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.
More than one-fifth of all undergraduates are parents, and, like many of them, Bridgette Ellis lives on a tight budget, with limited means to cover costly emergencies. She supports her family without receiving child support from their father. She has a part-time job and a handful of grants and scholarships that help cover the family’s living expenses. But she didn’t see how she could afford a down payment on a decent used car—something she desperately needed to attend community college.
These challenges are a daily part of life for Ellis and countless student-parents who are trying to create better futures for themselves and their children through higher education.
Approximately 57,000 students without legal status have returned to Texas university classrooms, but they now must pay tuition rates for foreign students due to a June court ruling that halted the in-state tuition law.
One student’s family had to take out a $15,000 loan in order for their daughter to stay enrolled at the University of Texas, where she hopes to graduate in December. Others are not so fortunate. Advocates contend that many students brought to the United States as children have no choice but to give up their college dreams.
In his first academic year, University of North Texas president Harrison Keller overhauled the school's budgeting process and strategy and surveyed students' needs and struggles. He's also steered the school through a period of political turmoil—on both the national and state levels—that has targeted higher education, as well as confirmed legislative interest in funding university programs that will ultimately fuel economic innovation and growth.
In this interview, Keller discusses his first year at UNT, threats to Hispanic-Serving Institutions, declines in enrollment from international students, and why he's turning to artificial intelligence to get a clearer picture of the kinds of supports that today's learners need to thrive.
More than 500,000 undocumented students enrolled in higher education in the United States in 2023, according to a new report from the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration and the American Immigration Council.
These individuals pursue a range of programs and often seek advanced degrees—allowing them to advance scientific innovation, become business leaders, and improve the campus community. Now, however, new policies under the Trump administration could hinder their enrollment.
It was the first week of school at Harvard University, and students could be found at a usual spot in front of the library taking carefree selfies. Upperclassmen fell back into the familiarity of old friends, while freshmen from abroad, many stepping on campus for the first time as students, are asking orientation advisors what to do if they encounter immigration agents.
Amid the crisp air distinctive to the beginning of the school year, there is a sense of both routine and anxiety. This year will be a further test case in free speech, students and staff members say. And there’s no telling how their Harvard experience will be shaped by an increasingly polarizing political environment.
For more than 20 years, StoryCorps has been documenting conversations between Americans and broadcasting them on public radio. In 2017, StoryCorps launched One Small Step, a new project that pairs strangers on opposing sides of the political divide for one-on-one conversations. The organization is now bringing its initiative to college campuses.
Dave Isay, the founder of StoryCorps, explains more about the power of conversation and how seeing the common humanity in everyone can help foster understanding and belonging among students.
