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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.

June 23, 2025

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Inside a School That's Working to Fix the U.S. Shortage of Air Traffic Controllers

Joel Rose, WESA

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The United States needs all the new air traffic controllers it can get. The Federal Aviation Administration is more than 3,000 certified controllers short of full staffing, and personnel at many facilities are working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks. That's where the air traffic management program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida comes in.

 

It's one of a half-dozen schools around the country offering an accelerated training program that mirrors classes at the FAA Academy.

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Congressional Republicans Want to End Grad PLUS Loans. How Might It Affect Your Campus?

Dan Bauman, The Chronicle of Higher Education

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Congressional Republicans appear set to effectively shut down the 20-year-old Grad PLUS federal student loan program as House and Senate lawmakers seek passage of a sprawling set of budget cuts, tax adjustments, and policy changes—bundled together and branded by President Trump as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

 

But without access to Grad PLUS financing, advocates say graduate-level education will either become unattainable for some students or force them into high-cost private debt, exacerbating the student-debt crisis and existing workforce shortages in critical fields like teaching, law enforcement, public-health professions, and engineering.

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Why Do Colleges Rarely Revoke Tenure?

Kirk Carapezza, College Uncovered

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Harvard University just did something it hasn’t done in decades—it fired a tenured professor. Francesca Gino built her career studying honesty and ethical behavior. Subsequently, she faced accusations of falsifying data. In May, Harvard’s top governing board revoked her tenure and ousted her from the Business School. (Gino has denied any wrongdoing.)

 

But why is stripping tenure so rare—not just at Harvard, but anywhere? How common is research fraud? And why are colleges so secretive when it happens?

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Steve Lee on a Coalition Approach to Workforce Impact

Julian Alssid and Kaitlin LeMoine, Work Forces

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Steve Lee, CEO of Skill Up Coalition, is at the forefront of using technology to connect millions of workers to meaningful career opportunities.

 

In this interview, Lee shares insights on practical strategies for building mutually beneficial partnerships in workforce development—and why advocating for humility, value-addition, and collective impact are essential elements for scaling upskilling efforts and addressing intergenerational poverty.

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DOJ Targets In-State Tuition for Noncitizens in Kentucky as Texas Students Fight Back

Sara Weissman, Inside Higher Ed

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Undocumented students and immigrant advocacy organizations are still reeling after Texas, earlier this month, swiftly sided with a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against its policy of permitting in-state tuition for undocumented students. Within a matter of hours, officials dismantled the two-decade-old law that Republican state lawmakers had recently tried and failed to quash, in a move some critics called collusive.

 

Now the DOJ is employing the same strategy all over again—this time in Kentucky.

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Tuition Increases and Layoffs Are Coming to a Broad Set of Universities

Alan Blinder, The New York Times

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Just as America’s colleges are preparing to welcome what could be the largest freshman class in the nation’s history, political and economic forces are unleashing havoc on higher education budgets. Schools are grappling with meager upticks in state support, and Republicans in Washington are pursuing federal budget cuts and threatening tax hikes.

 

Students and employees from coast to coast are poised to feel the squeeze. Although the exact consequences will vary by school, administrators are warning that many students may have to pay more, professors could lose their jobs, programs might vanish, and support services could shrink.

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

How Are States Leveraging Micro-Credentials to Improve the Teacher Workforce?

Melissa Tooley and Lisette Partelow, New America

Four Tips for New Grads Looking for Work in an Uncertain Market

Hannah Grabenstein, PBS NewsHour

How a Rocky Educational Start Shaped the President of Robeson Community College as a Person and Leader

Emily Thomas, EdNC

Occupational Mobility Explorer

Jobs for the Future

COLLEGE COMPLETION

Removing Credit Transfer Barriers Key to Improving Higher Ed Completion Rates

Lara Couturier and Andrew Seligsohn, Diverse Issues in Higher Education

Carroll County Surges in College Completion, Leads Region in Three-Year Graduation

Carroll County News-Leader

No Matter the Political Climate, College Completion Still Matters

Charles Ansell and Michelle Dimino, University Business

FEDERAL POLICY

Trump’s Foreign Student Crackdown Puts These 16 Struggling Colleges at Risk

Emma Whitford, Forbes

Impact of International Students Highlighted in Region as Federal Policy Changes Bring Uncertainty

Sarah Hofius Hall, WVIA

As White House Wavers on Visas, Chinese Students at California Colleges Face Uncertainty and Worried Parents

Amy DiPierro, EdSource

Federal Cuts Could Gut Mizzou Programs That Support First-Gen Students

Maddie Madison, Columbia Missourian

STATE POLICY

Once Again Targeting Higher Ed, Texas Lawmakers Limited Faculty Influence, Campus Speech This Session

Jessica Priest and Sneha Dey, The Texas Tribune

Missouri Lawmakers Push State Colleges to Create 60-Credit-Hour Transferable Degree Programs

Annelise Hanshaw, Missouri Independent

State Perspectives: Efforts to Support Students’ Basic Needs in a Rapidly Shifting Environment

Deborah Martin, Institute for College Access & Success

Commentary: Cal Grant Expansion Can Help Californians Overcome the Hurdles That Deter Most Students

Rukshan Samaranayake, CalMatters

NEW PODCASTS

Affordable College, Unaffordable Housing

Speaking of the Economy

A People-First Approach to Personalized Learning

Illumination by Modern Campus

Foreign Students and U.S. Higher Education

EconoFact 

Stories that Stick: Humanizing Higher Ed’s Impact

Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO

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Daily Lumina News is edited by Patricia Brennan.

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