Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · 8h

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.

Universities Are Curators of Knowledge, Not Chaos (opinion)

Universities cannot--and should not--platform every perspective, Gerardo Martí writes.

www.insidehighered.com

Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · 14h

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.

Student Expectations To Attend College Have Plunged Over Past 20 Years

Young students' expectations for earning a college degree have plunged in recent years, finds a report by the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Education.

www.forbes.com

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Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · 1d

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:

What's Kept Morgan State’s President at the Helm After 15 Years

David K. Wilson’s tenure is often referred to as the “Morgan Modern Era” by people in the campus community.

capitalbnews.org

Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · 2d

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.

Who deserves opportunity in Trump's America?

An opponent of race-based affirmative action speaks out against Trump’s attacks on diversity

washingtonmonthly.substack.com

Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · 2d

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.

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Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · 2d

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:

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Career-Connected High-Impact Practices Funding Opportunity Webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

Lumina Foundation invites you to join an informational webinar on an exciting new grant opportunity supporting the advancement of career-connected high-impact practices (HIPs). These practices—such as...

us02web.zoom.us

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Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · 3d

"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.

The State of Higher Education in America

Blog Higher Ed On-Demand Demo: Parchment Certificate Services See how simple it is to issue and manage certificates with Parchment Certificate Services. In this quick demo, you'll get a clear look at both the administrator and learner experience. Podcas...

www.parchment.com

Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · 3d

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.

We’re Thinking About College Rankings All Wrong

The annual list from U.S. News and World Report is helpful for affluent families and those with the resources to compete for a spot at elite universities. What about everyone else?

www.thenation.com

Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · 3d

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:

We’re looking to fund ideas that connect experiences to career preparation.

What if every student left college with the skills, experiences, and confidence to thrive in today’s workforce? Career-connected High-Impact Practices (HIPs)—such as internships, undergraduate researc...

www.luminafoundation.org

Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · 4d

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.

Local colleges targeted amid growing campus culture wars

National media and conservative groups are seeking syllabi and student information from public colleges; professors say they feel targeted and harassed.

www.wgbh.org

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Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · 8d

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.

Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · 9d

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.

Finding my footing as a SHEEO first-timer: What the shifts in higher ed reveal

Higher education is navigating unprecedented times marked by misinformation, public skepticism, and structural change. The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) meeting is cri...

bit.ly

Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · 9d

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:

The College Degree Is Not Losing Value

AI is disrupting entry-level work, and graduates constitute a growing share of the long-term unemployed. But the degree's value still holds.

washingtonmonthly.com

Reposted by Lumina Foundation

Jamie Merisotis @jamiemerisotis.bsky.social · 14d

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...

Quote of the Day: Students Are Ill Prepared for College and Beyond

www.nytimes.com

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Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · 9d

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.

Adult learners need more than tweaks, and here’s how some colleges are stepping up

Colleges eager to help adult learners—especially Black, Hispanic and Latino, and Native American adults who have historically been left behind—know this goal requires more than surface-level tweaks. It demands deep, sustained, and mission-driven institutional change.

www.luminafoundation.org

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Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · 16d

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.

Lumina supports project to reimagine how community colleges connect with adults

Lumina Foundation, CollegeAPP, and StrategyForward Advisors have joined to launch the Rural Community College Adult Learner Engagement initiative, supporting a cohort of rural colleges in strengthenin...

www.luminafoundation.org

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Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · 18d

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

Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · 28d

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.

Train For the Job, Not Just the Credential.

It’s time for our education and workforce systems to serve adult learners, not just recent grads.

www.diverseeducation.com

Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · Sep 10

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

#UniteInAdvance

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Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · Sep 5

"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

Podcast: Lessons from a year of college admissions redesign: Insights from a nationwide movement

YouTube video by Lumina Foundation

www.youtube.com

Reposted by Lumina Foundation

Jamie Merisotis @jamiemerisotis.bsky.social · Sep 3

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...

This Foundation Measures Its Impact by One Number. Is That a Model for Success?

The Lumina Foundation threw virtually all its resources at changing one metric. Now, with its holy grail in sight, it’s making the goal even harder to reach.

www.philanthropy.com

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Reposted by Lumina Foundation

Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · Sep 4

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:

Join our live podcast TODAY as we reimagine college admissions

In 2023, Lumina Foundation launched The Great Admissions Redesign—a bold initiative challenging higher education systems, institutions, and state agencies to rethink admissions from the ground up. The...

us02web.zoom.us

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Reposted by Lumina Foundation

The Chronicle of Philanthropy @chronphilanthropy.bsky.social · Sep 3

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

This Foundation Measures Its Impact by One Number. Is That a Model for Success?

The Lumina Foundation threw virtually all its resources at changing one metric. Now, with its holy grail in sight, it’s making the goal even harder to reach.

www.philanthropy.com

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Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · Sep 4

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:

Join our live podcast TODAY as we reimagine college admissions

In 2023, Lumina Foundation launched The Great Admissions Redesign—a bold initiative challenging higher education systems, institutions, and state agencies to rethink admissions from the ground up. The...

us02web.zoom.us

1

Lumina Foundation @luminafoundation.bsky.social · Sep 3

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:

The value of American higher education

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, particularly with new visa restrictions in place.

theworld.org