The Great Admissions Redesign
Lumina Foundation is seeking to work with states, higher education systems, and groups of colleges and universities ready to transform how potential students apply, enroll, and access their institutions.
Featured Resources
Some highlights of Lumina's work
We're sharing tools and takeaways from our efforts to create a better-educated nation.
A Stronger Nation
We're tracking America's progress toward the nation's 60% attainment goal.
Community College Challenge
The Million Dollar Community College Challenge team is shining a spotlight on the great work of community colleges around the country.
REACH Collaborative
We're supporting community colleges in six states to create short-term credential-to-degree pathways for adults who are Black, Latino, Hispanic, and Native American.
Changing the Narrative on Student Borrowers of Color
A collection of essays from student loan experts sets the record straight on borrowing among students of color.
Community Grants
Our community grants portfolio supports local organizations in our hometown of Indianapolis and around central Indiana.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Hear stories about how HBCU's help students thrive.
Tuition Reimbursement
Meet a few of the workers and employers participating in tuition reimbursement programs.
Lumina Impact Ventures
Lumina Impact Ventures is the Foundation's impact investing arm partnering with mission-aligned social enterprises.
Local Talent Handbook
A guide for local leaders to build talent pool in their communities.
I Want That Job!
A series from WorkingNation on promising career paths for early-career workers
History of Federal Student Aid
A film series documenting the policy and the political origins of federal financial aid programs
Beyond Financial Aid
How colleges can strengthen students’ financial stability, leading to higher completion rates
State Strategy Labs
Lumina supports state leaders’ efforts to increase education levels by offering nonpartisan research, data, peer advice, and technical support.
Degree Qualification Profile
A learning-centered framework for what college graduates should know and be able to do to earn the associate, bachelor’s or master’s degree.
Community Colleges Creating Economic Mobility
March 29, 2024
This brief is a case study of successful efforts by manufacturing certificate programs at two community colleges that have resulted in economic mobility for graduates, especially for people of color. The programs included in this case study had racially diverse student enrollment, high rates of program completion, and favorable labor market outcomes. The findings of…
HBCU Adult Learner Initiative
March 26, 2024
This report provides an overview of best practices discussed across the campuses amongst faculty and staff. The student focus groups’ candidness provided myriad ways institutions can further enhance their campus experience.
Policies and laws: How they’re impacting college enrollment
March 14, 2024
The decision whether and where to pursue a college degree involves several often-competing considerations, and the importance placed on each factor varies across individuals. Layered upon these highly individualized decisions are state-level policies that impact students' on-campus experience.
Lumina Fact Sheet
March 4, 2024
Lumina Foundation is an independent, private foundation committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. We envision a system that is easy to navigate, delivers fair results, and meets the nation’s need for talent through a broad range of credentials. Our goal is to prepare people for informed citizenship and success…
Black, Hispanic Students at Greatest Risk of Leaving Program
Feb. 28, 2024
Although college enrollment in the U.S. improved slightly in the fall of 2023, overall enrollment rates remain low due to the preceding declines. The Fall 2023 modest improvement was driven by increased enrollment in community college and short-term credential programs, rather than bachelor's programs, which continue to falter.
Solving Stranded Credits
Oct. 5, 2023
In this paper Ithaka S+R provides the first deep exploration of the problem of stranded credits. Our national estimates suggest there could be as much as $15 billion in unpaid balances to colleges and universities, and roughly 6.6 million students may have stranded credits.
Half of Hispanic Students Considered Leaving College Last Year
Sept. 27, 2023
Remaining enrolled in college was just as tough for U.S. students in 2022 as it was in 2021, but a recent Lumina Foundation-Gallup study shows Hispanic students struggled to stay in college more than students of any other race or ethnicity.
Communicating about Lumina Foundation
Sept. 6, 2023
Lumina Foundation believes communication has the power to amplify its work by building awareness and deepening understanding of our strategies. The foundation’s communications team wants to aid our partners in sharing lessons from projects.
Preview of application questions for The Great Admissions Redesign
Sept. 5, 2023
Now is the time to fundamentally reimagine admissions, enrollment, and financial aid systems to serve today’s students better. Lumina Foundation is launching the Great Admissions Redesign and is seeking to work with states, higher education systems, and groups of colleges and universities ready to transform how potential students apply, enroll, and access their institutions. Learn…
Journalism and Philanthropy: Growth, Diversity, and Potential Conflicts of Interest
Aug. 24, 2023
Support for nonprofit newsrooms, both from consumers and grantmakers, has been on the rise, but questions about conflict-of-interest policies have simultaneously popped up, a study by Media Impact Funders finds. Conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago in partnership with Media Impact Funders and the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, the study, Journalism and Philanthropy: Growth, Diversity and Potential Conflicts of…
Possible Ways of Increasing College Access Among Adults from Underserved Backgrounds
April 18, 2023
For adults with low incomes and potential first-generation college-goers, enrolling in college can be challenging. The U.S. Department of Education-funded Educational Opportunity Centers (EOCs) provide supports to help navigate some of the barriers to enrollment, including assistance with completing college and financial aid application processes, academic advising, and personal counseling.
Infographic: How the Nursing Shortage Affects Families
April 7, 2023
People typically become nurses because they want to help, and there’s always a need for their services. But nursing has long struggled to maintain adequate staffing levels. Various factors, including the pandemic, have supercharged the underlying issues.
Building Inclusive Infrastructure
Jan. 23, 2023
What infrastructure do community colleges in New York have to support BIPOC adult learners? What are best practices for anti-racist and equity-supporting infrastructure?
Culturally Sustaining Practices
Jan. 9, 2023
What are culturally sustaining practices and why do they matter in redesigning systems that value and empower adult students of color?
Starting with Freedom in Mind
Dec. 14, 2022
The seminal book on guided pathways, Redesigning America’s Community Colleges (Bailey et al., 2015), outlines the importance of college stakeholders who seek to successfully adopt a guided pathways approach to start with the students’ end goal in mind. This end-in-mind approach at the onset of institutional guided pathways adoption is foundational as it provides the…
Supporting Adult Learners Through the SUCCESS Program
Dec. 7, 2022
In 2019, MDRC launched the Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS) project to improve college completion rates for traditionally underserved students — such as students from low-income backgrounds and students of color — at community and broad-access colleges. The SUCCESS program integrates multiple evidence-based components to help students stay enrolled and graduate, including proactive and holistic…
Addressing Historic Underfunding of HBCUs, #3
Dec. 6, 2022
This third and final brief in the series will explore Tennessee and its legislative attempts to curb underfunding. It is our hope that these case-studies and the set of briefs provide a blue print for how elected officials in other states can form bipartisan coalitions to support HBCUs and ensure they are equitably funded.
COVID-19 Emergency Funding and California’s Higher Education Systems
Nov. 16, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted higher education in California, forcing students and institutions to adapt rapidly to the public health and economic crisis. Institutions’ revenue streams were predicted to decline just as new and increased costs for health, safety, and online education burdened budgets.
How Can Philadelphia Grow Middle-Wage Jobs?
Nov. 16, 2022
In Philadelphia, an inclusive economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will require a robust increase in jobs—particularly in what economists call “middle-wage jobs,” positions that pay enough to sustain a family and that have historically been available to people without college degrees.
Exploring the Work College Model for Working Learners
Nov. 8, 2022
Through the haze of pandemic disruptions and recovery and shifting student markets, a trend is emerging in higher education today: May students may need something different than the traditional model of post high school learning. This reality creates an opportunity for higher education institutions to explore new educational and financial models that meet these challenges…