Lumina Foundation is committed to increasing the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees, certificates and other credentials to 60 percent by 2025.
At its height in the early 1970s, Knoxville College, a historically Black institution, enrolled more than 1,300 students on its 40-acre campus. The four-year college served as one of the few gateways into East Tennessee’s Black middle class and formed the backbone of Mechanicsville, the surrounding Black neighborhood.
Today, Knoxville wants to return to its status as a beacon of Black education. But the path to restoring the institution academically and physically will be filled with challenges, say alumni, local residents, administrators, and others.
While higher education institutions have long emphasized academic rigor and intellectual development, many are slower to adopt the innovative, real-world career preparation strategies that today’s job market increasingly demands.
In response to these issues, some colleges are transforming their career services offices with personalized efforts that bridge academic preparation and workforce development for student success.
In October, the University of Michigan became one of the latest colleges to adopt institutional neutrality. Moving forward, the state flagship’s official statements won’t comment on current affairs that don’t affect its direct interests.
Such moves can help stave off political controversy for institutions, experts say. But they may require careful conversations about a college’s mission and goals, as well as what exactly the policy will look like.
With strong bipartisan support, career and technical education programs are poised to be a centerpiece of education policy over the next few years—both federally and in California.
But there are still many unknowns, and some education experts worry that an expansion of career education could come at the expense of college-preparation programs or lead to a return to “tracking,” in which schools steer certain students—often low-income students—toward careers that tend to pay less than those that require college degrees.
It's no secret that college campuses have become more divided in recent years, with students’ increasingly making decisions about where to enroll based on factors such as political climate, diversity, and free speech.
However, some student advocates believe these same college campuses are also well-positioned to foster civil discourse and start healing those chasms.
With enrollment declining at many colleges, St. Catherine University—also known as St. Kate’s—is witnessing increases.
Marcheta Evans, the institution’s 12th president—and first African American president— talks about her commitment to empowering women and helping first-generation college students navigate higher education in this interview.
