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.
Institutions today are under increasing pressure to find efficiencies through new technologies and infrastructure. While these investments are important, they often bypass the core engine driving student outcomes: faculty.
Decades of research indicate that how instructors design, deliver, and support learning remains one of higher education’s most powerful levers for supporting student persistence and completion. Yet, at too many institutions, professional learning for faculty is fragmented, limited, and chronically underfunded, says Complete College America's Janelle Jennings-Alexander in this op-ed.
The numbers are jarring, but Dr. James R. Martin II, chancellor of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, wants Americans to sit with them: If the United States had closed its racial and gender equity gaps in education and workforce participation back in 2000, the country would have added an estimated $15 to $20 trillion to its economy.
Today, drawing fully on the talents of underrepresented populations—Black and Hispanic Americans, women, and others locked out of high-skill industries—could generate up to $2 trillion per year.
Artificial intelligence degrees are no longer just for the universities that teach tech geniuses. In 2021, only five schools offered AI majors. Now, universities are setting up programs so quickly that researchers are struggling to track them. At least 74 AI majors and 89 minors are available on American campuses, according to Northeastern University’s Center for Inclusive Computing.
The idea is to keep schools and students alike competitive as AI reshapes the global economy. The new programs, though, vary widely in their details, with some emphasizing the inner workings of AI and many others more focused on how to use it. And it is unclear how students who earn the degrees will fare as companies recalibrate.
For several decades now, girls have been outperforming boys academically. They earn higher grades, are less likely to drop out, and are significantly more likely to attend college.
Research shows that having a male educator can lead to better outcomes for boys in school. But few men are choosing to become teachers, and many of those who do leave the profession. Curtis Valentine, president of the just-launched Male Educator Network and Policy Institute, is on a mission to understand why and to offer solutions for building a pipeline for men in teaching.
The United States is a clear global leader in artificial intelligence, outpacing other countries in the construction of data centers, which provide the physical infrastructure to run this technology. It also leads in private investment in AI. Yet, AI is viewed with less optimism in the United States than in other countries.
Experts link the disparities in part to the messaging around the rapidly advancing technology: In America, the focus is on potential job loss; elsewhere, AI is pitched as an economic boon.
Manufacturing is growing, thanks to new semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries, advanced materials, and clean energy facilities. Federal initiatives such as the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 have accelerated these investments, underscoring the continuing importance of manufacturing to economic competitiveness, supply chain resilience, and national security.
The success of this manufacturing resurgence depends not only on capital investment and technological innovation but also on the availability of skilled talent. As key providers of workforce and technical education, community colleges are well-positioned to prepare and train the future workers needed for advanced manufacturing roles.
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