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Unlocking Opportunity

Laramie County Community College Unlocking Opportunity

graphic with part of the campus map and a keyhole

In 2023, LCCC was selected as one of 10 community colleges nationwide to participate in a program aimed at improving students’ post-completion outcomes called Unlocking Opportunity.
 
The Aspen Institute, an international nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., in partnership with the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College of Columbia University, selected LCCC to be in its national network of exceptional community colleges committed to ensuring that every student can earn a degree or high-quality workforce credential.
 
Unlocking Opportunity doesn’t require any single reform of participating colleges, but each college has committed to advancing reforms through five broad strategies:
  1. Set a family-sustaining wage standard and assess programs against it.
  2. Setting goals for changing program-level enrollments and outcomes.
  3. Strengthen the program portfolio and partnerships to increase post-graduation success.
  4. Align advising to greater and more equitable completion of high-value programs.
  5. Institutionalize reforms.
LCCC has established seven priority strategies framing the work within Unlocking Opportunity. A priority strategy is a focused area of actions and activities LCCC will engage in to accomplish specific, quantitative goals aligned with the intended outcomes of Unlocking Opportunity. 
 
The strategies are organized under two main objectives provided by Aspen and CCRC: 
 
1. “Strengthening the Program Portfolio”
2. “Strengthening Support to Enter and Complete Programs” 
3. A third objective, developed by and for LCCC references “A Unique Experience to Develop Unique Graduates”
 
These strategies include:
  1. Clear Transfer Pathways
  2. Value-Added Student Paths in the Health Sciences & Wellness Pathway
  3. Pathways-Aligned, Equitable Dual/Concurrent Enrollment
  4. Individualized Success Plans
  5. STRT 1000: Strategies for Success Reboot
  6. Student-Focused Course Scheduling
  7. The LCCC Student Experience
Specific strategies and initiatives aligned with Unlocking Opportunity are denoted within the 2030 Strategic Plan. 
 
More information about the Unlocking Opportunity initiative is available on the Aspen Institute website.