Association for the Study of Higher Education/Lumina Foundation Fellowship Program

Association for the Study of Higher Education/Lumina Foundation Fellowship Program

In the past few years the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) has worked closely with Lumina Foundation for Education to support forums that encourage scholarship on policy in higher education, with a specific focus on student access and success in postsecondary education. This shared interest in promoting scholarship has included support of the ASHE/Lumina Foundation Fellowship Program, which began in 2003.

The fellowships support up to one year of research conducted through the students' home universities, with funds available to support costs such as data collection and analysis, dissemination of project results, travel, tuition, and fellows' salaries. A critical component of the fellowship program is professional development and mentoring of fellows. To this end, fellows are assigned an established scholar as a mentor in the program, engage in an online community of scholars, and come together twice during the fellowship year - during an ASHE pre-conference session in November and a summer colloquium at the end of the fellowship year - to participate in an intergenerational group dedicated to promoting innovative scholarship on student access and success.

This fellowship program has yielded impressive outcomes. The program to date has supported 35 doctoral students whose research aligns with the policy and practice interests of Lumina Foundation. Approximately 90 percent of past fellows have completed their degrees and about three-quarters are employed as faculty members. In addition, several past fellows hold administrative positions, including ASHE executive director and director of the McNair Scholars Program.

The first policy brief in the ASHE/Lumina series examines Latinas and how family ties, not simply family income as frequently discussed, shape college-going and financial aid decisions. Policy recommendations to increase the participation of Latinas in federal financial aid programs are provided. Future publications will focus on topics such as college remediation, mentoring students of color, academic achievement in mathematics, and federal research and development policies. ASHE is excited and proud to play a significant part in preparing the next generation of scholars in higher education and in producing leading-edge research that can shape policy and practice to make a difference in the U.S. educational system. For more information on the program, visit: www.ashe.ws/aboutfellowship.htm.

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