Lumina Foundation is committed to increasing the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees, certificates and other credentials to 60 percent by 2025.
Working in higher education can be challenging, especially in the current climate where politicians are attacking academic freedom, students are less prepared for college, and the average American is showing growing skepticism about the value of postsecondary education.
In this interview, three higher education professionals share moments of joy that help remind them why they do what they do.
As a freshman at the University of Southern California, Nhan Tong was excited to join social clubs, discover a new passion, and make some college friends. The process, however, would be a difficult one.
Although gaining admission to a selective university is no easy feat, a shifting social dynamic in many elite institutions now means getting in is only part of the challenge. At colleges where freshman classes boast some of the highest-achieving high schoolers in the country, students have developed their own selective, hierarchical culture in the form of exclusive clubs.
Housing insecurity creates significant barriers for student parents, jeopardizing their academic success, economic mobility, and mental health. Black and Hispanic parenting students with young children are more likely to experience housing insecurity, with rates of up to 90 percent, says a new report from Generation Hope.
Addressing these issues through targeted interventions is crucial to supporting this vulnerable population and ensuring they have the opportunity to complete their degrees and improve their families’ long-term outcomes, the study notes.
This fall, college recruiting offices will begin to confront the long-anticipated drop-off in the number of applicants from among the next class of high school seniors.
But the downturn isn’t just a problem for universities and colleges. It’s a looming crisis for the economy, with fewer graduates eventually coming through the pipeline to fill jobs that require college educations, even as international rivals increase the proportions of their populations with degrees.
In the hours after election night, Abigail Rivera’s sobs woke her younger sister, as the two wondered what the results would mean for their futures.
Now 21 and a junior at the University of Houston, Rivera is one of many foreign-born college students feeling heightened anxiety and uncertainty as Inauguration Day approaches. Some students who entered the country illegally as children are terrified of President-elect Donald Trump's campaign promises of mass deportations. Others hold visas to study in the United States but worry that there will be changing rules, delays, or travel bans that could disrupt their education.
One topic likely to dominate higher education in 2025 is how to effectively prepare learners for the jobs and careers they enter upon graduation.
On this podcast, Brandon Busteed, CEO of BrandEd, takes a deep dive into the intersection of learning and work, offering insight on work-integrated and industry-immersive learning and how his company is trying to bring those experiences to more students at a greater scale.
