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.
The expansion of early-college coursework might seem like an instance where everyone wins. Students get a challenge to rise to, stronger college applications, and potentially a faster, less expensive path to a degree—all of which sounds pretty good to parents and state governments. Community colleges get a significant revenue source. Schools get prestige—and funding. Colleges get well-prepared students … at least on paper.
But there could be a potential downside, too, experts warn.
As a high school student from a working-class Los Angeles neighborhood, Ziane Djenidi wasn’t sure about life after graduation. Then, he learned about the VIP Scholars Program, an initiative at the University of California, Los Angeles, that helps students like Djenidi pursue college.
Now a rising senior at UCLA, Djenidi is majoring in neuroscience and dreams of becoming a doctor. But the program that took him from South Central L.A. to the brink of medical school could potentially be in jeopardy because of the Trump administration's crusade against diversity, equity, and inclusion.
About one million international students with visas were enrolled in U.S. institutions as of fall 2023, according to an analysis of U.S. Department of Education data. These students typically pay the full cost of attendance, helping to boost colleges’ budgets and subsidize tuition for American students. Many schools enroll thousands of foreign students, and some smaller colleges rely on them to fill their seats.
Today, that scenario is changing. As the Trump administration continues to make it more difficult for colleges and universities to welcome international students, some schools will find themselves more vulnerable than others to the drops in enrollment that could result.
A significant change is occurring in the way students learn and how employers recognize the skills of prospective employees. This transformation has made the U.S. learn-and-work ecosystem even more complex and confusing.
In this interview, Holly Zanville, a research professor at the George Washington University Institute of Public Policy and founder of the Learn & Work Ecosystem Library, discusses her approach to organizing and curating resources in today's rapidly evolving skills-based learning landscape.
A car repair. Medical bills. Not enough money for rent. Many of the Community College of Aurora’s 8,500 students face such unexpected emergencies daily. And all too often, these life challenges are significant enough to cause students to drop out.
To prevent that from happening, the Community College of Aurora is part of a growing number of colleges and universities that provide students with a small amount of emergency financial assistance to help keep them in school and on track to earning a degree or credential.
The number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities offering Registered Apprenticeship programs has surged from three to 22 institutions in just four years, according to a new toolkit released by the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions.
The HBCU Registered Apprenticeship Toolkit, developed by Dr. Marybeth Gasman and Alice Ginsberg, provides a comprehensive guide for HBCUs looking to launch federally recognized apprenticeship programs that combine classroom instruction with paid work experience.
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