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.
A few things are clear when it comes to artificial intelligence: It's here, it’s advancing rapidly, and it will change learning and work as we know it. That is a call for action.
But the real promise of this moment lies not in technology but in human capability. Artificial intelligence will boost productivity and reshape entire industries, but it cannot replace judgment, empathy, creativity, or care. Those qualities live in people, not machines. We will write the future of work with the choices we make now about education, training, and our shared humanity, writes Lumina Foundation's Jamie Merisotis in his latest column for Forbes.
Georgia State University has often garnered recognition for its innovative approach to student success. But do targeted academic and financial interventions that keep at-risk students enrolled and progressing toward graduation pay off once they enter the job market?
A new report from the Burning Glass Institute tries to find out by tracking the post-graduation paths of students who took part in four of Georgia State's National Institute for Student Success programs. Those efforts include helping at-risk students, creating learning groups based on major fields of study, a small financial aid program to prevent students from dropping out, and a Summer Success Academy for new freshmen to earn seven credit hours before their first semester.
A Missouri higher education leader is behind a new approach to college financial aid aimed at helping more students finish what they start.
The program, called InTuition Scholars, flips the traditional scholarship model. Instead of offering aid as a tuition discount when students enroll, participating universities allow students to earn scholarship dollars gradually by staying connected with advisors and checking in through a mobile app that tracks their academic progress.
The narrative surrounding artificial intelligence often feels like a race where the starting line was drawn long ago, leaving many colleges and universities in the position of perpetually playing catch-up.
However, at the second annual HBCU AI Con, the atmosphere was not one of desperation, but of quiet, focused authority. The opening day panels didn’t just discuss participation. Instead, they highlighted how Historically Black Colleges and Universities are the current engines of ethical innovation.
Much has been written about the Trump administration and its changes to higher education, from bans on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs to cuts in research funding to restrictions on international students.
But positive changes are also happening—and they represent something that Democrats and Republicans have been trying to accomplish for years. These bipartisan reforms include the overhaul of an accreditation system that has long failed to improve poor graduation rates at many colleges and universities, new caps on previously unlimited graduate school borrowing, and the expansion of federal Pell Grant eligibility for shorter-term job training, including in the trades.
When Lumina Foundation launched the FutureReady States initiative in 2025, it went in with more questions than answers.
But a new report released this month by HCM Strategists offers insights into what states are learning as they develop the policies and data systems needed to ensure the value of short-term credentials. No one would claim the work is finished. But, as the report notes, states are shifting from experimentation to alignment, positioning themselves to benchmark results and evaluate which policies truly drive results.
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