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.
The Growing Impact of Student Loan Debt on Older Adults
Sept. 18, 2024
In the past two decades, the number of adults age 60 or older with student loan debt has grown six-fold, and the amount of debt they carry has multiplied nearly 20 times.
Student Debt, COVID-19 Relief, and Loan Forgiveness
Aug. 28, 2024
A 2024 survey conducted by the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division provides new insights about young lawyers’ experiences with the COVID-19 student loan repayment pause, their plans in the event of loan forgiveness, their satisfaction with loan servicers, and their mindsets regarding work-life balance.
How America Pays for College 2024
July 29, 2024
Families reported spending $28,409 on college for academic year 2023-24—in line with $28,026 in 2022-23—and covered nearly half (48 percent) of expenses with income and savings, according to new data in annual study on how America pays for college by Sallie Mae.
Who Deserves State Financial Aid?
April 5, 2024
The issue of skyrocketing tuition costs is not just a matter of economic inconvenience; it is a harbinger of deepening racial and socioeconomic inequalities.
Equitable College Affordability Policies and Practices
March 6, 2024
The premise of public colleges is that all students have an equal opportunity to afford, attend, and succeed in higher education to achieve upward social and economic mobility. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Supporting a diverse student population in affording a high-quality college degree means comprehensively addressing and investing in the resources, strategies, and…
Drowning in Debt
Jan. 8, 2024
As of 2023, 44.3 million adults in the United States hold $1.7 trillion in student debt. The increased cost of an education plus the amount of debt that many individuals incur in order to receive a postsecondary degree have resulted in steady decline in the perceived value of an education, leaving many borrowers asking a…
The SAVE Plan for Student Loan Repayment
Sept. 26, 2023
This year, the Biden administration launched a new income-driven repayment (IDR) plan for federal student loans called Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE). The plan cuts borrowers’ monthly payments compared with current IDR plans, provides earlier loan forgiveness for smaller debts, and prevents unpaid interest from accumulating.
The Federal Student Loan Knowledge Gap
July 12, 2023
As of 2023, more than 38 million borrowers owed $1.4 trillion in federal direct student loans. These borrowers are about to begin repayment after a break of several years, or for the first time for those who would have entered repayment for the first time during the pandemic, and many will struggle to afford the…
‘Merit’ Awards: Myths, Realities, and Barriers to Access
June 20, 2023
A new analysis from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce details the impact of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision banning race-conscious admissions policies at colleges and universities.
Collection at All Costs
June 16, 2023
For decades, incarcerated individuals have been intentionally and systematically locked out of higher education. The federal student aid program has played a critical role in this exclusion by blocking Title IV access for would-be students behind bars, a denial most harmful in the longtime prohibition on incarcerated students accessing the Pell Grant.
AFT’s Fight for Student Debt Forgiveness
May 23, 2023
A Republican-led Congressional Review Act resolution threatens much more than the Biden’s administration’s student debt relief program. It threatens the debt burdens of hundreds of thousands of public service workers, according to this report from the American Federation of Teachers and the Student Borrower Protection Center.
Best Laid (Repayment) Plans
May 10, 2023
Many student loan borrowers who stand to benefit the most from income-driven repayment plans are the least likely to know about them, according to a report from New America. But when these borrowers do know about IDR, they are the most likely to enroll, the report states.
Improving College Access Through Financial Aid Transparency and FAFSA Simplification
May 4, 2023
Each year, high school seniors fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine their eligibility for student financial aid to pay for college. However, not all students do, and those most likely to benefit from federal aid are also less likely to apply for it. In 2016, 63 percent of college-intending…
Paving the Path to Debt-Free College
April 3, 2023
Today, in order to cover the average cost of attending a four-year public college, students from families making $30,000 or less would need to spend 93 percent—nearly all—of their total family income, according to an analysis of College Board data. To cover the cost of a two-year college, these students would need to spend nearly…
Affordability Disconnects
Feb. 6, 2023
Assessing the affordability of an educational experience is difficult. Many factors contribute to the difficulty, including the difference between published tuition and the actual net prices students pay; the opaqueness of full postsecondary degree costs; lack of good data on post-credential earnings and outcomes; and the variance in each learner’s personal circumstances.
Borrowing During a Time of Crisis
Aug. 31, 2022
Although a great deal of attention is paid to student debt, colleges and universities have increased their institutional debt substantially over the past several decades. Institutions primarily borrow these funds for capital investments on campus. This may include building new labs and educational facilities, sports arenas, or dormitories. The array of projects reflects the variation…
State Grant Aid and Pell Grants
July 1, 2022
If federal increases in Pell grant funding are to increase educational opportunities and attainment, states must ensure these increases supplement, rather than replace, state grant aid, states this report from the Urban Institute.
Pell Access and Completion Series Part I: Community College
June 28, 2022
As policymakers mark the 50th anniversary of the Pell Grant program, this report (the first in a three-part series on Pell access) from the Institute for College Access & Success contends that they must make key investments so the program can fulfill its promise of making college truly affordable and accessible for all students, regardless…
Parent PLUS Borrowers: The Hidden Casualties of the Student Debt Crisis
May 31, 2022
Parent PLUS loans, created by Congress to give middle-class parents flexibility in how they pay for college, are increasingly used by low-income families. Among Black families who use Parent PLUS, the share with no expected family contribution now exceeds 40 percent, and the share among Latino families is also high, above 25 percent.
Protecting Borrowers and Advancing Equity
May 16, 2022
As the country waits to see what the Biden administration will do regarding student loan forgiveness, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators offers its own ideas in this report.The report outlines 30-plus policy suggestions. Among them: strengthen and simplify income-driven repayment programs so they protect borrowers and allow them to repay in accessible,…