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.
The release of Lumina Foundation's new "Stronger Nation" data offers a snapshot of where the country stands on education after high school. This year’s release feels different, however. The shift is not because Americans have lost faith in education, but rather because they are posing a more critical question.
Does it actually deliver value? Lumina's Courtney Brown breaks down the latest "Stronger Nation" report to answer that question—as well as the progress worth building on, gaps that demand attention, and opportunities for states and communities to act.
Even as President Donald Trump declares climate change a “hoax” and cuts funding to fight it, school systems in both blue and red states are adding classes in fields like clean energy and infusing environmental sustainability lessons in construction, culinary, and other career pathways as part of an effort to prepare students for a workplace altered by climate change.
There’s another reason schools are adding sustainability-focused courses, too: More young people, many of whom have lived through severe hurricanes, heat waves, and other extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change, are worried about the warming planet and want to find ways to alleviate it.
Career counseling is a demanding gig these days, with counselors often forced to make tough choices between giving academic and career advice or addressing students’ emotional crises. To make matters even more challenging, many students seem to lack support systems.
Schools, facing a shortage of human resources, are now exploring the use of AI to ease the workloads of counselors. Some educators, however, question the potential loss of the human touch.
Alexandra Doyle was scrolling through social media at a restaurant last week when she saw the news: The governor of Oklahoma had signed an executive order to “phase out tenure” at most of the state’s public institutions—including Northeastern State University, where Doyle is an assistant professor.
Doyle is still a few years from going up for tenure, but now she's not so sure. The language in the order by Gov. Kevin Stitt is unclear: Can professors on the tenure track, like Doyle, still pursue the dream they’ve spent decades chasing?
More than half of American college students are experiencing loneliness, and those who spend the most time on social media are particularly vulnerable to feeling isolated, according to a sweeping new study of nearly 65,000 young adults.
The findings, published in the Journal of American College Health, reveal that spending as little as 16 hours a week on social media—roughly two hours a day—is associated with significantly higher odds of loneliness among students aged 18 to 24.
Kiana Chapman dreams of becoming a doctor and knows it will be tough. But it isn't just about the grueling hours of a pre-med curriculum at Metropolitan State University of Denver. It’s about the constant worry over financial pressures. She credits her scholarship as the reason she's in school today.
But with Colorado facing an $850 million budget deficit, college advocates worry the programs students rely on most, including scholarships and campus-based supports that help learners stay enrolled, could face cuts.
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