Unlocking Opportunity is a new reform project of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program, the Community College Research Center, and ten community colleges; each has set goals to increase the number of students enrolled in and graduating from “high value” program pathways. Over the past two years, researchers have uncovered new insights on improving post-graduation outcomes for community college students by ensuring that more students are on pathways that lead to living-wage jobs or efficient transfer and bachelor’s completion. This session highlighted strategies for strengthening post-graduation student outcomes by exploring eight scalable reforms from the Unlocking Opportunity network. Presenters reflected on how these strategies have helped reinforce and diversify enrollment and completion of high-value workforce and transfer programs, challenges faced during implementation, and what advice they would provide other colleges seeking to improve their program enrollments and outcomes. This information enabled attendees to consider how they might implement similar strategies at their institution.
