Lumina Foundation

Currently, 60,000 education and training providers offer more than 1 million credentials to earn after high school (and spending $2 trillion). But without a central database, it's tough to gauge the value of many of these credentials. Lumina's Christopher M. Mullin writes in Higher Education Digest® that we can create clarity by organizing credentials into three buckets: 1. Degrees and certificates that show depth and duration. 2. Short-term learning and training. 3. Renewable skills. Read more about his research in the world of credential chaos:

Despite concerns about cost and jobs, interest in higher ed is at an all-time high, according to a new report in Lumina CEO Jamie Merisotis' latest column.

Lumina CEO Jamie Merisotis explores the questions higher ed must answer to serve today’s students: What do students need to become active citizens? How can we tackle misinformation and work across differences?

We visited the nation’s only college that is both a tribal college and a community college. See how art, nature, and culture are at the heart of the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College experience.

Higher education in this country is facing a crisis of confidence, and restoring trust will take significant work: We must align education with job market demands, address affordability, and increase transparency. Strategic reforms can help regain confidence and ensure the education system is valued and trusted as a pathway to a better future. More, from Lumina's Courtney Brown:

Flexible. Supportive. Innovative. Effective. It’s time to share community college stories. Higher education experts share insights in our first-ever community college roundtable:

The damaging idea that universities and their faculty are indoctrinating students is overblown, says Lumina CEO Jamie Merisotis. Read more in his latest: 

Brand building, enrollment, changing the narrative—these are just some topics community college leaders discussed during Lumina’s first-ever community college roundtable. Read more:

Students are undoubtedly concerned about cost, but Lumina CEO Jamie Merisotis says they also understand its value. 

Contradictions often seem difficult to reconcile. A great example is what people think of higher education these days.   Recent surveys from Gallup and others show that Americans believe in college —in fact, more people than ever are interested in higher education —but they’re also anxious, and not just about price. They are especially concerned about the value of degrees.   Students are right to ask what they’ll get in return—in terms of jobs, money, as well as life fulfillment. These learners are not only dealing with financial concerns, but also face intense stress, academic preparedness challenges, and the weight of family and work obligations.   I think most people understand that education provides a range of benefits—even those who might balk at the cost or question its value or relevance. Maybe that’s why just over half of currently unenrolled adults without credentials beyond high school say they are likely to enroll in higher education of some kind in the next five years.   So in a way, the fact that Americans can both question and embrace higher education at the same time isn’t such a difficult thing to understand. We live in a complex society, after all, buffeted by technological and societal change. Life success in all its forms is the primary concern for many of us. It’s no surprise, then, that there are conflicting emotions about something so central to our identity—individually and as a society.   Read more about how respect and skepticism collide when it comes to how we view college in my latest Forbes column, which can be found here:    https://lnkd.in/g2A-HVzd