News and views in higher education attainment from Lumina Foundation

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Today's Credentials

Why Counting Degrees Matters

The new data are clear: More Americans are learning and training beyond high school to pave powerful paths to well-paid jobs. But progress amid challenges is slow, leaving too many adults without college degrees or other credentials to struggle in their careers and lives.

Courtney BrownFeb. 1, 2023

An American flag doing its thing—that is, waving in the breeze.

Research and Evaluation

Lumina set a bold goal for a better-educated country 15 years ago. It worked.

In 2008, when Lumina Foundation committed to at least 60 percent of U.S. adults earning college degrees and other credentials by 2025, we did something that set us apart from most national funders.

Jamie Merisotis Jan. 31, 2023

A Stronger Nation icon shows states in citric colors. They're square.

Today's Credentials

More Adults Earning College Degrees, New Federal Data Show

Lumina Foundation releases an updated A Stronger Nation, the foundation’s online tool for tracking the share of working-age adults with degrees or other credentials of value. The national post-high school education rate among adults 25 to 64 years old reached 53.7 percent in 2021, an increase of nearly 2 percentage points since 2019 when the…

Jan. 31, 2023

Featured Podcast

Communications

Understanding Public Narratives About Workforce and Higher Education

Dakota PawlickiOct. 27, 2022

Courtney Brown

FILTERED BY AUTHOR:

Courtney Brown

Courtney Brown, Ph.D, is vice president of impact and planning for Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. As the chief data and research officer, Brown oversees the foundation’s efforts in the areas of strategic planning, learning, impact, and effectiveness. She also leads Lumina’s international engagement.

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Adult Pathways

Veering Off-Track: ‘Some college, no degree’ numbers spike to 39 million

Like a freight train speeding down the tracks, this alarming trend is moving fast—but in the wrong direction. America’s “some college, no degree” (SCND) population—those who started at a 2-year or 4-year college and stopped out before completing a degree or certificate—has grown to 39 million people, up nearly 9 percent in just two years.

Courtney BrownMay 10, 2022

Research and Evaluation

College is worth it, but stress and finances hold students back

The numbers are staggering. Enrollment in colleges and universities fell by 938,000 students over the past two years. This enrollment plunge was largely due to people who decided college wasn’t worth it. Right?

Courtney BrownApril 20, 2022

Research and Evaluation

We can reverse the enrollment plunge to avoid the ‘permanent gap’ in U.S. education

A drastic decline in the number of people going to college in the past two years threatens America’s economic health and is worsening the nation’s racial divide in educational achievement, experts on a Lumina webinar told us.

Courtney BrownApril 15, 2022

Racial Justice and Equity

Equity for Indy: Partnering for a more inclusive climate

Barriers to learning that hurt students of color across the nation present both a crisis and an opportunity. In Indianapolis, a diverse and dedicated partnership of leaders is collaborating to solve this.

Courtney BrownFeb. 18, 2022

Racial Justice and Equity

Supporting Native Americans as they learn and earn degrees

One million fewer students: that’s how deeply college enrollment declined since 2019, with no signs of rebounding anytime soon. This hurts people across the nation who want to learn and build better lives. But one group, Native Americans, especially deserves our help.

Courtney BrownFeb. 16, 2022

Research and Evaluation

Report: Adults, Black students completing college at higher rates than ever before

There is welcome news in a report issued this week from the National Student Clearinghouse. The six-year college completion rate for first-time students attending college full- or part-time and earning bachelor’s and associate degrees is up to 62.2 percent, a 1.2-point increase over the previous (2014) cohort of entering students.

Courtney BrownFeb. 4, 2022

Research and Evaluation

Six states lead the way in higher-ed completion—with the help of these students

Lumina Foundation’s refreshed Stronger Nation online tool shows progress–and continuing gaps–across the country when it comes to the post-high school education needed for success today. This is one of series of dives into the material by Lumina’s vice president of impact and planning.

Courtney BrownSept. 7, 2021

Research and Evaluation

Stronger Nation: Progress toward a more talented, equitable nation

Our searchable data tool just got a “facelift.” It now offers fresh insights on where we’re making the most progress with post-high school education and training – and where we’re falling short.

Courtney BrownAug. 18, 2021

Research and Evaluation

Stop ‘brain waste’ by putting college-educated immigrants to work

When a foreign-trained physician is forced to drive a cab to make ends meet, it’s called “brain waste.” A new report by the Migration Policy Institute found high numbers of underemployed college-educated immigrants in the U.S. – with devastating costs to those workers and our nation.

Courtney BrownJune 9, 2021

Research and Evaluation

Education: The key to real opportunity—during the pandemic and beyond

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed any number of inequities in American life, but probably none more glaring than the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots. A key determination between the two is education beyond high school.

Courtney BrownApril 7, 2021

Higher-ed’s pandemic roadblock stops growth in college degrees

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.

Courtney BrownFeb. 2, 2021

Racial Justice and Equity

Will they stay or will they go? A new poll reveals college students’ concerns amid the pandemic

A new Gallup poll of U.S. college students offers an insightful – and sobering – glimpse into how the pandemic is disrupting students’ plans to stay in college, learn online, and earn their degrees.

Courtney BrownDec. 15, 2020

Federal Policy

Higher education’s $50 billion problem

At a time when society needs it more than ever, higher education in the United States is in crisis. Costs to students and their families continue to rise, states are questioning their level of investment, quality is eroding, racial attainment gaps are increasing, operating deficits at the institution level are accelerating, schools are closing,…

Brad Kelsheimer, Courtney BrownDec. 9, 2020

Research and Evaluation

States are building better connections between education and work—here’s how

Even before COVID-19 hit, higher education was falling short of providing the skills needed for good jobs, a recent study shows. Now, amid the global pandemic and economic crisis, those skills gaps are growing wider.

Courtney BrownNov. 5, 2020