Unlocking Opportunity

Unlocking Opportunity began in 2023 with 10 pilot network colleges:

Laramie County Community College (WY)
Lorain County Community College (OH)
Monroe Community College (NY)
Odessa College (TX)
San Antonio College (TX)
Sinclair Community College (OH)
Southwest Wisconsin Technical College (WI)
St. Petersburg College (FL)
Tulsa Community College (OK)
Valencia College (FL)

In 2025, Unlocking Opportunity welcomed 46 colleges to the expanded network:

Alvin College (TX)
Austin Community College District (TX)
Central Lakes College (MN)
Cerritos College (CA)
Chandler-Gilbert Community College (AZ)
Chattanooga State Community College (TN)
Clover Park Technical College (WA)
Community College of Denver (CO)
Durham Technical Community College (NC)
Florida State College at Jacksonville (FL)
Foothill College (CA)
Forsyth Technical Community College (NC)
Fullerton College (CA)
GateWay Community College (AZ)
Greenville Technical College (SC)
Harper College (IL)
Hartnell College (CA)
Honolulu Community College (HI)
Isothermal Community College (NC)
Jackson College (MI)
Kirkwood Community College (IA)
Lansing Community College (MI)
Montgomery College (MD)
Montgomery County Community College (PA)
Moorpark College (CA)
Nashville State Community College (TN)
Northeast Lakeview College (TX)
Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (WI)
Northwest Vista College (TX)
Northern Virginia Community College (VA)
Palo Alto College (TX)
Paradise Valley Community College (AZ)
Pierce College District, 2 colleges (WA)
Prince George's Community College (MD)
Reynolds Community College (VA)
Salt Lake Community College (UT)
Sierra College (CA)
South Puget Sound Community College (WA)
St. Philip’s College (TX)
Stanly Community College (NC)
Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology (PA)
UCNJ Union College of Union County (NJ)
Victoria College (TX)
Wallace State Community College - Hanceville (AL)
Waubonsee Community College (IL)

The project was designed by Aspen and the Community College Research Center (CCRC) to respond to weaknesses in outcomes for some community college graduates. Specifically, while community colleges offer affordable, accessible pathways to higher education, more than one-third of community college credentials do not lead to good jobs or the bachelor's degrees that open the door to them.

The network engages college leaders and teams in intensive data analysis, which includes setting a living wage for the students in their region, and classifying programs based on outcomes for graduates, either in transfer and bachelor’s attainment or directly in the workforce. Based on learnings from the data, leaders and teams set quantitative goals for the number of students they aim to increase in high-value programs and decrease in low-value programs, then identify strategies to meet these goals. Colleges receive differentiated support during the development of strategy plans and college implementation based on institutional needs and progress in the network. Leaders also exchange problems of practice and lessons learned with peers at network colleges.

Yes. Between 2022 and 2025, the first 10 colleges in the Unlocking Opportunity network:

• Increased the number of students enrolled in high-value pathways by 20,104, including more than 17,000 students from low-income backgrounds and/or students of color
• Decreased the number of students enrolled in low-opportunity programs by 7,648

The pilot colleges collectively serve more than 170,000 students and vary considerably from one another. They include large urban colleges and small rural-serving institutions, as well as workforce-oriented colleges and those where most students are in transfer-oriented liberal arts programs.

If your college would like to get started, we encourage you to explore Unlocking Opportunity: Eight Strategies for Community Colleges to Improve Post-Completion Outcomes and our program classification tools. The 10 original Unlocking Opportunity colleges began their work by assessing which programs they would classify as “low-opportunity,” meaning those workforce programs likely to lead to jobs earning below a college-defined low-wage threshold and those transfer programs unlikely to result in bachelor’s attainment, as well as “high-value” programs which were likely to lead to jobs that pay at least a living wage or transfer and attainment of a bachelor’s degree. The colleges then worked to increase enrollments in high-value programs and either reduce enrollments in low-opportunity programs or improve those programs to create more value for students.

We are not currently accepting applications for Unlocking Opportunity. Please check back here or subscribe to our newsletter for additional details and updates on future applications.

Yes. If your college would like to get started, we encourage you to explore Unlocking Opportunity: Progress on Moving More Students Toward Good Jobs, the report Unlocking Opportunity: Eight Strategies for Community Colleges to Improve Post-Completion Outcomes, and our program classification tools.

After participating in Unlocking Opportunity, one of the pilot colleges revamped its agronomy program, adding new skills that led to a doubling of program enrollment and higher wages for graduates. Students in the child care program—a high-demand but often low-paying job—are steered to transfer to bachelor’s degrees in elementary education, which also helps address the local need for more teachers. And the college eliminated its culinary arts program, as it did not lead to a living wage for graduates—and local employers said they could hire and train residents without a college credential.