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.
For years, Sonny Alejandra survived the only way undocumented people know how: in the shadows. Alejandra kept her head down, staying just visible enough to get by but never enough to be seen. She saved every dollar, planning a future she might never get to live. And like so many others, she waited.
When the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was announced, Alejandra eagerly embraced it. Eventually, however, the uncertainty of DACA's future proved too much, she writes in this essay. When an opportunity to move abroad for work happened, she didn’t hesitate. Alejandra says she stopped waiting for a country to see her and started building a life where she could finally be seen.
As states and colleges prepare to implement the new Workforce Pell legislation, one issue consistently comes to the forefront: data. For the first time, Pell Grants will be available for very short, non-credit programs that can be converted into credit.
But many colleges lack the infrastructure to track non-credit students alongside their for-credit peers. That gap will make it difficult to report the outcomes required under the new law and to make strong cases for which programs should qualify for Workforce Pell. One college in Louisiana offers a possible solution.
Over the past 10 days, dozens of faculty and staff members have had their personal contact information, photos, and sometimes addresses broadcast online by anonymous, right-wing social media accounts seeking to punish them for comments they allegedly made about the death of conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk. Some college officials claim that the current public campaign of online harassment and intimidation, known as doxing, is unprecedented.
While the attacks are becoming more frequent and sophisticated, higher ed employees can take steps to minimize the risk of doxing, as well as the damage incurred if it does happen.
Several recent students illustrate the increasing acceptance of artificial intelligence use. Whether in the U.S. or abroad, in elite institutions or technical universities, among undergraduates or mid-career learners, the pattern is the same: Students have integrated AI deeply into their academic lives more quickly than their professors or administrators can respond.
For colleges and universities, the message is clear. If students are already using AI universally, institutions that continue to treat it as a fringe issue may risk irrelevance, some experts say.
Every year, Jennie Kent sends out scores of requests to colleges and universities seeking their most recent Common Data Set, which contains information about admissions, demographics, financial aid, academics, and campus life.
And every year, she gathers data from hundreds of the CDSs on a website that she and her fellow college counselor, Jeff Levy, maintain. It’s a free resource for anyone seeking the juicy bits—early decision percentages, the number of affluent families getting discounts—and it takes a lot of time to put together. Most colleges are pleased to share. But not all.
California’s high school class of 2025 faced some unusual hurdles on top of the typical anxieties of the college application season. First, there was the two-month delay of the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid form. Then, destructive wildfires in the Los Angeles area disrupted many lives. Finally, concerns emerged regarding the privacy of student data and the potential for immigration enforcement to upend some families.
As it turns out, recent research from the California Student Aid Commission shows that many students hoping to get into college were not deterred by these potentially difficult circumstances.
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