Dive Brief:
- The Lumina Foundation’s latest report on progress toward its goal of a 60% college attainment rate by 2025 shows lagging success.
- In 2013, 40% of adults had an associates degree, barely 1% higher than the year before, according to an article by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
- The Lumina Foundation said reaching its goal would require closing achievement gaps between white and minority students, addressing retention issues for students who start post-secondary degrees, as well as implementing a new model of including certificates and other credentials in the college attainment rate.
Dive Insight:
The Lumina Foundation’s goal is an optimistic one. Setting extreme goals, however, is sometimes key to progress. If the United States’ college attainment rate does not hit 60% by 2025, the Lumina Foundation certainly will have helped bring attention to the equity issues inherent in the gap. The foundation’s latest progress report includes policy briefs by state, showing variation across the country when it comes to attainment. It also highlights the urgency of reform efforts to address lagging attainment. With just 10 years left to reach the goal, and no way to do so without significant changes in the rate’s slow growth trajectory, the report is a call to action.