News and views in higher education attainment from Lumina Foundation

Featured Story

Adult Learners

Colleges roll out a new ‘homecoming’ for adult students

Fall homecoming feels different this year as schools welcome back not only nostalgic grads but also those who left early and want to return to finish their degrees. The warm welcome parallels a new infusion of support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and for community colleges. These are all driven by factors that reflect…

Jamie MerisotisOct. 26, 2021

Climate activists at the COP21 UN climate summit in Paris, France, stage a protest calling for

As the U.N. climate conference nears, more universities must join this ‘best last chance’ to curb global warming

Expect expansive coverage of the U.N. climate conference (COP26) in the coming days, even though the real news is decades old. The reality of global climate change is all around us, yet many national governments and big polluters lack the courage, the will—sometimes even the desire—to curb greenhouse emissions. Colleges and universities have an essential…

Jamie Merisotis Oct. 25, 2021

Lumina President and CEO Jamie Merisotis

Human Work and Learning

Eight questions for Jamie Merisotis, President and CEO of Lumina Foundation

Jamie Merisotis has spent most of his 30-plus-year career at the intersection of philanthropy, education, and work. He’s the president and CEO of the Lumina Foundation, a funder with over $1 billion in assets and a mission to increase the proportion of Americans with degrees, certificates, and other high-quality credentials to 60% by 2025.

Oct. 10, 2021

Featured Podcast

Racial Justice and Equity

We need to rethink campus policing

Dakota PawlickiOct. 19, 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

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

How to reach adult students? For starters, talk to them like adults

How can colleges and universities reach and engage adult learners, who are quickly becoming a larger part of their student populations? The answer is: much differently than they did traditional students.

Wendy SedlakMay 12, 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

Research and Evaluation

Prior Learning Assessment: Give higher-ed credit where credit is due

Giving college students credit for what they’ve learned in life and on the job – known as prior learning assessment – can save them up to $10,000 in tuition and a year of study, new data show. That helps students complete their degrees more quickly and at less cost, at a time when millions of…

Wendy SedlakJan. 26, 2021

Research and Evaluation

Industry certifications offer clear path to jobs during the COVID recovery—and beyond

Americans struggling to find and keep jobs amid the global pandemic are discovering a clear path to employment: high-quality credentials that prove both knowledge and skills.

Frank Swanzy Essien, Jr.Nov. 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

Research and Evaluation

Prior learning credits help students cross the finish line to earn degrees

College students lucky enough to know about it are embracing the growing movement toward prior learning assessment, and many say credits earned in this way helped them complete a degree or program they otherwise would not have.

Wendy SedlakJuly 29, 2020

Research and Evaluation

Stronger Nation Overview—July 2020 update

Twelve takeaways from the July 2020 data update. The nation’s educational attainment rate after high school is 51.3%.

Courtney BrownJune 30, 2020

Research and Evaluation

Adults can thrive amid the pandemic—and flourish when economic recovery comes—by earning short-term credentials

A global health crisis hurts even those who don’t fall ill, especially people with no formal education beyond high school who are caught in the economic riptide of soaring unemployment.

Courtney BrownJune 29, 2020

Research and Evaluation

New data show 51.3% of U.S. adults hold degrees, certificates, or industry certifications

Lumina Foundation’s A Stronger Nation measures industry certifications for the first time, shows disparities in attainment persist among people 25 to 64 who are Black, Hispanic, and Native American

June 29, 2020

Research and Evaluation

Behavioral science and ‘nudging’ research can help students succeed in classes suddenly moved online

The nation's colleges and universities, disrupted with the rest of society by the fast-spreading coronavirus, have remade the instructional experience almost overnight with the move of millions of students and faculty online. And one of the most promising innovations getting an emergency trial by fire is the concept of "nudging" to help students succeed in…

Courtney BrownApril 20, 2020

Research and Evaluation

College credit where credit is due – the move toward ‘recognition for prior learning’

With a little help, nearly 36 million Americans who spent some time at college but never finished could be encouraged to resume their studies and get their degrees.

Frank Swanzy Essien, Jr.Dec. 11, 2019