Lumina Foundation is committed to increasing the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees, certificates and other credentials to 60 percent by 2025.
A room tucked away at New College of Florida used to be decorated wall-to-wall with student-made oil paintings and drawings. One side housed a collection of books covering topics like gender studies, Black history, and LGBTQ+ issues. For students, the space served as a sanctuary for creativity, laughter, and free expression of identity.
Two weeks ago, the space—known as the Gender and Diversity Center—was gutted without warning.
Adult learners often bring a wealth of experiences with them into higher education that can apply to their fields of study. Credit for prior learning is one way institutions award credentials for the lived experiences of students outside of academia without requiring them to take courses on subjects they have already mastered.
Helping students match their experiences to credits, however, can be a challenge. Davenport University is working to change that.
After watching his mother work two jobs just to barely get by, college often seemed like a distant dream to Elijah Brown. The George C. Brooks scholarship made those dreams happen, however, enabling Brown to attend the University of Missouri.
Today, the scholarship that represented a lifeline to so many students no longer exists. Following the 2023 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to ban affirmative action, Missouri University, along with many other universities, discontinued scholarships previously reserved for students from underrepresented racial groups, despite the court's ruling not mentioning financial aid.
For many students of color and nontraditional students, Alverno College on the south side Milwaukee is a lighthouse and a symbol of hope. It is Wisconsin's first federally designated Hispanic-serving institution and one of two women's colleges in Milwaukee. More than half of its students are the first in their family to go to college.
However, despite an unexpected $10 million donation days before the start of the fall semester, the school's financial future remains unclear.
New research shows that regional universities provide an exceptional return on state taxpayer dollars. Whereas graduates of flagships often leave for jobs in distant cities, those of regional universities typically settle down and build their careers in-state.
Yet, in the battle for funding, regional universities typically lose out. At the same time, regional public universities grant more than 40 percent of all four-year degrees in America, versus 19 percent awarded by public flagships.
To curb the drain of young, rural talent, Montana’s community and tribal colleges have embarked on a quest to expand program offerings, giving students a way to build careers and pursue degrees without leaving home. These programs take various forms, from commercial driver’s license certification to agricultural training grounded in Indigenous knowledge.
At their core, the efforts are helping to redefine what it means to go to college and who is able to access a degree.
