The AI flood into higher education presents some incredible opportunities, but we also need to establish boundaries and guardrails to protect students. Today's students need professors, not technology devoid of humanity. AI can be a great tool for access, but only when students stay at the center.

Students should have absolute transparency in what college *actually* costs, but in a system built on complexity, they rarely do. Tools like Niche’s new True Cost calculator aim to change that by including real-life expenses. This offers some helpful clarity, but at what risk?

A prolonged government shutdown threatens the future that students are working hard to build. This is more than a political standoff. It's a direct hit to the stability, aid, and support systems students count on.

New grads usually take seven to nine months to land jobs that match their skills and with fewer openings, that ramp-up is taking longer. Not because degrees are worth less, but because the path after college has become harder to navigate. The degree is not the problem. The system is.

Opportunity shouldn’t depend on what a student’s family owns. States can increase the number of college graduates and strengthen their economies by changing how they fund financial aid to students from low-income, low-wealth families. Targeted state aid can pay off in the long run.

In a time of growing federal pressure on colleges, states must step up. "While wages are a necessary part of the equation leading to economic prosperity, wages are not a sufficient expression of what both individuals and society get from a more educated population." Watch New America's webinar:

Important read from Lumina Foundation higher education must deliver real opportunity—not just degrees. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/us/value-of-higher-education-attainment-rates-graduation.html

People still see college as a place for real opportunity, not political theater. Progress in higher ed will come from investing in students and communities, not restricting institutions.

The greater emphasis on peer advising, FAFSA guidance, mentoring, and outreach tailored to students who have long been excluded from opportunity shows what's possible when schools, colleges, and community-based organizations work together. This is what real investment in student success looks like.

With less than a week left to apply, there's still time to bring your big idea about reinventing college admissions to life. We're investing $3.3 million to support efforts that make the process simpler, fairer, and built around students. Applications are open until Nov. 3 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Programs like Colorado’s CORE initiative, which awards associate degrees to students who earned enough credits at a four-year college but didn’t finish, are innovative, student-centered solutions that recognize progress, reduce barriers, and help people move forward. Without starting over.

The U.S. spends more on education than most countries, but gets less in return. "We’re not facing a single crisis but a series of overlapping failures." The fix isn’t quick, but it is possible. And urgent.

"What you hear in universities, all the time, for years, is, 'We just have to tell our story better.' But I think we really have to look ourselves in the mirror and say, 'We need a better story.'" This is a signal to redesign and write new, better stories about college. Not retreat.

College should be a launchpad for a better life. For everyone. "These changes will be disastrous for the American Dream. Research consistently shows that a college degree is the No. 1 driver of economic mobility. Reduced access to college means trapping millions of people in poverty."

Restoring trust in higher education starts with value students can see and feel. Credentials must lead to good jobs, career growth, and a stronger sense of purpose. That means aligning all post-high school education with the real opportunities communities need most.

It's time to put humans at the center of the AI revolution www.luminafoundation.org/news-and-vie...

Our choices today will shape who AI serves tomorrow. “We’ve seen this story before: Moments of disruption that ultimately deepened human potential when guided by shared values. The difference now is that we're acting earlier, more collaboratively, and with a clear sense of what's at stake.”

Jasmine's story isn’t rare. Too many students build real skills through intensive learning experiences, but they often leave college unsure how to talk about what they’ve learned. That disconnect isn’t their fault—it’s a design flaw.

We—humans—must have a say in how AI is designed. Because AI should serve people, not the other way around. That’s why we've joined Humanity AI, a $500 million, five-year commitment to center people, public good, and civil society in the future of artificial intelligence.

Community colleges drive local economies, improve health, and strengthen democracy, yet these contributions rarely count in value measurement. This new project redefines success for open-access colleges by capturing their real impact on communities. Download the report to see this new framework:

Higher education’s job is to teach students how to think, not what to think. As Gerardo Martí writes in this Inside Higher Ed piece, universities must be curators of knowledge, not platforms for unchecked ideology. Protecting that mission matters for learning, fairness, and democracy.

The fact that fewer students now expect to go to college than at any point in the past 20 years isn't a shift in ambition. It’s a sign that the systems meant to support opportunity are failing, and we can't ignore those signs.

Leaders like Morgan State University President and Lumina Foundation board member David K. Wilson don't just guide institutions; they transform them. This great Q&A from Capital B showcases how he leads with clarity, courage, and community in mind. Read the full piece:

Rick Kahlenberg, long a critic of race-based affirmative action, warns that Trump's push to ban race-neutral tools could lead to the resegregation of higher education. "Most people like racial diversity. They just didn’t want racial preferences as the means of getting there," he said.

Why does Lumina, a foundation focused on education after high school, invest in local journalism? Lumina President and CEO Jamie Merisotis joined American Journalism Project CEO Sarabeth Berman this morning for a frank chat about the value of local news and the civic infrastructure it creates.

