Brand-Building at Community Colleges
In an age of information overload, how do you tell the story of who your college is to students and your community? How do you take charge of your own narrative and showcase all that your college has to offer?
Featured Resources
Some highlights of Lumina's work
We're sharing tools and takeaways from our efforts to create a better-educated nation.
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.
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.
Lumina Fact Sheet
March 28, 2025
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…
Compañeros en el Camino
March 25, 2025
Academic advisors at Hispanic Serving Institutions play a critical role in advancing the success of diverse and underrepresented student populations. This report from the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions examines how HSIs prepare academic advisors to effectively serve their students, offering insights into training practices, professional development opportunities, and the alignment of advisor preparation.
Pathways to Opportunity
March 24, 2025
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Minority Serving Institutions are often called the backbone of American higher education. HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs provide pathways to academic opportunity and achievement for millions of students of color, particularly those who come from low-income households and are the first in their families to attend…
The Leadership Model of Philanthropy
March 10, 2025
As our global society grows more complex and the need for greater economic and social opportunity more pronounced, the role of philanthropy becomes ever more important — and more nuanced. The days are long past when the field of philanthropy could pin its hopes solely on grantmaking and other means of providing direct service or…
Lumina Foundation Strategic Plan 2025 to 2040
March 4, 2025
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.
How to Get Started Tearing the Paper Ceiling in Your State Government
Feb. 13, 2025
In 2022, while facing unprecedented hiring challenges, the office of Iowa’s Auditor of State began accepting applications for accounting positions from workers with associate degrees to expand its hiring pool. Enthusiastic about the quality of the job candidates, AOS partnered with Opportunity@Work to recommend additional positions where bachelor’s degree requirements could be removed.
Communicating about Lumina Foundation
Dec. 2, 2024
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.
Career and Technical Education
Nov. 30, 2024
As of February 2024, there were about eight million open positions in the labor market at the same time as there were 6.5 million unemployed Americans. One reason is that employers report difficulty finding people with the skills they need—and several federal laws passed in the last few years create even more demand for skilled…
Collaborating to Serve Adult Learners of Color
Oct. 9, 2024
This brief explores how partnerships and collaboration, on and off university campuses, can motivate cultural, structural, and programmatic change to better serve adult learners of color. It draws insights from a study of the Partnerships for Adult Learner Success (PALS) initiative and includes staff members’ and students’ perspectives and experiences at the eight urban-serving universities…
Great Admissions Redesign—2024 Convening Summary
Sept. 25, 2024
Helping more Americans earn bachelor’s degrees that position them for further learning and successful careers is essential to a thriving society. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting testing policies and historic legal rulings have significantly disrupted college admissions and enrollment over the past several years. While Americans overwhelmingly understand and value the importance of a college…
Listening to Learners
Sept. 24, 2024
Listening to Learners 2024 links student perspectives on learning and support to institution-level practices and technologies. Connecting institutional and student perspectives enables stakeholders and partners to explore their impact on student success, access and equity, and overall institutional satisfaction.
A Supplemental Wealth-Based Pell Grant
Sept. 18, 2024
In a new collaborative report with TICAS, researchers from the Higher Education, Race, and the Economy (HERE) Lab at the University of California, Merced offer a policy solution to wealth inequality: a supplemental Wealth-Based Pell Grant to help eliminate racial disparities in student loan borrowing and make debt-free college a reality for many more students.
Social Media Institute webinar schedule
Aug. 21, 2024
Join us for a comprehensive four-part webinar series designed to elevate your social media strategy, connect with potential students, and effectively engage community members.
Tracking College Tuition Growth
July 31, 2024
Previous research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond analyzed the rapid tuition growth that occurred from the late 1980s to 2010. That research indicated several key factors drove the rise in college tuition: large expansions in the federal student loan program, a dramatic increase in the college-earnings premium, steady increases in average parental income,…
Increasing Access to High-Demand Occupational Training
July 25, 2024
“Get a Skill, Get a Job, Get Ahead” is a state-funded last-dollar scholarship program for students enrolling in eligible associate degree, certificate, and noncredit occupational training programs in the Virginia Community College System in five high-demand fields: early childhood education, healthcare, information technology, public safety, and skilled trades (construction and manufacturing).
The Future of Good Jobs
July 25, 2024
Economic opportunity will increasingly favor workers with higher levels of education and training, according to a new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.
A Path Forward: Fixing Student Debt and Finding a Pathway to Good Jobs
July 25, 2024
The Biden-Harris Administration’s student debt relief efforts aim to alleviate the burden on borrowers, particularly those from marginalized communities. Despite the U.S. Supreme Court decision to block broad forgiveness under the HEROES Act, the administration has forgiven $167 billion through targeted measures like the SAVE Plan, which caps payments at 5% of income and forgives…
Ten Education and Work Issues at Stake in the 2024 Election
July 16, 2024
In November, Americans will choose the next president and decide which political party controls the two houses of Congress. As with all national elections, much attention will be paid to a handful of high-profile, often controversial issues, some related to differences in approaches to governance, others to the personal qualities of the candidates.
How Clear Is Their Path: Guided Career Pathways and Community College Students
May 19, 2024
Community colleges are often called the “engines of social and economic mobility.” As low-cost and open access institutions, they serve as a gateway to higher education for students who otherwise may be excluded, particularly those in historically underserved and underrepresented populations.
The State of Higher Education 2024
May 8, 2024
The 2024 State of Higher Education study includes responses from over 14,000 U.S. adults aged 18 to 59 without a college degree