Unlocking Opportunity: Eight Strategies for Community Colleges to Improve Post-Completion Outcomes
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| Title: | Unlocking Opportunity: Eight Strategies for Community Colleges to Improve Post-Completion Outcomes |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Konrad Mugglestone, Contributor, Millicent Bender, Contributor, Tess Henthorne, Contributor, Tania LaViolet, Contributor, Kathryn Masterson, Contributor, Kristin O’Keefe, Contributor, Kate Williamson, Contributor, Joshua Wyner, Contributor, Davis Jenkins, Contributor, Serena Klempin, Contributor, Hana Lahr, Contributor, Aurely Garcia Tulloch, Contributor, Columbia University, Community College Research Center (CCRC), Aspen Institute, College Excellence Program |
| Source: | Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University. 2025. |
| Availability: | Community College Research Center. Available from: CCRC Publications. Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120th Street Box 174, New York, NY 10027. Tel: 212-678-3091; Fax: 212-678-3699; e-mail: ccrc@columbia.edu; Web site: http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 34 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Arnold Ventures Ascendium Education Group, Inc. Bank of America ECMC Foundation JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lumina Foundation Strada Education Foundation |
| Intended Audience: | Administrators |
| Document Type: | Guides - Non-Classroom |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education Two Year Colleges |
| Descriptors: | Community Colleges, Outcomes of Education, Education Work Relationship, Educational Attainment, Bachelors Degrees, Educational Change, Educational Improvement, Program Implementation, Pilot Projects, Community College Students |
| Geographic Terms: | Wyoming, Ohio, New York (Rochester), Texas, Texas (San Antonio), Wisconsin, Florida (Saint Petersburg), Oklahoma (Tulsa), Florida (Orlando) |
| Abstract: | To help community colleges increase the value of credentials for students after graduation, the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program (Aspen) partnered with the Community College Research Center (CCRC) in 2023 to launch a new program called Unlocking Opportunity. Starting with 10 colleges (and expanding to 65 colleges in 2025), Unlocking Opportunity offers support, coaching, and tools to help colleges analyze their programs and advising systems, and to help them strengthen them so that more students are on a path to benefit economically from attending community college. Based on the scaled reforms the first 10 colleges have implemented to achieve that goal, Aspen and CCRC have produced research insights and actionable tools--including this practice guide--that colleges can use to strengthen their programs and advising so that many more students graduate with credentials of value that lead to good jobs either directly after completing community college or after successfully transferring and earning a bachelor's degree. This guide is designed for college presidents, their senior teams, and others at community colleges who aim to enact reforms that improve graduates' wages and transfer/bachelor's attainment rates. It offers concrete guidance on eight strategies that the initial 10 Unlocking Opportunity colleges have used to improve these outcomes for thousands of students. In each section, it provides: (1) Case-making language and data that leaders can use to support the reform strategy; (2) Case studies showing the approaches pilot Unlocking Opportunity colleges took; (3) A "From-To" framework that shows the typical current state of practice and the envisioned ideal state after reform; and (4) Action steps to guide leaders and others through the reform process at a high level. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | ED678729 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | To help community colleges increase the value of credentials for students after graduation, the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program (Aspen) partnered with the Community College Research Center (CCRC) in 2023 to launch a new program called Unlocking Opportunity. Starting with 10 colleges (and expanding to 65 colleges in 2025), Unlocking Opportunity offers support, coaching, and tools to help colleges analyze their programs and advising systems, and to help them strengthen them so that more students are on a path to benefit economically from attending community college. Based on the scaled reforms the first 10 colleges have implemented to achieve that goal, Aspen and CCRC have produced research insights and actionable tools--including this practice guide--that colleges can use to strengthen their programs and advising so that many more students graduate with credentials of value that lead to good jobs either directly after completing community college or after successfully transferring and earning a bachelor's degree. This guide is designed for college presidents, their senior teams, and others at community colleges who aim to enact reforms that improve graduates' wages and transfer/bachelor's attainment rates. It offers concrete guidance on eight strategies that the initial 10 Unlocking Opportunity colleges have used to improve these outcomes for thousands of students. In each section, it provides: (1) Case-making language and data that leaders can use to support the reform strategy; (2) Case studies showing the approaches pilot Unlocking Opportunity colleges took; (3) A "From-To" framework that shows the typical current state of practice and the envisioned ideal state after reform; and (4) Action steps to guide leaders and others through the reform process at a high level. |
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