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.
For many students, getting accepted to their dream school is the finish line. For Shir Levenson, it was only another race. Now came the more difficult part: figuring out how to actually afford it. The full cost would approach $100,000 annually, including housing and food plans.
Levenson's story is not unique. The college application process puts many families in limbo when they cannot comfortably pay full tuition or qualify for sufficient financial aid. Levenson explains more about this reality—and the need for improved transparency about college costs—in this op-ed.
An explosive allegation of rape at a Cornell University fraternity house has set off a furious national debate about campus safety, accountability, and the Greek system. The world now knows the lurid details of a lawsuit filed last month by a former Cornell student who alleges she was sexually assaulted two years ago by a group of Chi Phi fraternity brothers on the Ithaca, New York, campus.
It’s difficult to overstate the enormous public interest in this story, which has rocked the Cornell campus and become a case study that faculty, administrators, students, and families are wrestling with across the country. This podcast explores why the Cornell case feels like an era-defining crisis and what it may mean for the future of higher education.
Growing up in a small town where most people don’t finish high school, Melisa Acevedo felt a career in medicine wasn’t an achievable dream. That changed when she enrolled in Porterville College and found out about the California Medicine Scholars Program.
The initiative offers a community college-to-medical school pathway, providing students with mentors, help with transferring to a four-year college, paid internships, and shadowing opportunities with doctors. Wraparound supports, such as transportation and financial help, are also available to students in need. It's a win for students like Acevedo, who have been locked out of the traditional pathway to medical school, and for the state as a whole, which faces a primary care shortage.
Seven years ago, just after John R. Porter took over as president of Lindenwood University, a private liberal-arts college in St. Charles, Missouri, he immediately set out to diversify the school's revenue streams with some aggressive transactions, including the purchase of Dorsey College, a for-profit career-tech institution, and Ancora Education, which operated campuses in several states and was known for its technical and workforce training and online programs.
Porter also began to rethink enrollment and student success. Today, the former IBM executive wants to help students move from a career-tech certificate to an associate degree, a bachelor's degree, and even an M.B.A. within one system.
Starting Nov. 1, all U.S. Department of Education grant recipients will be required to have written justification for drawing down pre-approved funding. The additional step is part of a federal government-wide effort that the Trump administration says will add accountability and transparency for spending taxpayer funds.
Others are not convinced. Some education administrative groups are concerned the process could cause delays in moving much-needed federal resources to schools, districts, and states.
As learner expectations evolve and workforce demands continue to change, colleges and universities are being challenged to rethink how they deliver education across every stage of a learner's journey. Success increasingly depends on moving beyond traditional structures to create flexible, connected ecosystems that support lifelong learning while balancing innovation, access, and institutional collaboration.
In this interview, Bettyjo Bouchey of the University of Arizona discusses how institutions can break down organizational silos and create learner-centered pathways that connect degrees, credentials, workforce development, and lifelong learning.
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