Imagine learning that’s accessible, lifelong, and prepares everyone for a global future.

To realize this vision, Lumina Foundation works to ensure 60 percent of adults will have a college degree, certificate, industry certification, or other credential of value by 2025.

We invest in today’s students by creating clearer paths to learning beyond high school.

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.

Students looking bored in a lecture hall.

Ending Racial Injustice Today's Credentials Today's Institutions Today's Students

A desk job wasn’t for her, but she’s found success in a construction careers program.

Building things, fixing things, creating with her hands—that was the sort of work Catiana had in mind.

After a rough start, he turned things around with training for a high-demand industry.

Jack earned his GED, took college courses, and then earned his commercial driver’s license—and the route to a good job.

Inside out: Community colleges far and wide

Lumina's Million Dollar Community College Challenge team is shining a spotlight on the great work of community colleges around the world.

California students' journeys documented in Today's College Climb photoessay

Lumina Foundation teamed up with documentary photographer Rachel Bujalski to capture a candid, close-up look at the lives of five students. Learn more about the barriers today’s students encounter.

Winner Announcement! Million Dollar Community College Challenge

Shauna Davis and Mary Laphen Pope announce the winner of Lumina Foundation's Million Dollar Community College Challenge.

The Latest

Beware these ‘truisms’ about higher education

Despite the flame-throwing heat in today’s public discourse, it’s actually possible to find agreement—to weigh two conflicting ideas at once. As F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, that is the test of a first-rate intelligence.

• Nov. 20, 2023

Prioritizing adult learners of color makes education better for all of us

Over the last two years, Lumina has supported the REACH Collaborative, which stands for Racial Equity for Adult Credentials in Higher Education and works with community colleges to help adult students of color attain associate degrees and other credentials.

• Nov. 7, 2023

Higher education faces its biggest test yet—but is getting these answers right

Higher education is getting at least three things right as colleges and universities pivot to confront some of the greatest challenges in the nation’s history.

• Nov. 6, 2023

Taking on brands across the country

If you think about a college’s brand as their reputation—how people experience the college, their perceptions—and what they say about a college, then we know that brand perception matters a great deal in education.

• Oct. 25, 2023

Why mobile optimization matters at small colleges

Community colleges across the country need to be creative in how they attract and enroll adult learners in their communities. For small colleges in particular, it’s critical that their touchpoints reach their students where they are, and for 97 percent of the population (according to Pew Research), that’s on their cell phones.

• Oct. 25, 2023

Mobile insights in higher education

Searches for higher ed-related queries on Google increased on mobile devices last year while decreasing on all other device types.

Oct. 25, 2023

Community Colleges Far and Wide: Cape Fear Community College

Next up, we're traveling to Wilmington, NC to visit Cape Fear Community College, the fifth-largest community college in North Carolina, where education and community intersect. What can we learn from this dynamic coastal college? Come along as we meet engaging faculty and talented students and explore a variety of programs that make for an inspiring and exciting college experience.

• Oct. 25, 2023

The college brand in action

At Lumina Foundation, we understand the power of a brand. It’s something we think about daily. Are we staying true to our mission? Are we creating experiences with our grantees that are inclusive and designed for success? When people visit our website, walk through our office doors, or interact with our staff, do they have an experience that is memorable, inclusive, and representative of all that we stand for?

• Oct. 25, 2023

Popular credential programs should include markers of quality

Noncredit courses are increasingly popular, with nearly half of all community college students enrolled in these quick, low-cost programs designed to sharpen skills. But are students – hoping for fast career gains – spending their time and money wisely?

• Oct. 24, 2023

Hispanic students can shape our future—if we reshape college

The road to higher educational attainment runs through every Hispanic household in America. With a population of 63.7 million, Hispanics are the country’s largest minority group, and today one in every five students in higher ed is Hispanic.

• Oct. 23, 2023

We need a more agile higher ed system to meet the needs of today’s college students

As we talk about the enormous value of education beyond high school to families and the nation, we need to be sure we’re listening, too—something we don’t always do so well.

• Oct. 9, 2023

Community colleges can fuel America’s economic reinvention — if we let them

The U.S. government is making massive investments to update America’s infrastructure so we can meet some of the biggest challenges of this century: addressing climate change, improving economic competitiveness, and safeguarding our supply chain.

• Oct. 3, 2023

We owe student parents a high-value college experience

Every Fall, school buses are once again a part of our morning commutes. Less obvious are the parents joining in the back-to-school rite of passage alongside their children.

• Sept. 29, 2023

One-quarter of Hispanic students face discrimination, leading many to consider leaving college

More Hispanic students are seeking educational opportunities after high school, with a notable upswing over the past decade in the percentage of Hispanics earning degrees. But the pandemic brought unfortunate setbacks to Hispanic enrollment, and a new study also reveals other alarming hurdles many Hispanic students face on their educational journeys.

• Sept. 27, 2023

We need more local news for better education, government, and public health

No one disputes the need for more—and better—news coverage that helps us make sense of an increasingly complex world. We need local angles on national news, better statehouse reporting, and more explainers and in-depth coverage of local communities.

• Sept. 27, 2023

The value of college can’t be reduced to only dollars and cents

These are odd days for American higher education. More and more Americans doubt the value of going beyond high school. From 2016 to 2022, the proportion of young Americans choosing to continue their education after graduating from high school dropped significantly—from 70 percent to 62 percent.

• Sept. 25, 2023

On The Value Of College, Higher Ed Has A ‘Great Choir’ Of Supporters—But Many People Can’t Hear The Music

There are many reasons why only half of American adults have an education credential beyond high school, and we’re starting to see one of the biggest: Communication. Too often, we simply talk past each other. Take these points, for example: A bachelor’s degree is worth $2.8 million, on average, over a lifetime. Someone with a […]

• Sept. 11, 2023

Press Forward will award more than $500 million to revitalize local news

coalition of 22 donors announced Press Forward, a national initiative to strengthen communities and democracy by supporting local news and information with an infusion of more than a half-billion dollars over the next five years.

Sept. 7, 2023

See All News

Creating more just outcomes for students

A closeup of the American flag doing its thang—it's waving.

The nation’s progress

The United States faces a 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 to join or remain in the middle class.

A Stronger Nation

Two men talk face to face in close proximity.

Talking about race

To achieve justice for people who are Black, Hispanic, Latino, and Native American through increased learning, we must help people understand why that’s important, what systemic barriers exist, and how we can make a difference.

Communication Tips

Imagine learning that’s accessible, lifelong, and prepares everyone for a global future.

We invest in today’s students by creating clearer paths to learning beyond high school.

A desk job wasn’t for her, but she’s found success in a construction careers program.

After a rough start, he turned things around with training for a high-demand industry.

Inside out: Community colleges far and wide

California students' journeys documented in Today's College Climb photoessay

Winner Announcement! Million Dollar Community College Challenge

The Latest

Creating more just outcomes for students

The nation’s progress

Talking about race

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