Please join us at noon EDT today to learn how your institution can apply for a new funding opportunity in Career-Connected High-Impact Practices (HIPs), designed to expand access in inclusive, intentional ways that align with workforce needs. Register now:

"People want it. They value it. But they don’t trust the current system can deliver it," Lumina Vice President of Impact and Planning Courtney Brown said. To rebuild confidence in higher ed, we need a system that’s accessible, transparent, and built for today’s students.

Rewarding the wrong values, The Washington Monthly Editor Paul Glastris said, gives a "hot nightclub idea of what a college is." So they took a different path, focusing on affordability, public service, and upward mobility. Let's stop asking who’s the most elite and start asking who’s delivering.

Career-connected experiences like internships, research, and service learning build real-world skills and make learning more meaningful. That's why we're excited to launch a new grant opportunity to scale this work. Please join us for a webinar at 12 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Oct. 8, to learn more:

Freedom to learn depends on freedom to teach, but when that's at risk, transparency, inquiry, and trust erode. These campaigns distract from the real work of helping students learn and thrive, and could prevent students from the education they need to build a fair, secure, and prosperous future.

At the Athens Democracy Forum this week, Lumina’s Jamie Merisotis joined a global panel on “Silencing the Academy.” The conversation covered higher ed’s enduring value and underscored why defending academic freedom is vital to protecting democracy and creating fair learning opportunities.

Fresh eyes offer clarity into just how much higher ed is shifting: The data doesn’t always match reality. The value of college is too often reduced to dollars. And too many students are left out of the picture.

Degrees still deliver. It’s the systems around them that must change. And while we're at it, let's archive the myth of the "overeducated American." Nate Weisberg's @Washington Monthly Washington Monthly piece is a great look at this narrative and what we can do about it:

Quote of the Day: “The U.S. is an example of frogs in the boiling water when it comes to talent.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/p...

Colleges can’t serve adult learners with minor tweaks or adjustments. Progress will mean institutional overhauls to design with today's students in mind. For the 43 million Americans with some college but no degree, many of them Black, Hispanic, Latino, and Native American, this work is urgent.

Too many adults in rural communities are ready to return to college, but colleges aren’t reaching them. We’ve launched a new initiative with CollegeAPP and StrategyForward Advisors to support six rural colleges as they reimagine how they connect with adults who left college before finishing.

Let's turn "I don't think I can get in" into "I'm going to college. We're investing nearly $3.3M in states, systems, and colleges ready to transform admissions. Join our webinar at 2 p.m. EDT Sept. 30 to learn more about this funding opportunity. https://bit.ly/4mqvxIv

Short-term credentials only work when they deliver real, genuine value for students. That means better wages, job stability, and career growth. We must design short-term programs with today’s students in mind and alongside employers to connect learning to real careers.

"Freedom to give is not about politics. It's not about ideology. It's about people." https://cof.org/page/public-statement-philanthropy #UniteInAdvance

"The admissions process is acting as a gatekeeper instead of a gateway. There was this really unique opportunity for us to fundamentally just change the system." And they did. More than 2 million students now have access to redesigned admissions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H4qdL-QCYs&t=3794s

This piece from the @chronphilanthropy.bsky.social does an excellent job of telling the story of the @luminafoundation.bsky.social approach to philanthropy - with a laser-like focus on catalyzing the nation toward a quantitative, time-limited goal www.philanthropy.com/article/this...

Please join us at 1 p.m. EDT today as we go live with a special recording of our "Today's Students, Tomorrow's Talent podcast." We’ll share what we've learned in the first year of the Great Admissions Redesign, a nationwide effort to rethink college admissions from the ground up. Register now:

The @luminafoundation.bsky.social‬ threw almost all its resources at changing one metric. Now, with its holy grail in sight, it's making the goal even harder to reach. https://phlnthrp.com/46iHJWZ

Please join us at 1 p.m. EDT today as we go live with a special recording of our "Today's Students, Tomorrow's Talent podcast." We’ll share what we've learned in the first year of the Great Admissions Redesign, a nationwide effort to rethink college admissions from the ground up. Register now:

In its Labor Day special, @theworld.org examines the value of American higher education at a time of deep uncertainty. The global impact of U.S. education is clear. What’s at stake is whether America continues to open or close doors for students. Take a listen:

"Our ambition for outcomes and driving toward results means that we have to see ourselves differently. We do have to see ourselves as not just grant makers, not just cash registers with a conscience," Lumina President and CEO Jamie Merisotis told The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

ICYMI: Our Labor Day special offers an in-depth examination of the value of an American higher education for international students and the challenges they now face in studying in the US. We also hear about American faculty and researchers faced with funding cuts and a potential brain drain.

The US economy could lose $7 billion in spending and 60,000 jobs as a result of the bans and restrictions imposed by the White House on international students. That is according to NAFSA, the Association of International Educators.

Our Labor Day special offers an in-depth examination of the value of an American higher education for international students and the challenges they now face studying in the US. We also hear about American researchers faced with funding cuts and a potential brain drain. Tune in 📻 bit.ly/3xyRRfD

The best HSIs prove what’s possible. A focus on delivering affordable education, strong support services, and culturally responsive programs shows how real opportunity is created: students graduate at higher rates, families gain stability, and communities thrive.