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 millions of students, the path to an education after high school depends on one fundamental question: How will I pay for it?
This year, that question has become significantly harder to answer as a result of one of the most significant overhauls to the federal student aid system in decades. Part-time students face new limits on how much they can borrow through federal student loans. The same is true for graduate and professional students. Meanwhile, financial aid offices are racing to help them make sense of it all.
Choosing a college major has always felt like a bet on the future, but that bet feels riskier than ever for today's graduates. This reality is fueling a growing interest in “safe degrees"—majors that combine steady demand, transferable skills, and resistance to automation. But "safe" doesn't mean risk-free, and no degree comes with a guarantee.
And while a degree is important, employers say other factors often distinguish graduates who secure stable jobs from those who face challenges. Companies also increasingly value real-world experience and demonstrated skills like critical thinking, communication, adaptability, and AI literacy.
It’s tough to hang on to a good college president these days. That’s why many institutions dangle lucrative deferred-compensation packages to entice their leaders to stay. Now, Utah is taking the opposite approach: It’s asking public-college presidents to pay up if they leave early.
This year, for the first time, the contracts of two of Utah’s public-university presidents, at Weber State and Utah Valley Universities, require them to pay the state’s Board of Higher Education if they opt to leave or are terminated with cause with more than six months left in their four-year contracts. Both presidents earn an annual base salary of $440,731 and would be required to pay based on a sliding scale, up to $200,000.
Morgan County, Tennessee, is a rural community shaped by strong relationships, deep attachment to place, and a shared commitment to its future.
Like many rural areas, Morgan County also faces real economic challenges: More than half of its population struggles to afford basic household necessities, and 15 percent of its residents live below the poverty line. That’s why the efforts of Roane State Community College to reshape what student success means are so important. Helping individual students earn credentials is not enough: The school also aims to strengthen the long-term economic vitality of the entire region.
Texas is preparing to extend one of its most consequential higher education funding experiments from community colleges to four-year universities.
But as state policymakers consider tying more public dollars to student outcomes, the early results from Texas’ community colleges offer a cautionary lesson: Colleges responded to the incentives faster and more successfully than lawmakers anticipated—and the state was not prepared to pay for the results.
Apprenticeships are helping North Carolina employers build the skilled workforce they need while giving students an opportunity to earn a paycheck, gain hands-on experience, and prepare for high-demand careers.
This podcast explores how North Carolina's community college system, local colleges, and employers are working together to expand registered apprenticeships, why strong partnerships are essential to their success, and how these programs can provide students with a viable pathway to education, employment, and economic opportunity.
