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.
Harvard University became the leader of higher education's resistance to the Trump administration—and soaked in acclaim from the White House’s critics—when it refused a roster of intrusive demands and took the government to court last month.
But behind the scenes, several senior officials at Harvard and on its top governing board believe that the university is confronting a crisis that could last until President Trump is out of power. Even if Harvard’s legal case is successful, these officials say, the school will still face enormous troubles that may force the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university to rethink its identity and scale.
Some of the nation’s small liberal arts colleges are hiring Washington lobbyists for the first time—seeking to distinguish themselves from the Ivy League universities at the center of President Donald Trump’s attacks on higher education.
A key factor driving the K Street hires, according to disclosure reports and people familiar with the matter, is worry about an expanded endowment tax—the 1.4 percent tax on university investment income that was first adopted in 2017 to help offset Trump’s broader package of tax cuts.
College affordability advocates in California are pushing for changes to improve access to money for school amid efforts to remake the federal financial aid system, along with fears about how the Trump administration could use student data.
The California Student Aid Commission, which runs the state’s financial aid system, is sponsoring four bills to make it easier for students to get grants, loans, scholarships, and work-study opportunities. They also aim to mitigate the effect of ongoing issues with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
The fear on Texas college campuses spread fast after the Trump administration abruptly revoked the legal status and visas of more than 250 international students. Even foreign-born students who weren’t identified for removal began worrying about getting on the radar of a White House that has fervently sought to supercharge the nation’s deportation apparatus.
They canceled summer trips home. They stopped venturing out of their homes alone. They deleted social media accounts.
To meet the demands of today’s economy, a post-high school education must provide greater value. That means reimagining higher education to create a system that is more affordable, flexible, and accommodating to the needs of all learners.
In this discussion, which took place at this year's ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, Lumina Foundation's Jamie Merisotis shares insight about some of the top issues in higher education today: degrees and credentials that lead to better jobs and economic prosperity, upskilling or reskilling in a changing economy, campus climate, and much more.
The cost of college has spurred efforts within higher education to offer tuition-free community college, a movement that now exists in 37 states. While these efforts are a step in the right direction, they’re only part of the solution to the college affordability challenge.
The harsh truth is that even free training comes with significant financial burdens. Two college access advocates explain more about efforts that account for the full spectrum of costs learners face while upskilling.
