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.
Most current and prospective college students question whether four-year institutions charge fair prices, yet they remain steadfast in their belief that a college education is valuable and pays off relatively quickly—within five years of completion.
Read Bridging the Gap: Insights on Cost and Value of a College Degree to learn more about how adults without a college degree view higher education and financial barriers to enrollment, how they evaluate their investment in a degree, and their perceptions of affordability and value.
This spring, the number of high school graduates in the United States is expected to hit its peak. Starting in the fall, enrollment will likely enter a period of decline that could last a decade or more. This looming “demographic cliff” has been on the minds of education leaders for nearly two decades, dating back to the start of the Great Recession.
Schools at all levels, dependent on per-pupil funding for K-12 and tuition dollars for colleges and universities, will experience financial strain in the coming years. The question now is whether to treat the cliff as a crisis or an opportunity.
Research shows that mental health concerns are one of the top reasons community college students leave school without completing their studies. While students say mental health supports offered by their institution help them stay enrolled, few students at two-year institutions take advantage of formal mental health resources provided by their school's counseling center.
A new report investigates these challenges and the targeted interventions that can both improve campus engagement and students' first-year academic outcomes.
Recent college graduates trying to launch their careers sometimes find they don’t have the experience that employers are looking for to fill their open jobs, even entry-level positions. Education at Work is trying to bridge that gap between academics and the workforce by connecting college students with top employers to give them valuable work experience.
Education at Work's Jane Swift explains more in this interview.
Enrollment of underrepresented groups at medical schools fell precipitously this academic year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ban on affirmative action.
Now, many people worry that the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs could exacerbate this issue, even in states like California, where public universities have been navigating bans on affirmative action for decades. Education and health experts warn that, ultimately, this could harm patient care.
As many as two-thirds of colleges and universities in the United States have, over the last decade, shown at least one sign of financial stress, including operating at a loss for multiple years, drops in enrollment, and a decline in state appropriations or endowment. Even flagship public universities and elite private colleges are starting to experience financial strain.
The authors of Colleges on the Brink: The Case for Financial Exigency—Charles Ambrose and Michael Nietzel—weigh in with their thoughts on the future of higher education.
