Merisotis
Everyone supports apprenticeships. Whenever the economy suffers, interest in them spikes, and both the outgoing and incoming administrations have called for a big expansion. In a recent survey, 92 percent of Americans had a favorable view of apprenticeships—an approval rating that’s almost unheard of.
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COVID-masked worker peering into a microscope
Jan. 26, 2021
Prior Learning Assessment: Give higher-ed credit where credit is due
By Wendy Sedlak
Giving college students credit for what they’ve learned in life and on the job – known as prior learning assessment – can save them up to $10,000 in tuition and a year of study, new data show. That helps students complete their degrees more quickly and at less cost, at a time when millions of…
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