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.
For students who are also parents or caregivers, persisting to graduation can depend on whether colleges account for responsibilities that extend far beyond the classroom.
Recent initiatives tackle those barriers from several directions—from scholarships and free childcare to pre-orientation programs and workforce training. In this interview, leaders from four institutions—Generations College, Wichita State University, LaGuardia Community College, and Marymount University—share how they are rethinking what they do to support the success of student parents.
When Brandeis University students return to campus this month, they’ll have a new way to document what they’ve accomplished in college—one that goes beyond courses and grades.
The Massachusetts university is rolling out a “Second Transcript,” an official record designed to capture students’ skills and experiences, including internships, research, micro-credentials, and other learning outside the classroom. The Second Transcript will show students’ accomplishments and, in some cases, their passions, according to Lewis Brooks, director of Brandeis’ Center for Careers and Applied Liberal Arts, which is overseeing the rollout.
Universities have embraced lifelong learning. They offer graduate degrees, continuing education, executive education, certificates, and professional development that invite people to return throughout their lives. These opportunities matter, but they largely preserve the same institutional architecture. Learners return when they need another credential or another skill. The university re-engages for another educational episode, and the relationship then recedes once again.
The next transformation in higher education is not simply expanding lifelong learning. It is redesigning the university itself around continuity rather than educational episodes, suggests this college president.
As chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Anthony Graham has built a career on leadership, innovation, and a purpose-driven strategy to transform not just an institution but an entire region.
On this podcast, Graham discusses his work to redefine student success, as well as his university’s approach to artificial intelligence and its role in helping to build systems that prepare students to lead, solve problems, and drive economic impact. He also outlines what it takes to achieve Carnegie R2 designation, including difficult institutional decisions, program alignment, and a shift toward transdisciplinary, problem-focused research.
When Alma Mendoza Tlachi’s work permit expired while she waited for the federal government to process her renewal, she had to stop teaching her high school students and could not return to work over the summer or prepare her classroom for the new school year.
Mendoza Tlachi has paid to renew her work authorization every two years, as required, since she first applied for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2017 at age 16. But this year is different. Work permit renewals for undocumented California teachers with protected status are taking an ‘unprecedented’ amount of time.
The University of Texas at Austin is revamping its general education curriculum to narrow its spread and focus on topics such as Western civilization and broad U.S. history classes. While announced with much fanfare, details of what will actually be taught and by whom in UT Austin’s new core curriculum aren’t yet clear. Over the next year, UT Austin plans to develop courses to meet the new core requirements.
The curricular overhaul comes as political leaders in Texas and other Republican-led states look to tighten control over general education and other courses at public colleges.
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