Lumina Foundation

📜 How can more accessible programming and credentials help colleges and universities drive higher level outcomes for their learners? Do the status quo solutions still work, or do we need to find new pathways to help learners reach their goals? That's the focus of the most recent episode of the EdUp PCO podcast, featuring Lumina Foundation President & CEO Jamie Merisotis. The Lumina Foundation has been setting the standard on alignment between the workforce and the education ecosystem for years, and recently announced a goal of achieving 75% attainment among American adults by 2040 to support the health of the economy. In this interview we discuss: 🎯 Why the Lumina Foundation set the attainment rate target at 75% by 2040 🤖 How technological evolution has shifted what it takes to be competitive in the labour market 💫 The role PCO units must play in helping their home institutions support regional workforce transformation Thanks as always to Joe Sallustio, EdD, Elvin Freytes and the team at The EdUp Experience for their support of the EdUp PCO podcast! Link to listen to this week's episode is in the comments!

Having reliable transportation to class could be the one difference between a student's success and their failure. It's not a side issue, and it's not optional, as many of today’s students balance jobs, caregiving, and long commutes. It's a basic need, like food and housing. That's why we're eager to share Trellis Strategies' "Transportation Toolkit for Community College Leaders." The toolkit includes student data, campus case studies, and practical solutions like shuttles, microtransit, gas cards, and car repair assistance. It helps colleges identify how transportation challenges affect students and offers strategies to address them. Students can't succeed in college if they can't get there. This resource is a good starting point for institutions. Take a look: https://lnkd.in/gZgM7Ve9

The Trump administration’s handoff of federal career and technical education funding to the Labor Department has delayed payments, confused states, and jeopardized programs students rely on to build a better future. Amid the turbulence and instability, and as billions more in education funding are poised to move, we have to ask: who benefits when inexperienced hands take over programs serving low-income, Black, Hispanic and Latino, and Native American students? As Richard Kincaid, an assistant state superintendent for college and career pathways at the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), put it: "It wasn’t broken." And yet, we're trying to "fix" an unbroken system with confusion...all in the name of reform? https://lnkd.in/eBxw8-tM

This year's Education Writers Association Reporting Fellows class represents some of the most thoughtful, fearless journalists today who will tackle some of the most pressing and underreported issues in education. Backed by up to $10,000 in support, the nine fellows will investigate the fallout from anti-DEI laws, the erosion of college access for Latino and Black students, and the real-world consequences of federal cuts to special education. Their work spans national outlets and local newsrooms, covering both K-12 and higher education from across the country. Stories like these push systems to do better, and this class of fellows is more than up to the task. We can't wait to see what they uncover. Learn more about who they are: https://lnkd.in/gm6S3Rkp

When international students stop coming, we don’t just lose tuition. We lose future scientists, entrepreneurs, and neighbors. We lose global perspective, and we deepen inequities across already struggling colleges. This is a policy choice with consequences. More from GBH: https://lnkd.in/eThSEtSA

Sharing big #UnlockingOpportunity news: the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program and the Community College Research Center have released a practice guide for community colleges to improve student outcomes! The guide offers actionable strategies to help many more students complete credentials that lead to strong career opportunities—whether right after graduation or following successful transfer and attainment of a bachelor’s degree. Thanks to the 10 pilot Unlocking Opportunity network colleges for their work to ensure more students are on a path to economy mobility, and more communities get the talent they need to thrive. The work has been generously supported by Arnold Ventures, Ascendium's Education Philanthropy, Bank of America, ECMC Foundation, JPMorganChase, Lumina Foundation and Strada Education Foundation. Explore the guide: https://lnkd.in/eDtJUK5u

Too many community college students complete programs that don't lead to real opportunity after graduation. What happens after students graduate matters just as much as crossing the finish line. That's why we're proud to support a new practice guide from The Aspen Institute and the Community College Research Center. Built on the work of 10 pilot colleges, this guide offers eight strategies to help community colleges strengthen advising, redesign programs, and ensure credentials lead to living-wage jobs or bachelor’s degrees. These strategies can help transform systems, enabling more students to access education that delivers on the promise of economic mobility. Explore the guide here: https://lnkd.in/gMHjN6bW

Stripping support from Hispanic-serving colleges reinforces inequality. The Trump administration's effort to defund and delegitimize HSIs isn't about equal protection. It's about erasing race from policy, even when data shows Hispanic students are driving enrollment growth and community resilience. This sharp The Washington Monthly interview with race and constitutional law expert Reginald C. Oh shows us what’s at stake. "If a law seeking to end racial inequality violates equal protection, then what the Equal Protection Clause protects is racial inequality." What kind of future are we building if we punish colleges for serving students who've long been excluded? https://lnkd.in/gUiGAKXf

We can’t allow college campuses to stop being welcoming, open communities of learning and belonging. The ICE raids near North Carolina campuses have created fear, distrust, and isolation, especially for international students and immigrant staff. When students are afraid to walk across campus or attend class, something is deeply wrong. Following the law is the bare minimum. Campus leaders must take more decisive action to protect privacy, push back against overreach, challenge intimidation, and clearly support those targeted because of who they are or where they come from. This is a moment to lead with courage. Read the full story from Inside Higher Ed: https://lnkd.in/gZvH3Rrp

Federal attacks on higher ed aren't only happening at elite campuses. Community colleges, which educate 40 percent of the country’s undergrads, are feeling these cuts, too. Presidents from Florida, Michigan, and North Carolina in this NPR segment describe losing key grants, scrambling to keep food pantries stocked, and worrying about looming Medicaid and SNAP cuts. Many community college students are Black, Hispanic and Latino, or from low-income backgrounds. They rely on Pell Grants, child care assistance, and career training to earn credentials that drive local economies. "Our mission is to serve all who can benefit and are interested in the opportunity that we provide," Seminole State College President Georgia Lorenz said during this NPR segment. "And community colleges act as such an important entry point to higher education for so many different types of students—all sorts of different backgrounds, career-changers, military veterans, people who may have started a college degree but never completed it—and we continue to do that mission-driven work." Listen to the full conversation: https://lnkd.in/gb-UUYQ7