Foundation Awards $3M to Winners of The Great Admissions Redesign Challenge

The Lumina Foundation in Indianapolis has announced the winners of The Great Admissions Redesign.

The Great Admissions Redesign seeks to revolutionize the admissions process and increase accessibility to higher education for all students, particularly those not admitted in proportion to their shares of the U.S. population.

Melanie Heath"COVID, shifting testing requirements, and legal rulings have caused significant disruptions in college admissions," said Melanie Heath, strategy director at Lumina. "This moment presents a unique opportunity to reimagine how we engage with prospective students and enhance their college experiences.”

The foundation’s award announcement follows a review of more than 70 applications and using criteria including a commitment to ensuring fair outcomes for Black and brown students, simplicity, and innovation. It selected seven institutions who will receive a total of $3.1 million in implementation and planning grants.

The Lumina Foundation implementation grants will go to:

·      Illinois Board of Higher Education, awarded $750,000 to directly admit community college transfer students and high school seniors statewide to Illinois universities;

·       California State University System, awarded $750,000 to automate admissions to the CSU system and support verified transcript submission through California's college and career readiness platform, CaliforniaColleges.edu; and