Lumina Foundation is committed to increasing the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees, certificates and other credentials to 60 percent by 2025.
Today, nearly 55 percent of working-age adults in the United States hold a degree or credential beyond high school—a milestone highlighted in the most recent 2023 data from A Stronger Nation, Lumina Foundation’s annual “report card” tracking educational progress. This progress tells a story of individual ambition, systemic resilience, and shared commitment to creating opportunities for all.
This transformation didn’t happen overnight. It required educators to reimagine learning, institutions to adapt to changing needs, states to invest in accessible programs, and policymakers to align resources with goals.
An Ohio bill banning diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at public colleges is back and more expansive than ever. The Ohio Legislature began hearings this week for Senate Bill 1, the “Advance Ohio Higher Education Act,” which revives the widely criticized Senate Bill 83 that failed to pass the House last year.
The new bill proposes to overhaul Ohio’s public higher education institutions, granting greater governmental oversight over colleges and threatening their funding if they don’t comply. In particular, the bill takes aim at what happens in the classroom—and the subjects it deems controversial.
Last year’s reveal of the revamped federal aid form was far from smooth. One of the first moves officials at the U.S. Department of Education made was to bring in outside help to head up the 2024-2025 rollout, including longtime College Board president Jeremy Singer and chief information officer Jeff Olson.
Singer and Olson ended their temporary stints at the department last month to resume their respective roles at the College Board. In this interview, they highlight some of the challenges they faced and the lessons they learned—and the changes they hope will have a lasting impact.
Policymakers and advocates often view child care centers on college campuses as a solution for student parents looking for adequate care. That is why there has been so much alarm about declining access to this option. The share of public college campuses with child care centers has dropped significantly, and the most dramatic reduction is happening at community colleges, which enroll the highest proportion of student parents.
Much of the advocacy for student parents focuses on reversing this trend and opening more centers. After all, if your college offers child care, you are all set, right? Wrong.
More than 1,000 people are released from state and federal prisons every day, and many already have a high school education. Colleges and correctional agencies play a key role in ensuring these individuals have the skills and training to access stable employment.
A new report from the Vera Institute of Justice identifies good jobs that are accessible to people with conviction histories and serves as a guide for developing and expanding prison education programs to increase employment opportunities.
With President Donald J. Trump vowing to tighten immigration during his time in the White House, college leaders are working around the clock to protect international students and “Dreamers”—undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children—from policies that could affect their safety and ability to pursue higher education.
College officials say that the biggest challenge they face, aside from the threat of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arriving on campus, is reducing the climate of fear and worry, raising morale, especially among immigrant students, and helping faculty and staff to stay positive for their students.
