News and views in higher education attainment from Lumina Foundation

Featured Story

Adult Pathways

Colleges buck enrollment trends by increasing their supports for students

More than 40 million people in this country have attended college but stopped before completing a degree, and I can understand why.

Jamie MerisotisMay 29, 2023

Female college students talk with their male friend after the graduation ceremony.

Research and Evaluation

How do we bounce back from the enrollment plunge? Four colleges show the way.

A new National Student Clearinghouse report says 40.4 million Americans have some college but no degree, up from 39 million a year ago.

Courtney Brown May 24, 2023

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Today's Credentials

Think carefully before deciding to delay the path to or through college

Taking a break between high school and college, or in the middle of your studies, is tempting. After all, the learning process can be hard, and exhausting. But the times we are in call for caution when it comes to any delays in education.

Jamie Merisotis May 15, 2023

Featured Podcast

Student Supports

Addressing Mental Health on College Campuses

Dakota PawlickiMarch 29, 2023

Jesse O'Connell

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Jesse O'Connell

Jesse O’Connell is the strategy director for federal policy at Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. Based in the Washington, D.C. office, O'Connell leads the development and advancement of the foundation’s federal policy priorities, with the objectives of increasing the share of adults nationally with college degrees, certificates, or other credentials of value.

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Today's Credentials

The University of the Republic?

It is too soon to draw full and conclusive lessons from the 2020 election, but two things are beyond dispute: Joe Biden has been elected the next President of the United States, and America remains deeply polarized.

Jesse O'ConnellNov. 20, 2020

State Policy

States have to step up to help colleges face the coming budget storm

American higher education is in the eye of a hurricane. When the pandemic hit last spring, campuses were buffeted by the frantic transition to remote instruction, lost revenue, and emergency spending on health and safety measures. The country made it through the tough early months with unprecedented cooperation between higher education leaders, faculty members, and…

Scott Jenkins, Jesse O'ConnellNov. 17, 2020

Federal Policy

How to Build a Post-Pandemic America

The Works Progress Administration (WPA), a federal agency created in 1935 to address the nation’s then-worst economic catastrophe, is getting a fresh look as we think about how to help millions of Americans left jobless in the pandemic. There’s a good reason for why. During its eight-year tenure, the WPA put more than eight million…

Jamie Merisotis, Jesse O'ConnellJuly 2, 2020

Federal Policy

Distance education matters more than ever: Let’s be sure we focus on the learning

Like most crises, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a whipsaw effect. On one hand, it’s wildly disruptive and distracting, reordering our routines and upending every aspect of normal life. But sudden upheaval also brings the opportunity to challenge long-held assumptions about the status quo. It resets our priorities, strips away the non-essentials and forces us…

Jesse O'ConnellMay 13, 2020

Federal Policy

When it comes to higher ed, there’s no debate about what today’s students need

Think of a presidential primary campaign like a boisterous family discussion around the holiday dinner table. Everyone has his or her own ideas, many disagree, and the arguments are loud, lively, and passionate.

Jamie Merisotis, Jesse O'ConnellNov. 20, 2019

Federal Policy

College accreditation rule leaves work yet to do

The federal government’s long-awaited final new regulations for accrediting postsecondary institutions are out—and the results are mixed. We see some encouraging steps forward, but also some troubling oversights. In short, there is still plenty of work to do.

Jesse O'ConnellNov. 7, 2019

Federal Policy

When discussing student loan forgiveness, start with racial justice

Pay attention to electoral politics long enough and you’re sure to hear the pundit’s admonition that a successful candidate campaigns in poetry and governs in prose.

Jesse O'ConnellJuly 2, 2019

Federal Policy

This spring, put students first

Federal policy must first look beyond efforts that merely increase college enrollment. We must do that — but while also increasing student success and never compromising on quality.

Jesse O'ConnellMarch 22, 2019

Federal Policy

The lie at the heart of the college admissions scandal

By now you, along with the rest of America, have heard about the college admissions scandal setting higher education ablaze. Federal authorities charged dozens of people this week with participating in a scam to sell admissions slots at some of the country’s most selective universities. The brazen scheme featured grifting college advisers, crooked test proctors,…

Jesse O'ConnellMarch 14, 2019

Prison Education

Prison education: Making the most of a second chance

Since 1994, when the Violent Crimes Act banned incarcerated people from receiving federal financial aid, millions of Americans have cycled through prisons, only a fraction able to obtain high-quality higher education.

Haley Glover, Jesse O'Connell, Wayne TaliaferroMarch 5, 2019

Today's Credentials

The case for college data transparency

If you were making one of the most important and expensive decisions of your life, how much of the necessary information would you want to have? About 100 percent? 75 percent? Would you settle for 50 percent?

Jesse O'ConnellOct. 23, 2018

Talent Development

Out of the Amazon jobs race, cities talk education, talent

We’ve all been on a bad blind date. Your aunt swore that you had something in common, but you show up holding your dog-eared copy of “The Hobbit” and she’s toting Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code.” You just know you’re in for two hours of awkward pauses and forced small talk.

Dakota Pawlicki, Jesse O'ConnellAug. 27, 2018

Adult Pathways

Don’t forget Damaris

Nearly two years ago we told you about Damaris Ortiz, who was born in Mexico and immigrated to California in her teens. Now pursuing a bachelor’s degree, her path remains difficult. She and many students like her have obligations that go beyond the classroom, which is why we need to emphasize policies that better meet…

Jesse O'ConnellNov. 30, 2017

Talent Development

Amazon should look to Talent Hubs for HQ2

Speculating which city is most likely to land this prize has become a popular parlor game in many media outlets.

Dakota Pawlicki, Jesse O'ConnellOct. 19, 2017