This gap underscored widespread failure by colleges and universities to support students’ efforts. This left many individuals without a degree, without the knowledge and training to pursue quality work, and ultimately, in debt. It soon became clear that new measurements of success were needed—metrics directly related to long-term student success, economic mobility, and emerging workforce demands.
In 2008, Lumina publicly committed to achieving a national goal: By 2025, 60 percent of adults in the United States would have college degrees or other credentials of value, such as certificates or industry-recognized certifications.
The goal was big and bold. And the solutions would be equally broad and ambitious. Over the last 16 years, policymakers, higher ed leaders, corporate and nonprofit partners, and philanthropists have collaborated to achieve the 60 percent goal. And from that big goal came big change. The share of adults in the United States with high-quality credentials has soared. And policies, practices, and perspectives have shifted to better serve today’s students and create a stronger nation.
The proportion of adults with recognized, formal quality education or training after high school went from 37.9 percent in 2008 to 53.8 percent by 2021. Many of these are Black and brown adults who have long had limited access to education.
The 16-percentage-point increase over a decade and a half isn’t just a number. It represents millions of individuals who are building brighter futures with the knowledge and skills they’ve gained.
During a fractured, disruptive time in our nation’s history the 60% goal united individuals, organizations, and communities who came together to help make those hopes a reality.
Simply setting a national, quantifiable goal shifted people’s thinking about how to define success in education beyond high school. At a time when higher education emphasized broadening college access and meeting enrollment targets, the goal focused attention on helping people complete their academic programs and ensuring that their credentials prepared them to get good jobs.
Progress was driven by these central ideas:
Lumina played a significant role in helping leaders and policymakers recognize and better serve today’s students—including the more than 42 million U.S. adults who earned college credits but stopped short of a degree. Today’s students are more likely to be Black and brown, family caregivers, and working full time. Often, these students are older and struggle financially. Others have widely adopted this more accurate view of today’s students and are pushing for change to serve them better.
Lumina’s focus on advancing racial justice and equity has focused states on the necessity of eliminating morally shocking disparities in the proportions of working-age Black, Hispanic, Latino, and Native American students with college degrees or other credentials of value.
Lumina works closely with state governments and educational institutions to develop policies and programs that support higher education access and completion. At the state level, initiatives such as Talent, Innovation, and Equity grants work to close gaps in attainment linked to race and ethnicity. Institutional partnerships align resources and foster collaboration across sectors, including workforce development and policy advocacy.
Defining quality credentials has been central to Lumina’s work. Lumina defines quality credentials as degrees, certificates, industry certifications, or other credentials that demonstrate transparent learning outcomes and lead to meaningful employment and further education.
The foundation invests heavily in research on attainment, equity, and workforce alignment. Lumina’s Stronger Nation report provides annual updates on progress toward the 60 percent goal, breaking down data by state, race, and ethnicity.
The foundation supports journalism and journalism training. We do this to increase awareness and understanding of issues affecting today’s students and to underscore the urgent need for change in higher education.
Establish data and evidence base for the 60 percent goal; identify and develop promising models, solutions, tools, and frameworks to drive next steps.
Build public awareness of and alignment to the goal; establish key partners and networks; and support partners to align their goals and strategies with the goal.
Equip partners with necessary capacity and readiness and support the implementation of evidence-based solutions that improve learners' experiences and advance equitable outcomes.
Learn from efforts and refine strategies to increase impact. Lumina may continue an initiative as is, adjust it, or "release" it one of three ways: by passing the baton to an existing organization, creating a new organization, or allowing the initiative to sunset.
Establish data and evidence base for Goal 2025; identify / develop promising models, solutions, tools, and frameworks to drive next steps: i.e. increasing awareness, alignment and implementation.
Build public awareness of and alignment to Goal 2025; establish key partners and networks; and support partners to align their goals and strategies with Goal 2025.
Equip partners with necessary capacity and readiness; and support the implementation of evidence-informed solutions aimed at advancing equitable outcomes and experiences for learners.
Learn from efforts and refine strategies accordingly in order to increase impact. Lumina may continue as-is, adjust, or "release" initiatives by passing the baton to an existing organization, creating a new organization, or sunset an initiative.
The United States, once a global leader in college attainment, saw its rank slip to 12th worldwide. As industries increasingly demanded more specialized skills and higher levels of education, the higher education system struggled to keep pace.
The challenges multiplied after the Great Recession, which not only strained the economy but also increased inequities in education. As a result, many students, especially those from low-income and minority backgrounds, found it increasingly difficult to navigate the rising costs of higher education and complete their degrees.
In response to these challenges, emerging partnerships began to focus on goals with a stronger emphasis on completion rather than just enrollment. The conversation in higher education shifted, with policy increasingly emphasizing data and focusing on metrics for completion and student success.
Lumina Foundation grounds its initiatives in research and data analysis to effectively address challenges in higher education 
and promote equitable outcomes. This data-driven approach was evident in creating the Degree Qualifications Profile, which is informed by extensive prior work and aims to provide clear learning outcomes and reference points for accountability. It’s also demonstrated in Four Steps to Finishing First, a formula for enhancing productivity in higher education that is rooted in research and practical experience. By leveraging research and data, Lumina seeks to develop targeted strategies and solutions that help increase educational attainment and dismantle systemic barriers.
