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.
Supporting Adult Learners in Postsecondary Education
July 22, 2025
This study sheds light on the motivations, challenges, and successes of the strategies and practices used by a set of postsecondary institutions that have enacted institutional change in support of adult learners of color.
Institutional Change for Adult Learner Success
July 22, 2025
More than 82 million adults 25 years old and over have never enrolled in any postsecondary education, and another 43.1 million adults have some college credits, but no credential. Black, Hispanic, and Native American adults are disproportionately represented in both of these categories. But the fundamental structures and practices of colleges were not built with…
Student Mental Health on College Campuses
June 17, 2025
College students today often face a variety of challenges academic pressures, social and family stresses, financial/ economic hardship stresses, a rapidly shifting technological environment, an increasingly polarized political environment, and more.
Some College, No Credential (SCNC) Student Outcomes
June 3, 2025
This report shows the “some college, no credential” (SCNC) population—former students who stopped out without earning a credential—is up 3.6 percent from a year earlier while fewer SCNC students returned and completed a credential. This suggests there’s an increasingly missed opportunity for states and institutions to reengage SCNC students.
Some College, No Credential
June 3, 2025
The Some College, No Credential (formerly: Some College, No Degree) report series seeks to understand the educational trajectories of millions of Americans who left postsecondary education without receiving a degree or certificate. The series offers insights about their subsequent enrollments and completions, based on the most current national data that tracks individual students over time…
The Reality of Free Speech on College Campuses
April 7, 2025
Learn more about student perspectives on free speech on college campuses Despite national debates suggesting that students face suppression of their views on college campuses, the latest Lumina Foundation-Gallup study tells a different story. The Beyond the Headlines: The Reality of Free Speech on College Campuses report finds that most bachelor's degree students, regardless of political…
2025 State of the Graduate Report
April 1, 2025
Today’s job market is constantly evolving, and today’s graduates are entering it with both confidence and conviction.
Student Basic Needs Survey Report (2023-2024)
Feb. 25, 2025
This report shares findings from 91 institutions across 16 states that participated in Hope Impact Partnerships (HIP) and fielded The Hope Center Student Basic Needs Survey between Spring 2023 and Summer 2024.
In Students’ Own Words
Feb. 3, 2025
Research brief summarizes findings from interviews with Black students about the moment they knew they would be successful in their transfer journeys.
Moments of Insight
Jan. 29, 2025
You don’t know the courage it took for your adult students to get into that room, or just to show up virtually, to that classroom. So, try to meet them where they are. See the obstacles that they’ve already overcome. See their goals as strengths. You can turn those strengths from life into strengths in…
Education at a Glance, from OECD
Dec. 24, 2024
Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators is the authoritative source for information on the state of education around the world. It provides data on the structure, finances, and performance of education systems in OECD and partner countries.
The Net Benefits of Raising Bachelor’s Degree Completion through the City University of New York ACE Program
Dec. 18, 2024
Bachelor’s degree attainment is one of the most reliable indicators of an individual’s future economic and social advantage. Four-year college graduates earn more, pay more in taxes, practice healthier behaviors, and are more likely to vote and volunteer. Despite these documented benefits, gaps in BA attainment have widened over time, even as overall rates of…
Knocking at the College Door
Dec. 10, 2024
Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates has been an important resource for policymakers, decision-makers, researchers, and planners in education and workforce development since the first edition was produced in 1979. The 11th edition includes this comprehensive report and interactive data visualizations.
College Students Who Voted for Trump Were Twice as Likely to Rely on Podcasts for News
Dec. 3, 2024
A new poll from Intelligent.com shows that college students who voted for Donald Trump in November 2024 were twice as likely to get their news from podcasts as those who voted for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Is College Worth It?
Nov. 28, 2024
The Pell Institute has released its latest report, Is College Worth It?: Black, Latinx, and Indigenous Student Voices on the Value of Postsecondary Credentials.
Insights from Adult Learners of Color
Nov. 5, 2024
These are pathways which reflect explicit race conscious policies, programs, and practices that actively address racial inequities to ensure student access and success and engage at an individual, system, and structural level to interrogate and ameliorate inequitable experiences and outcomes.
State Investments in Short-term Credential Pathways
Nov. 1, 2024
An analysis reveals the rapid growth of state investments in short-term credential pathways. Total investments now exceed $5.6 billion across 70 initiatives in 32 states.
Factors Affecting First-Year Students’ College Choices
Sept. 30, 2024
This brief shares student perspectives on making application decisions, financing college, and choosing to attend their particular institution, helping leaders to understand students’ enrollment decisions and address challenges to postsecondary access.
Making Every Rung of the Credential Ladder Count
Sept. 16, 2024
Policymakers and educators have promoted vocational certificate programs at community colleges as an effective way to meet labor market demands and help individuals leave low-wage work.
Why Do Students Choose to Recommend Some Professors
Sept. 12, 2024
This study utilizes data from the ACUE Student Survey, which comprehensively captures information about students’ learning experiences and perceptions of their instructors. Through the analyses of both quantitative ratings and qualitative open-ended responses, this study aims to identify the key factors that shape students’ likelihood of recommending their instructors.