Lumina Foundation is working to increase the share of adults in the U.S. labor force with college degrees or other credentials of value leading to economic prosperity.
Earning a four-year degree at a two-year institution is now possible in nearly half of all states—and others are exploring the option. But many universities are not happy about it.
Community college advocates argue that the lower-cost degrees would benefit students in a state with vast rural expanses and education deserts. Meanwhile, leaders at private universities say that community colleges are overstepping their boundaries and encroaching on their domain.
Federally funded higher education support programs for lower-income students are under increasing scrutiny by the Trump administration, which has already canceled TRIO funding for a few participating colleges and proposes to eliminate it altogether; letters from the U.S. Department of Education to those colleges suggest the money was cut off because the programs are considered part of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
At a time of rising income inequality, it’s one of several developments advocates worry are converging to make things even harder for lower-income Americans who want to go to and get through college—a group that already faces considerable challenges and whose proportion of enrollment has been falling for a decade and a half.
The U.S. manufacturing industry has more jobs available than skilled workers to fill them. This gap is forecast to widen further, with 3.5 million positions opening over the next decade, according to the National Association of Manufacturers.
A new collaboration between the American Association of Community Colleges and General Motors aims to bridge this growing divide. The EmployED initiative—managed by AACC with funding from GM—is targeting advanced manufacturing as a means of matching industry needs with community college talent.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor made a splashy funding announcement when it released a forecasted funding opportunity for a $145 million Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program. Pay-for-performance (P4P)—an outcomes-based public funding model in which the government reimburses programs for achieving specific milestones—has not historically been a popular way to fund apprenticeship at the federal level.
The good news is the federal government already has a brand-new P4P program to look to for guidance: Maryland's Apprenticeship Incentive Program.
The cost of higher education can be intimidating, with student loan debt topping $1.6 trillion and the average tuition having doubled in the past 30 years. At the same time, new federal caps on how much parents can borrow for college could place higher education further out of reach for some families.
Against this backdrop, a growing number of schools are making college more affordable by providing free tuition to undergraduates from low- and middle-income families. The movement dates back 20 years but has gained momentum in the past decade, largely fueled by state policies.
The Pentagon announced last week that it is cutting ties with Harvard University, ending all military training, fellowships, and certificate programs with the Ivy League institution. Personnel currently attending classes at Harvard will be able to finish those courses, however.
The announcement marks the latest development in the Trump administration's prolonged standoff with Harvard over the White House's demands for reforms at the school.
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