Today's Students, Tomorrow's Talent

In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled in SFFA v. Harvard that race-conscious admissions policies violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The decision had an immediate impact on how colleges and universities determine who gets into their institutions. Three years after the ruling, researchers and organizations focused on college admissions have considered its impacts, examined the varying interpretations by state governments, and asked what the future of opportunity looks like.

The demand for short-term credential programs is growing, and state leaders are responding. In 2025, a total of $8.1 billion was spent across 34 states to help students and institutions deliver high-quality, short-term education and training programs. This growing state investment, combined with Workforce Pell, has states contending with new issues: How will states approve programs? How do students know which programs lead to better wages? How will institutions help keep people on a pathway to degree programs? This month, Kermit Kaleba from Lumina Foundation discusses the FutureReady States initiative - a program helping state leaders work through these issues and more. Governor Jared Polis of Colorado and Nathan Rankin of Alabama's Department of Workforce discuss their strategies to improve short-term credential programs and outcomes.

Workforce Pell takes effect on July 1 this year. The expansion of the entitlement program opens access to many more Americans seeking high-quality, short-term training programs that lead to in-demand jobs. The program also brings many new questions and opportunities to our higher education and workforce development systems. Lumina Foundation's Katie Berger and Kermit Kaleba have been working on Workforce Pell for nearly a decade. They join us to talk through the questions, the challenges, and the opportunities America has through this new program.

Earlier this year, Lumina Foundation released an updated Stronger Nation report with a new Credentials of Value tool. On this month's episode, Dakota talks with Courtney Brown and Chris Mullen, going behind the scenes on the creation of the tool, digging into data availability, and ultimately, how we can connect data to strategy. Tom Harnisch of SHEEO also joins the show to highlight states that have made tremendous progress in postsecondary attainment, and share how current state leaders are contending with ROI and changes to the social safety net.

In March 2026, Lumina Foundation announced the From Campus to Career initiative—an effort to scale career-connected high-impact practices and strengthen workforce outcomes for students. In this deep dive episode, we talk with experts and practitioners to better understand what makes a practice high-impact, the factors that lead to institutional change, and the importance of authentically engaging faculty in the design and implementation of HIPs.

Reflecting on 2025, this show brings back key conversations that are sure to carry over into 2026. This episode revisits a conversation about American prosperity and Lumina's new goal focused on credentials of value, a discussion about higher education's role in shaping artificial intelligence, and a review of three states working to redesign admissions systems.

High-quality learning beyond high school has the power to transform lives. Better-educated people earn more, are more active in their communities, and even live longer. The question now is how can the higher education system serve more people better?

In this interview, Lumina Foundation's Jamie Merisotis offers insight from his decades of experience as an author, policy innovator, and philanthropist on the future of education and work—and his vision for a world where learning and human potential drive progress and opportunity for everyone.

Hear insights from a nationwide movement. The live podcast includes real stories from the field illuminating how change happens—and where it's heading.

This summer, the National Student Clearinghouse issued a new report with mixed news. While many states have made progress in re-enrolling people who have some college credit but have yet to earn their credential, the total population of US adults in this group has grown. Now, over 43 million Americans have some college credit but stopped out before they could complete their first credential. Lumina's Dr. Chris Mullin and Dr. Wendy Sedlak talk through the report and discusses what states and institutions are doing to reverse the trend. Sallie Glickman, Managing of the Burning Glass Institute shares new work that uses big data to predict the likelihood that someone will re-enroll and complete.

Twenty-four states allow community and technical colleges to issue bachelors degrees. Proponents argue that these programs are tightly aligned to workforce needs, more affordable, and meet the needs of people who live far or otherwise can't attend a university. Critics are concerned about the quality of education, financing these programs, and competing for enrollment with nearby universities. Guests Dr. Debra Bragg, Jim Reed, and Sunaina Virendra talk through these issue and discuss recent efforts to launch new community college baccalaureate programs.