Lumina Initiates Multi-State Effort Using Higher Ed to Drive Economic Prosperity

Thirteen states working to set new goals for better-educated, better-trained residents

INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Lumina Foundation has formed a State Attainment Collaborative to help states revise or adopt goals for ensuring people receive formal education or training that leads to further learning and good jobs. This multi-state effort will build momentum toward Goal 2040: By 2040, three-fourths of adults in the U.S. labor force will have college degrees or other credentials with value leading to economic prosperity.

Initially, the collaboration will unite education, business, civic, nonprofit, and policy leaders from Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia. Each state will define what makes a credential valuable and work to update its state's educational attainment goal so that it centers and communicates the value of higher education for the state's residents and economic well-being.  

Lumina introduced the country's initial national attainment goal in 2008, and states have made significant strides. The most recent data show that 55 percent of working-age adults have college degrees or short-term credentials. Forty-nine states set state-specific attainment goals, shifting the conversation from simply increasing college access to ensuring more students who show up actually complete their academic programs. Working toward this 2025 goal, the national attainment movement also drew attention to adult students, community colleges, and the need to address glaring disparities in outcomes across income, race, ethnicity, and geography. The share of U.S. adults with a college degree or quality credential grew by 16 points from 2008 through 2023, the most recent year for which data are available, with Colorado, Massachusetts, and Utah surpassing the 60 percent goal.

"Setting clear goals for increasing degrees and workforce credentials demonstrates a state's commitment to expanding opportunity and strengthening its economy," said Michelle Asha Cooper, Lumina's vice president for public policy. "Through formal collaboration, states can refine goals, share lessons, and ensure they center on value for individuals, communities, and employers."

More than 20 states have goals that expire this year. Meanwhile, higher education faces growing public and political scrutiny and financial pressure to demonstrate the value of the degrees and other credentials awarded. Critics cite concerns about affordability and career alignment.

"Leaders are asking what comes next," said Patrick Crane, Lumina's strategy director for state policy. "The collaborative will give states a space to highlight progress and reckon with the challenges ahead."

The collaboration builds on more than a decade of state-level progress and provides a structure for states to reassess, recommit, and realign their work to meet current needs. States involved want to ensure that learning after high school translates into meaningful outcomes for individuals, American society, and the broader economy.

Who we are
Lumina Foundation is an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. We envision higher learning that is easy to navigate, delivers fair results, and meets the nation's talent needs through a broad range of credentials. We work toward a system that prepares people for informed citizenship and success in a global economy.

Media contact: Tracy Chen, director of media and video strategies at Lumina Foundation
[email protected] 

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SOURCE Lumina Foundation