News and Views

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.

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s June 29 decision to end affirmative action in college admissions, a group of foundations quickly issued a joint statement condemning the decision, saying, “The Supreme Court’s decision impedes colleges and universities from selecting their own student bodies and fully addressing systemic racial inequalities that persist.”

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. We can avoid going backward only if institutions embrace new approaches for increasing student diversity and abolish advantages for the privileged, such as legacy preferences.

Not that long ago, higher education advocates regularly complained about the lack of national attention on colleges and universities. A huge win involved a sentence or two in the president’s State of the Union or a governor’s State of the State.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting the use of race in college admissions may not be a total surprise, but it is still a slap of hard truth about the long road ahead for those who respect and understand the benefits of a more diverse and just postsecondary educational system.

For many Black and brown students, real opportunity remains elusive. That’s why we must stay committed to the broader struggle for shared prosperity.

There are 600,000 fewer Black learners in college today than a decade ago, resulting in devastating lost opportunities. More than half of that decrease hit community colleges, once a popular choice for Black students pursuing better jobs and wages.

The way many states choose to dole out financial aid could have the “unintentional consequence of disproportionately excluding students who are Black or Hispanic and Latino,” new research shows.

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?

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.

Our latest national poll on the value of higher education doesn’t beat around the bush. At a time when many Americans wonder if a college degree is worth it, the poll bluntly asks: What is education really for? Overwhelmingly, people responded that their education has helped lead to greater well-being.

We’re always stronger together—and that includes the effort to fix our system of education and job training.

There is a staffing crisis in healthcare - a crisis that is so bad, that some are calling it a national emergency. To meet today’s and tomorrow’s labor demand, leaders need to provide clear and supported career pathways to adults already in the workforce. In this episode, Dr. Jill Buban of EdAssist joins us to talk about their work developing new career pathways, and describes what it takes to make a talent-focused partnership work. Dory Manner of Yale New Haven Health and Gerard Camacho of Atrium Advocate Health discuss the important steps healthcare employers need to take to attract, develop, and retain talent in critical areas.

The bedrock for brand strategy is a well-defined brand positioning statement, which follows a WHO-WHAT-HOW framework. A brand positioning statement is aspirational, authentic, forward-facing, grounded in truth, and easily digestible. It is an internal-facing statement that articulates a community college's core promise to learners and expresses the competitive difference and value it provides. It is the foundation on which all marketing plans should be built.

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.

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.

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

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Support services for college students are more than a nice benefit – they’re essential. Resources such as academic advising, financial aid services, and mental health counseling can mean the difference between stopping out and graduating.

Summer in Indiana—blooming flowers, filled racetracks and high school graduates excited about college. But while flowers and racing are perennial, Hoosier grads now question college.

Some want better jobs or need to support their families. Others want to break through longstanding barriers. Adult learners have good reasons for seeking college degrees—but these often aren’t enough.