Veterans Without Degrees

The Benefits and Opportunities of Certificates and Certifications

United States military veterans are far more likely than non-veterans to hold non-degree credentials, including certificates and certifications. Therefore, veterans are particularly harmed by the current lack of recognition, transparency, transferability and stackability of nondegree credentials. In addition, the veteran population is especially likely to have education and training experiences outside traditional education institutions.

The Leadership Model of Philanthropy

As the nation’s largest private foundation focused solely on increasing Americans’ success in higher education, Lumina Foundation seeks to maximize its effectiveness in serving the public trust through a leadership model of philanthropy, in favor of following a strictly charitable role. Merisotis shares his thoughts on how that leadership model can lead to more significant and lasting change that will “permanently alter the conditions that make assistance necessary.”

Focus Magazine, Fall 2019: A Dangerous Divide

Rural students face a growing gap in college-level learning

Here’s a surprising fact: Students from America’s rural communities graduate from high school at rates higher than the national average. Fully 80 percent of them finish 12th grade, just a shade below the 81 percent who graduate from more prosperous suburban schools. Making up about 14 percent of the school-age population, rural students also score better on the National Assessment of Educational Progress than do students in cities. Making up about 14 percent of the school-age population, rural students also score better on the National Assessment of Educational Progress than do students in cities. And then something goes wrong.

Unlocking the Nation’s Potential

A Model to Advance Quality and Equity in Education Beyond High School

Profound changes in the economy, in society, and in educational systems and institutions require equally profound changes in the way we regulate the sector and assess the quality of college degrees and other credentials earned after high school. This report, which aims to be at least a first step in that change effort, proposes three specific, synchronized steps.

Quality Assurance slides

A Convening to Explore Quality and Equity in the New Credentialing Landscape

September 11-12, 2019 Fairmont Hotel, Dallas, Texas

Federal Policies Should Emphasize Quality and Equitable Outcomes for Incarcerated Learners

Federal policy 1-pager

Lumina Foundation believes high-quality education and training after high school should be available, affordable, and accessible to all — and that it should lead to further education and to good-paying jobs. Our commitment is motivated by a desire to use education to empower people who face longstanding, structural barriers, and we emphasize that commitment for people who have been affected by the nation’s justice system.

Community College Career Education

Scaling a New Approach

A new landscape is emerging at community colleges across the country – a new approach that puts preparing students for the workforce at the center of the college’s mission and culture.

Learning Frameworks

Tools for Building a Better Educational Experience

Learning frameworks define what an individual learner can do by detailing the application of knowledge in various contexts—education, military, and employment. This paper outlines the roles that learning frameworks play in the emerging ecosystem of connected learning—why they matter and how they can bring disparate pieces of the learning ecosystem together for greater portability and documentation of learning in all the places it unfolds. The paper concludes with a focus on technological innovations as a source of future directions for learning frameworks connectivity.

Moving From the Legacy Student Hour Toward a Comprehensive Measure of Student Learning

Examining Benefits of a Competency-Based Taxonomy of Learning

This publication examines current challenges with the articulation of learning and argues that a new means of articulating learning is necessary. Specifically, drawbacks and inefficiencies developed to accommodate the credit hour measure of student learning are examined. As an alternative, a new competency-based measure of learning is proposed.

Quality Assurance and Improvement in Higher Education

The Role of the States

States play a fundamental role in higher education, protecting both the investment of state dollars and their citizens as their consumers. Despite this central responsibility, many states struggle with how they might help ensure students are receiving a quality educational experience.