Lumina Foundation Sets New National Goal to Expand and Elevate Higher Education and Workforce Training by 2040

INDIANAPOLIS, March 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Lumina Foundation has announced a bold new goal to increase the number of Americans with education and training beyond high school: By 2040, 75 percent of working-age adults in the U.S. labor force will have college degrees or other credentials of value leading to economic prosperity.

Today’s announcement is a response to the nation’s increasing workforce demands. More U.S. adults need credentials of value that equip them for a rapidly changing economy, set them on a path to personal growth and financial security, and build stronger communities. This will require new ideas around making college and training programs affordable, accessible, flexible, and aligned with workforce needs.

“Higher education should be a gateway to real opportunity for every aspiring student,” said Jamie Merisotis, Lumina’s president and CEO. “We must take action to remove barriers so that more people—regardless of who they are or where they’re from—can earn degrees and credentials that empower them to continue to learn, create change in communities, and find meaningful livelihoods.”

To reach the 2040 goal, Lumina will prioritize four key areas:

• Credentials of Value – Ensuring that degrees and other credentials provide meaningful career and economic benefits.
• Access – Expanding entry points to every individual’s high-quality education and training opportunities.
• Student Success – Supporting efforts to help students complete their education and training programs efficiently.
• Redesign – Rethinking how education and workforce systems are structured, funded, and governed to serve today’s students better.

The foundation will lead with investments in these four focus areas over the next five years, including improving data collection to measure progress toward economic prosperity.

Lumina’s new strategic direction builds on lessons from the past 17 years and acknowledges the critical role of education in strengthening communities, economic competitiveness, and social mobility. Since Lumina set a national attainment goal in 2008, the share of U.S. adults ages 25 to 64 with college degrees or other quality credentials beyond high school has grown from 38 percent to 55 percent. Millions of Americans have pursued higher education and workforce training for individual success and societal well-being. Lumina will keep tracking progress toward the 60 percent goal and will expand A Stronger Nation, its data visualization tool, to focus on the new 2040 goal of 75 percent.

More work must be done to ensure that post-high school learning delivers the value that students deserve and expect. Lumina will collaborate with partners in higher education, government, business, and the nonprofit sector to advance policies and programs that align with evolving workforce needs. Special emphases will be placed on community colleges, regional public universities, and institutions serving today’s students, who are more likely to from low-income families, the first in their families to go to college, from communities of color, and working adults.

“The increase in the number of Americans with post-high school credentials has been one of the most significant yet least recognized success stories of the past two decades,” Merisotis said. “Higher education remains the most effective path to economic prosperity for individuals and the nation.”

For more information on Lumina’s new strategic plan and Goal 2040, visit

Media Contact: Tracy Chen, Lumina Foundation, [email protected]

SOURCE Lumina Foundation