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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.

June 25, 2025

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'The Most Moving Graduation I Attended Was in Prison'

David Harris, PublicSource

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Anyone who has ever graduated from anything—high school, college, or a graduate program—knows the ceremony and its rhythms: Students are dressed in caps and gowns, and school officials hand out diplomas. At some point, a speaker congratulates the graduates but also tries to inspire them, hinting at the challenges in life and how to respond in those moments.

 

For David Harris, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh, it was a graduation ceremony at the State Correctional Institution-Greene in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, that would provide him with one of the most memorable and gratifying experiences in his teaching career.

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Making Space for International Students This Summer

Ashley Mowreader, Inside Higher Ed

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International students have faced a barrage of challenges under the second Trump administration, including widespread revocation of their legal standing in a federal database and, most recently, a travel ban targeting students from 19 countries. Some students are now unsure if they can go home for summer break and return.

 

While many colleges and universities have advised students not to leave the country, others are providing avenues to support those who choose to stay.

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From Gangs to College

Gail Cornwall, The Hechinger Report

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Like a self-sufficient Humpty Dumpty, Lalo had almost put his pieces back together again. He’d gotten out of prison and moved into sober housing. He no longer responded to text messages from members of his former gang. He even made it to Long Beach City College last year, where he hoped to become an addiction counselor.

 

Everything seemed to be coming together—until Lalo learned he had just over 20 days left in sober housing. Lalo was lucky; he found a lifeline through the Phoenix Scholars program at LBCC. And just like that, the threat of a relapse and dropping out of school faded away—for a time.

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Here Is All the Science at Risk in Trump’s Clash With Harvard

Emily Badger, Aatish Bhatia, and Ethan Singer, The Upshot

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The federal government annually spends billions funding research at Harvard University, part of a decades-old system that is little understood by the public but essential to American science. But the Trump administration cut off nearly every dollar of this payment this spring, putting much of the university's research at risk.

 

The following charts identify more than 900 terminated grants in the Trump administration’s escalating campaign to cripple the university.

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What’s Next for Workers at a California Refinery Shutting Down at the End of the Year?

Laura Aka, WorkingNation

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After more than a century in the community, Phillips 66 is set to shut down its refinery facilities in the Los Angeles area later this year, impacting hundreds of union employees and contractors. While the company is pledging support for the workers who will be losing their jobs, a coalition of union, workforce development, and other local groups is also working to facilitate that transition.

 

The goal is to help them find new jobs and possibly new careers.

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Students Foggy About Non-Degree Programs

Matthew Dembicki, Community College Daily

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New findings from a survey of U.S. learners indicate that colleges may need to improve communication around credit requirements, transferability, and alternate credentials to retain students and bring back those who left before completing a degree or decided not to attend altogether.

 

Sixty percent of stop-outs say they would return to college if they had clearer program completion details, according to a survey by Ellucian and EMI Research Solution. The study polled 1,501 learners, including current college students, graduates, high school students, stop-outs, and opt-outs (those who never enrolled in college).

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

Report: U.S. Faces Annual 712,000 Middle-Skills Credential Shortage

Walter Hudson, Diverse Issues in Higher Education

Beyond the Rhetoric: Universities Must Build Real Pathways to Skills

Rod Lastra, The EvoLLLution

Philly Will Pay $500,000 to Credential Public School Career and Technical Education Teachers

Kristen Graham, The Philadelphia Inquirer 

Opinion: The Missing Element in Cal State’s Big Investment in AI

Steve Caplan, EdSource

EQUITY IN EDUCATION

Western Carolina University Closes Intercultural Affairs Office, a Year After DEI Ban

Korie Dean, Raleigh News & Observer

'You Belong Here': UC President Announces How the University Will Comply With Law Banning DEI

Felicia Jordan, WCPO

Challenges Persist for Women, Minorities Breaking Into Illinois’ Skilled Trades

Maggie Dougherty, Capitol News Illinois

UVA Professors Ask University Board to Halt DEI Dismantling

Megan Pauly, VPM

FEDERAL POLICY

Five Charts Breaking Down Colleges Represented by Crucial House Committee

Jessica Blake, Inside Higher Ed

ED Announces Updates for Upcoming 2026-27 FAFSA Along With Beta Testing Plans

Hugh Ferguson, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators

She Hoped Key Research Could Help Save Her Eyesight. Then the Trump Funding Cuts Came

Craig LeMoult, NPR

Wisconsin Tribal Colleges Are Threatened by Federal Cuts

Anna Marie Yanny, Wisconsin Public Radio

STATE POLICY

Texas Directs Public Universities to Identify Undocumented Students

Sneha Dey, The Texas Tribune

Ohio’s Academic Showdown: Will Voters Get the Chance to Derail Cirino’s Anti-Science Bill?

Today in Ohio

Braun Announces Statewide Tuition Freeze at Indiana’s Public Colleges and Universities

Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle

Opinion: Michigan Deserves Equitable Higher Education Funding

Greg Markkanen, The Detroit News

NEW REPORTS

The Economic Case for Emergency
Student Aid

HCM Strategists/Scholarship America

The Case for Industry-Specific
High Schools

American Enterprise Institute

2024 NACUBO Tuition Discounting Study

National Association of College and University Business Officers

luminafoundation.org
Daily Lumina News is edited by Patricia Brennan.

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