Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education announced as winner of The Great Admissions Redesign Challenge

February 29, 2024

Lumina Foundation has named the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) one of seven winners of The Great Admissions Redesign, a competition to revolutionize the admissions process and increase accessibility to higher education for all students.

"Lumina is thrilled by the number of outstanding applicants committed to revisioning the college admission process,” said Melanie Heath, strategy director for Lumina. “As a winner of The Great Admissions Redesign, CPE exemplifies leadership in streamlining procedures and promoting inclusivity, ensuring all students have equitable opportunities to pursue their educational goals."

After reviewing more than 70 applications in a rigorous selection process and using criteria including a commitment to ensuring fair and just outcomes for Black and Brown students, simplicity, and innovation, Lumina is awarding $3.1 million in implementation and planning grants.

The CPE’s Kentucky Student Success Collaborative was awarded $150,000 to facilitate a collaborative, student-centered, design-thinking continuous improvement approach to address long-standing barriers and untapped potential in admissions and financial aid processes. The project will also include an artificial intelligence (AI) webinar series, open to the public, examining opportunities to use AI to shore up campus capacity and streamline the admissions process.  

“This planning grant from Lumina will help Kentucky accelerate progress on our statewide priority to streamline student pathways to bachelor’s degrees,” Dr. Aaron Thompson, president of CPE, said.

Additional grant recipients include the Illinois Board of Higher Education, California State University System, and Northern Arizona University (all Implementation Grants); as well as the Louisiana Board of Regents, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and Washington Student Achievement Council (all Planning Grants).