In 2008, Lumina asked SPEC Associates (SPEC) to evaluate the foundation's grant making aimed at improving the productivity of higher education through statewide policy and program change. The initiative was initially known as Making Opportunity Affordable and later became known more broadly as Lumina's higher education productivity initiative. Eleven states received planning grants in 2008 and a year later seven of these states received multi-year grants to implement their productivity plans. In 2009, Lumina published Four Steps to Finishing First in Higher Education to frame the content of its productivity work. In 2010, the foundation, working with HCM Strategists, launched the Strategy Labs Network to deliver just-in-time technical assistance, engagement, informationsharing and convenings to states. Lumina engaged SPEC to evaluate these productivity investments in the seven states through exploring this over-arching question: What public will building, advocacy, public policy changes, and system or statewide practices are likely to impact higher education productivity for whom and in what circumstances, and which of these are likely to be sustainable, transferable, and/or scalable?

American Indian students have the lowest college graduation rate in the country, at just over 13%. In a new publication from the American Indian College Fund, several tribal colleges and universities share how to create systems and structures to promote Native student success.

This publication is the culmination of the College Fund’s efforts over three years in the Achieving the Dream (ATD) initiative, a national reform network devoted to community college student success and completion. Two tribal colleges, Diné College in Tsaile, Arizona, and Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, Montana, participated in the initiative. The colleges’ participation in the Achieving the Dream program was supported by the Kresge Foundation, which provided tools, resources, and coaching to help the colleges engage in strategies based on data-driven decisions to address and close achievement gaps.

The publication will be shared across the 37-institution tribal college community to provide instruction in education best practices amongst Native students to promote similar success. It will also be published on the College Fund’s web site at www.collegefund.org.

American Indian students have the lowest college graduation rate in the country, at just over 13%. In a new publication from the American Indian College Fund, several tribal colleges and universities share how to create systems and structures to promote Native student success.

This publication is the culmination of the College Fund's efforts over three years in the Achieving the Dream (ATD) initiative, a national reform network devoted to community college student success and completion. Two tribal colleges, Diné College in Tsaile, Arizona, and Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, Montana, participated in the initiative. The colleges' participation in the Achieving the Dream program was supported by the Kresge Foundation, which provided tools, resources, and coaching to help the colleges engage in strategies based on data-driven decisions to address and close achievement gaps.

The publication will be shared across the 37-institution tribal college community to provide instruction in education best practices amongst Native students to promote similar success. It will also be published on the College Fund's web site at www.collegefund.org.

This publication examines how the Chafee educational and training vouchers and other state-based supports for higher education have been working for these young adults. The National Foster Care Coalition (NFCC) has worked closely with six states to examine the implementation of the Chafee ETV Program since its inception in 2003: California, Maine, Montana, New York, North Carolina, and Wyoming. These states were selected to provide a diverse view of ETV program implementation, including state- and county-administered child welfare programs, urban and rural programs, and programs serving either very large or very small populations of youth. This publication documents a select number of young people's experiences with the ETV program and also shares recommendations from constituents and other stakeholders on how to improve this unique and important postsecondary education and training program.