Lumina Foundation is working to increase the share of adults in the U.S. labor force with college degrees or other credentials of value leading to economic prosperity.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities have received growing national attention in recent years as applications and enrollment continue to climb. But across many campuses, another shift is underway: HBCUs are redesigning the systems that help students persist and graduate.
Recent initiatives that HBCUs have implemented to remove barriers to student success include helping stopped-out students return, expanding course access, reducing nontuition costs, and creating faster routes into professional degrees.
Beginning in fall 2027, the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts will assign pass/no credit grades rather than traditional letter grades during the first semester for all incoming students.
The new approach aims to ease the transition to college life, allowing freshmen to explore diverse subjects without the pressure of grades affecting their GPA or external transcripts. Officials also contend the move will help students establish early momentum, enabling them to start strong and curb the mental health crisis unfolding among college-aged individuals.
The demand for short-term credential programs is growing, and state leaders are responding with significant investments to help students and colleges deliver high-quality, short-term education and training. But how do students know which programs lead to better wages? And are these programs effectively addressing a state's labor needs?
In this interview, Lumina Foundation's Kermit Kaleba discusses how the FutureReady States initiative is helping state leaders work through these issues and more. Governor Jared Polis of Colorado and Nathan Rankin of Alabama’s Department of Workforce join the conversation to share insights on their work to improve short-term credential programs and outcomes.
Staff reductions at the Colorado School of Mines. About $54 million in cuts at Colorado State University Fort Collins. And tapping endowment funds to sustain scholarships for students with farmworker or migrant backgrounds at Adams State University.
These decisions reflect a broader reality facing Colorado’s public colleges and universities where campus leaders must now refocus their time and energy on stabilizing finances amid numerous fiscal pressures.
As college instructors become increasingly desperate to quash students’ use of artificial intelligence to cheat, one of higher education's leading technology companies has come up with a new solution.
Ed-tech giant Turnitin’s latest software, Clarity, monitors typing, revisions, use of the copy-and-paste function, and time spent writing to detect AI use. In turn, professors will be able to watch a replay of the writing process. However, some question whether this level of monitoring is excessive.
Interning while incarcerated is an experience few people have the opportunity to talk about. This summer, two such individuals joined the Vera Institute of Justice as incarcerated interns, contributing to individual projects while navigating the realities of prison life.
Although both women shared the same goal of gaining experience in the social justice work environment, their internships were uniquely their own. In this perspective piece, Krystal Lowe and Ashley Mackie reflect on finding purpose, professionalism, and possibility while still incarcerated.
