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.
Lumina @ 25
May 5, 2025
The national higher education policy landscape and state-level attainment have changed significantly since 2008, with Lumina playing a leading role. Through Strategy Labs and its strategic partnerships, Lumina has fostered a legacy of state-level support that has been instrumental in advancing goals for educational attainment and workforce alignment. This sustained focus on building state capacity,…
State Priorities for Higher Education in 2025
Jan. 27, 2025
Public higher education leaders enter the 2025 legislative sessions in an environment marked by both stability and uncertainty. The national economy remains on solid footing with low unemployment and cooling inflation, but the sizable state budget surpluses that have defined the post-pandemic era have given way to deficits in many states. The 2024 elections did…
From Institutions to Individuals
Nov. 26, 2024
California’s 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education articulated California’s three public higher education segments, tuition-free education, and a pathway into higher education for anyone with the ability to benefit. However, in today’s more diverse California and predominantly knowledge-based economy, the Master Plan increasingly reinforces inequities between Californians, acting less as a pathway to opportunity and…
The State of Apprenticeships in California
Sept. 9, 2024
Six years ago, California Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out an ambitious goal to expand California’s apprenticeship system to serve 500,000 apprentices by 2029. Today, California’s apprenticeship programs are booming, thanks in part to increased funding and state support. But while progress is significant, the California Community College Chancellor’s Office aims to do more.
Governors’ Top Education Priorities in 2024
March 13, 2024
In their 2024 State of the State addresses, governors across the country celebrated achievements in education and shared their hopes for students’ futures. They also shared potential obstacles that their states have yet to overcome. Some governors reflected on improvements that can be made across the education pipeline, from early care and education through high…
State Priorities for Higher Education in 2024
Feb. 15, 2024
In a survey distributed in November 2023, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association asked state higher education leaders to identify their top policy issues for 2024.
‘Waiving’ Goodbye to Placement Testing: Broadening the Benefits of Dual Enrollment Through Statewide Policy
Jan. 29, 2024
Each year, more than a million high school students nationally take college dual enrollment courses, which have been shown to increase college access and success among participants. Yet racial/ethnic and other equity gaps in dual enrollment participation are widespread.
Ending Unfunded Mandates in Higher Education
Dec. 14, 2023
The United States will be unable to meet its higher education goals without changing the way it funds public colleges and universities, says a new report from Complete College America. Current funding models do not sufficiently advance fully scaled improvements, the report states. Instead, today’s models create unfunded mandates: Colleges are required to increase completion…
Variation in Community College Funding Levels: A Focus on Equity
Dec. 4, 2023
In many states, there is wide variation in funding levels among community colleges. Several factors account for these differences, including state funding allocation formulas, unequal local funding from property tax revenues, and political forces. To ensure equal opportunity among students from different racial and ethnic groups, community colleges need equitable funding. If community colleges enrolling…
Tracking Progress in Community College Access and Success
Oct. 30, 2023
In 2019, landmark legislation (Assembly Bill or AB 705) transformed the community college landscape in California, dramatically increasing direct access to introductory transfer-level courses in English and math. Three years later, however, it has become clear that this was only the first step in truly overhauling the transfer pathway.
A Typology and Policy Landscape Analysis of State Investments in Short-Term Credential Pathways
July 19, 2023
The higher education landscape is evolving rapidly, and short-term credentials—including microcredentials, sub-baccalaureate credentials, and non-degree credentials—are increasingly taking center stage. With the job market constantly changing, there is growing demand for these valuable certificates and micro-degrees, which can enhance individuals’ career prospects and help meet the evolving needs of the today’s economy.
Preliminary Report of the Special Committee on Academic Freedom and Florida
May 24, 2023
A new report from the American Association of University Professors says the politically, racially, and ideologically motivated attacks on public higher education in Florida are damaging the quality of Florida’s public higher education. If sustained, the efforts threaten the “very survival of meaningful higher education in the state, with dire implications for the entire country,”…
The Impact of State Social Policies on College Choice
April 25, 2023
The impact of politics on colleges and universities across the country is doing more than just making headlines. It’s also driving prospective colleges students away from certain states, according to a new study from Art & Science.
Normalizing Opportunity: A Policy Agenda to Promote Economic Advancement for People With Criminal Records
April 24, 2023
The U.S. economy has a talent pipeline challenge. Employers in several industries are struggling to fill job vacancies, and the gap between the demand for labor and the supply of talent is likely to grow. In the next decade, the labor supply is projected to shrink, while recent federal investments are expected to spur the…
A Cumbersome Enrollment Process Named the Top Challenge to Dual Enrollment in California
March 13, 2023
Dual enrollment is a powerful acceleration strategy for college completion. Students who participate in high-quality dual enrollment while in high school are more likely to graduate, enter college, and persist in college to completion than their peers who don’t, according to multiple studies.
Rising Barriers, Shrinking Aid: The State of Financial Aid in Massachusetts
March 8, 2023
Decades of declining state financial aid and an increasingly complex array of small grants, scholarships, and tuition waivers are leaving Massachusetts public college students deep in debt and worsening educational gaps in the state, says this report by the Hildreth Institute.
Race, Ethnicity, and the Design of State Grant Aid Programs
Jan. 26, 2023
Most states use need-based state grant programs to reduce financial barriers to college for students from low-income households. The policy design and eligibility requirements of these grant programs vary from state to state and even across sectors. But some policies may unintentionally disproportionately exclude students from underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups.
Valuable Insights on How Tennessee and Kentucky Connected Education and Workforce Data
Jan. 20, 2023
Robust longitudinal education and workforce data are integral in addressing disparities in educational opportunities and economic outcomes. However, not all states link their P-12, postsecondary, and workforce data sets. Kentucky and Tennessee are two state examples that proved success in linking data from different agencies.
Capitalizing on Postsecondary Education to Develop In-State Talent
Jan. 18, 2023
A framework to help state leaders craft and execute a 90-day plan for launching a talent agenda in their state that will attract business investment and higher-wage jobs.
A New Birth of Freedom in Higher Education
Jan. 4, 2023
Conservatives frequently bemoan the ideological monoculture on college campuses, but they too rarely propose constructive solutions. One notable exception has been Arizona State University’s School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, which is funded directly by the Arizona state legislature as a distinct academic unit.