The Degree Qualifications Profile is a tool and framework designed to transform U.S. higher education by clearly illustrating what students should know and be able to do upon earning associate, bachelor’s, or master’s degrees, regardless of their specialization. This “beta version” of the Degree Profile proposes specific learning outcomes that benchmark these degree levels, drawing on over a decade of widespread debate and effort to define necessary graduate competencies. The DQP focuses on conceptual knowledge and essential competencies, illustrating how students should perform at progressively challenging levels. It describes five basic areas of learning: Broad, Integrative Knowledge; Specialized Knowledge; Intellectual Skills; Applied Learning; and Civic Learning. By providing reference points for student performance, the DQP aims to create a common vocabulary for sharing good practice, foster better public understanding of higher education, and offer stronger reference points for accountability, ultimately emphasizing learning as the proper determinant of degree quality and value. This aligns with Lumina’s broader goal of increasing educational attainment by clarifying the meaning of degrees in terms of acquired learning.
The “Four Steps to Finishing First: An Agenda for Increasing College Productivity to Create a Better-Educated Society” outlines Lumina Foundation’s strategy to increase the percentage of working-age Americans with high-quality degrees and credentials by enhancing productivity in higher education. This agenda, compatible with increasing higher education quality, proposes four key policy areas: Performance Funding, which advocates for financial incentives to colleges based on graduating more students with quality degrees; Student Incentives, recommending the strategic use of tuition and financial aid to motivate course and program completion; New Models, promoting lower-cost, high-quality alternatives to traditional academic delivery to increase student capacity; and Business Efficiencies, suggesting business practices that generate savings to support more graduates. Lumina and its partners believe that implementing these research-informed steps can help states build a 21st-century higher education system that serves a diverse student population, including adults and first-generation college students, without relying on significant new investments.
The National Student Clearinghouse is the central hub for student data, helping institutions streamline processes, manage compliance, and better understand student outcomes. It publishes reports on trends in higher education enrollment, completion, and other student outcomes, and facilitates the secure exchange of student data between educational institutions and other organizations like lenders and employers.
By investing in state leaders, data, and advocacy, Lumina helped states, communities, and educational institutions develop policies to support increased attainment. Some examples:
In response to the growing recognition that access alone is not enough, more institutions, employers, and policymakers partnered to improve the quality of education.
These partnerships focused on ensuring that the education students receive is relevant, rigorous, and aligned with the needs of today’s economy.
As these partnerships evolved, the focus on attainment expanded to include the ability to measure the quality of credentials that students earn. Metrics that assess the impact of education on career success, such as job placement rates, earnings potential, and skills acquisition, are raising the bar for traditional degrees and for newer credentials such as certificates, microcredentials, and digital badges.
A national platform to help state leaders and influencers increase post-high school attainment.
The campaign aimed to reshape public understanding of who college students are in the U.S. today.
C-BEN allows students to progress based on what they know and can do, rather than the time spent in courses.
Lumina recently launched a new goal and framework that connects educational attainment with economic value.
Community Partnerships for Attainment are cross-sector, community-based efforts designed to increase completion rates and support social and economic equity for all students.
As more students juggled work, family, and school, it became critical to provide the support needed for their success, especially low-income, first-generation students and students of color.
With growing numbers of increasingly diverse students enrolled in education beyond high school, they often faced barriers such as financial instability, competing priorities, and institutional bias. It soon became clear that student-centered solutions had to be implemented to meet learners’ specific needs. They required more flexibility, accessibility, and tailored resources to thrive in higher education—things such as wraparound services, mentoring, and academic support.
Partnerships between higher education institutions, employers, and policymakers became increasingly essential in developing models that met those needs. These partnerships were crucial in helping more students earn quality credentials. The rise of alternative credentials, such as microcredentials and certificates, directly responded to the needs of working students, adult learners, and others who may not have followed the traditional college route. By integrating these industry certifications into attainment frameworks, Lumina helped create a more comprehensive and accurate picture of student success—one that reflected not just degree completion but also the acquisition of workforce-relevant skills.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted and worsened the inequities in the U.S. higher education system, especially for low-income and marginalized students.
As the pandemic forced schools to close their doors and shift to remote learning, the challenges facing today’s students—especially those from low-income and marginalized backgrounds—became even more apparent. This has only heightened the need for a deeper commitment to equity, with a stronger focus on support systems that can help all students succeed.
The pandemic also created a sense of urgency for higher education to adapt, innovate, and respond to the evolving needs of today’s learners. Community colleges have been historically adept at such innovation. As institutions that traditionally serve low-income students, first-generation students, and students of color, community colleges have been at the forefront of responding to the shifting needs of today’s students. These colleges are uniquely positioned to provide accessible, affordable education by offering lower tuition, local access, and varied program such as part-time and online options. Supporting community colleges is essential to spread exemplary models for education.
Now, higher education faces new challenges. Rising costs, doubts about job opportunities, and the influence of artificial intelligence have caused people to question whether a college degree is worth it. We must rethink how education creates opportunities and drives success for individuals and communities.
That’s why Lumina has set a new goal: By 2040, 75 percent of adults in the U.S. labor force will have college degrees or other credentials of value leading to economic prosperity. This vision ensures education remains affordable, accessible, and relevant in an evolving world.