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
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
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
Research and Evaluation Black learners aren’t enrolling or staying in college. A new poll shows why. New numbers for Black Americans eager to improve their lives with college degrees are alarming: Only 34 percent hold degrees, and half “stop out” of or left four-year colleges within six years. Worse yet, their college enrollment numbers are steeply declining, down another 30,000 this past fall. Courtney BrownFeb. 13, 2023
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 MerisotisJan. 31, 2023
Research and Evaluation Proven strategies help some college students, but not all. We have to fix that. There’s good news and bad in a new report on college student success rates. While many U.S. colleges are improving graduation rates for full-time students, we continue to see achievement gaps for Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic students, students 25 and older, and part-time students. Wendy SedlakJan. 26, 2023
Research and Evaluation “Invisible” catalysts get lasting results for adult students Catalysts for change often work quietly, but their results speak loud and clear. At education organizations, they’re the people who build strong relationships across stakeholders, support and empower others to design and drive the work, and embrace a “student first” orientation to center students’ needs and aspirations over institutions’. Wendy SedlakNov. 3, 2022
Research and Evaluation Here’s what schools should do about lack of faith in college education and its high cost Are colleges stuck in the past and no longer beneficial for those seeking a good living? According to a recent survey, yes. Institutions of higher education must focus on outcomes, parental concerns. Jamie MerisotisJuly 17, 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 Stress weighs heavily on those who remain in college, a new Gallup-Lumina study finds Within the past six months, three-fourths of students in bachelor’s programs and two-thirds of adults seeking associate degrees who have considered taking a break from college cited emotional stress, according to a new Gallup-Lumina report. April 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
Research and Evaluation Millions are signing up for job training, but are the courses worth it? Noncredit workforce programs are on the front lines of serving our nation’s need for new skills. But these programs vary widely—raising the question of how to ensure positive results for 5 million students who enroll in these courses every year to build better careers and lives. Frank Swanzy Essien, Jr.Feb. 22, 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 Less talk, more action: ‘Talent Hubs’ offer equity solutions Students across the U.S. are rightfully demanding that colleges and universities go beyond listening to seriously address decades of racial inequity. As one Missouri student leader put it: “(My school) is making some change, but I won’t really give them a win until I start to see institutional change.” Wendy Sedlak, Dakota PawlickiJan. 19, 2022
Research and Evaluation These new information tools offer big help to college students and job-seekers New technology designed with a human touch is helping people make sense of their higher-ed and job-search choices. Amid college enrollment declines and increasing labor demands during the pandemic recovery, programs are popping up across the nation to help students, workers, and job-seekers navigate their choices and find better ways to learn, earn, and contribute… Wendy SedlakDec. 7, 2021
Research and Evaluation Alabama and Indiana are helping many more people get education for good jobs—Here’s how In a time when millions of people need new skills to fill open jobs across the country, we’re learning more about how educators, employers, and government agencies can work together to help them—and help solve the nation’s critical labor shortage. Wendy SedlakNov. 4, 2021
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
