Search

A snapshot of Black student enrollment and outcomes at for-profit colleges paired with the perspectives of Black alumni of for-profit undergraduate and graduate programs

This report synthesizes landscape assessments from 12 states participating in Lumina Foundation’s FutureReady States (FRS) initiative.

See the enrollment outcomes at more than 3,000 institutions in 2024, the first year affected by the Supreme Court’s elimination of race-conscious admissions compared to 2018 and 2019. Enrollment data are drawn from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.

This document details the methodology for counting certificates and certifications that are used for reporting beginning in 2024 (applies to 2023 data and forward). Certifications rates are developed using the CPS but directly align with how degrees are evaluated under Lumina Foundation’s revised goal. Certificate rates are developed through a multi-step process that estimates the […]

What Matters is the State Population Holding Credentials that Lead to Economic Opportunity

PPTX to accompany the State Attainment Collaborative Webinar

In 2025, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) didn’t just get a trim. It got a buzz cut. The office already operated efficiently compared to other federal statistical agencies, but the cuts they experienced were drastic and shortsighted.

Reflecting on 2025, this show brings back key conversations that are sure to carry over into 2026. This episode revisits a conversation about American prosperity and Lumina’s new goal focused on credentials of value, a discussion about higher education’s role in shaping artificial intelligence, and a review of three states working to redesign admissions systems.

While public confidence in higher education has declined sharply in recent years, current students and graduates report far more optimistic experiences. The College Reality Check: What Students Experience vs. What America Believes report from Lumina Foundation and Gallup examines this divide, highlighting public skepticism alongside the positive outcomes described by those on campus and beyond.

If you listen to the national conversation about higher education, you’d think campuses are ideological battlegrounds, students are disillusioned, and employers are quietly questioning whether degrees still matter.

Morehouse College student Tobias Brown traveled the country to meet leaders—all Black men, like him, at the top of their fields, who could inspire his education and career dreams.

When I graduated from college in 1986, I never once doubted that I would be able to use my degree to pursue professional success. I never wondered if the skills I spent thousands of dollars learning were already obsolete or if they would translate to my first job. I didn’t have to ask myself: “If artificial intelligence can do this, then what was the point of going to college?”

Many students enrolling in short-term workforce programs aren’t new to college. They’re coming back.

Every year, the release of new Stronger Nation data offers a snapshot of where the country stands on education after high school. This year’s release feels different.

Lumina compiles a free daily digest of the best stories in higher education on topics such as college affordability, quality assurance, state and federal policy, talent development, today’s jobs, and more.

In a speech at the Economic Club of Indiana, Lumina Foundation President and CEO Jamie Merisotis explored how reimagining higher education in the age of artificial intelligence can unlock talent and advanced prosperity across Indiana and the nation.

I’ve spent much of my career working as a college administrator. I’ve held senior roles, carried expansive portfolios, and had titles that critics of higher education increasingly cite as evidence of “administrative bloat.”

New baseline shows 43.6 percent of U.S. adults in the labor force have degrees or other credentials with economic value; the goal is 75 percent by 2040.

Class Action’s new report, The Future of Fair Admissions: A First Look at College Enrollment Outcomes After the End of Affirmative Action, compares first-time enrollments in 2022 and 2023 to enrollments in 2024 at over 3,000 colleges and universities for more than 3 million freshmen.