Jamie Merisotis
President and CEO
Jamie Merisotis, an internationally recognized leader in higher education, human work, philanthropy, and public policy, has been Lumina Foundation’s president and CEO since 2008.
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When considering college, students and families should think more like investors
March 11, 2024
Of all the discussions about the cost and price of college, the most important often happen far from the seats of power in Congress and university boardrooms.
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Admissions Beat podcast S5 Episode 6: Is College Worth It?
March 5, 2024
Jamie Merisotis and Tony Carnevale share insights on American views on higher education, including: What is the enduring value of an undergraduate degree? What majors (if any) bring a career dividend despite the rising cost of obtaining it? And does “the duality of a good job and a good life” st
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Higher ed has its hot-button issues, but jobs remain a top priority for state policymakers
Feb. 26, 2024
As state legislatures across the country get deeper into the policymaking process this year, we’re getting a clearer idea of how they may act on the top issues facing college students and families.
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Even if your collar’s blue, a college degree can mean more green
Feb. 12, 2024
When we think of ways to make college more affordable and make degrees more valuable in the workplace, we don’t think about Chris Jones. I mention Jones, an Indiana electrician, but there are many like him: People with degrees in the humanities making a good living in fields far from the subjects
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Short-term credentials leading to pay increases fell, highlighting the need for programs to pay off.
Jan. 31, 2024
Thirty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, saw declines in the share of residents having industry certifications and college certificates with significant wage premiums. This unusual decline in short-term credentials, surfacing in Lumina Foundation’s update of A Stronger Nation toda
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Equity in higher education attainment—when good isn’t good enough
Jan. 29, 2024
New information about the immense value of college degrees will delight supporters of higher education. But what’s behind the numbers tells a tale of the unfinished business of college attainment.
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The news looks good for job-hunting grads this spring
Jan. 15, 2024
College students graduating this year have gotten mixed signals about the strength of the job market, but this much is clear: Just as for those final exams in the spring, preparation is everything when it comes to a solid career launch.
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The smart money is still on college, but hedge your bet by choosing wisely.
Dec. 18, 2023
The trouble with good advice is that it's often not good enough. That is the case with higher education. Yes, getting a college degree or other high-quality credential pays off very well—a college degree is worth $2.8 million in lifetime earnings, for example.
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AI systems need a conscience—and that’s us
Dec. 4, 2023
AI is today's version of the Prometheus story—or it could be without proper safeguards focused on individual rights and responsibilities.
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Beware these ‘truisms’ about higher education
Nov. 20, 2023
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.
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Higher education faces its biggest test yet—but is getting these answers right
Nov. 6, 2023
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.
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Hispanic students can shape our future—if we reshape college
Oct. 23, 2023
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.
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We need a more agile higher ed system to meet the needs of today’s college students
Oct. 9, 2023
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.
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We need more local news for better education, government, and public health
Sept. 27, 2023
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.
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The value of college can’t be reduced to only dollars and cents
Sept. 25, 2023
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.
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On The Value Of College, Higher Ed Has A ‘Great Choir’ Of Supporters—But Many People Can’t Hear The Music
Sept. 11, 2023
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,
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Amid skepticism about higher ed, state lawmakers on both sides appear open to fresh ideas
Aug. 28, 2023
We’re always stronger together—and that includes the effort to fix our system of education and job training.
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The road to racial justice is also the path to prosperity and progress
Aug. 14, 2023
If you want progress, work for justice. That’s a paraphrase of Pope Paul VI from 1972 amid the Vietnam War. Then, the sentiment was about peace. More than 50 years later, we’re still talking about justice—but now in the context of economic mobility and the promise of American progress.
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With the end of race-conscious college admissions, Americans have reached common ground on what’s needed next
July 31, 2023
What will American colleges and universities look like now that the Supreme Court has upended affirmative action? The evidence is clear: As we’ve seen from states that had already banned race-conscious admissions prior to the court’s recent decision, enrollment for students of color will decline
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Let’s stop arguing about immigration — And let it help us all
July 31, 2023
With the 2024 presidential campaign about to kick into a higher gear after Labor Day, one thing we can be sure of is that immigration will once again be a major campaign theme.