Unlocking Opportunity

Laramie County Community College was selected as one of 10 community colleges nationwide to participate in a program aimed at improving students’ outcomes in higher education called Unlocking Opportunity.

The Aspen Institute, an international nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., in partnership with the Community College Research Center at Teacher College, 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 network members. Each college will commit 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

More information about the Unlocking Opportunity initiative is available on the Aspen Institute website.

LCCC's Seven Priorities:

Clear Transfer Pathways

Associate of Arts (AA) and Associate of Science (AS) degrees are designed to be the first two years of a student’s path toward a bachelor’s degree.  They are intended solely to help students transfer to a partner university for this purpose.  Yet fewer than one out of every two LCCC AA/AS grads successfully transfer to UW within two years after completing.  Slightly more, but still just 64% enroll at any four-year institution two years following their graduation from LCCC.  Research suggests that high-value transfer programs ensure students are on a clear plan that sets out their courses required to transfer with advanced standing (junior status) in a specific major at a particular university while also making the transfer process seamless and supported for students.  

Outcome-Ensure all AA/AS degree programs at LCCC have Relationships and Agreement with Primary Transfer Partners (PTP) that include the following:

• Each program shall have one PTP to accommodate students who can physically relocate, and one for students who are place-bound and must either commute, have the program delivered locally, or complete entirely online; 
• Current articulation agreements, visible at both institutions, illustrating the specific courses students will need to complete, in what sequence, to finish the entire bachelor’s degree program;  
• A long-term commitment (five years or greater) from PTPs to guarantee the curriculum in the articulation agreement for students who remain enrolled and active on that path; 
• Financial support/incentives at the PTP to help off-set the cost and encourage transfer and completion by LCCC graduates who transfer;  
• The presence of the PTP on the LCCC campus (or an effective virtual arrangement);  
• Dual admission and dual advising early on (within the first year); and 
• A process to ensure regular touchpoints with the student by both institutions.  

Outcome-All students enrolled in an AA/AS degree program at LCCC have an individualized Transfer Plan as part of their individual Success Plan that includes the following:

• Identification of the PTP/Institution the student plans to transfer to; 
• Contact information for a person at the PTP with whom the student may build an immediate relationship and receive ongoing assistance with the transfer process; 
• A delineation of the specific transfer steps a student must complete to transfer; and 
• Information on the cost of completing the program at the PTP, as well as integrated support to help the student understand how to pay (e.g., financial aid, scholarships). 

Value-Added Student Paths in the HSW Pathway

In the 2021/2022 academic year, 979 students were enrolled in the AS in Health Sciences & Wellness degree program. This equates to nearly one-third of all credential-seeking students at LCCC.  Yet LCCC awarded just 13 students with that degree in the same academic year.  Most students in the AS in HSW program enter the College with the goal to be accepted into one of LCCC’s closed entry healthcare programs.  Each year, LCCC accepts approximately 250 students into these programs.  Between external and internal applicants, the demand far exceeds the supply.  Currently, LCCC “holds” these students in this degree program that is not intended for transfer and has limited labor market value.

Outcome- Create new, value-added student paths in HSW that ensures value to the students who enroll and ultimately complete.  To achieve this, LCCC must do three specific things.  

1. Create a new, applied (e.g., AAS) degree program to replace the current AS degree that: 

1. 1. Includes a set of common prerequisite courses in the first year (to the fullest extent possible) for all closed-entry healthcare programs at LCCC;  
   2. Requires students to enroll in and complete STRT 1000; the completion of this course will be incentivized on closed-program application criteria;  
   3. The completion of the degree is incentivized on closed-program application criteria;  
   4. In the 2nd year, incorporates industry-recognized skills, credentials and/or licensure for entry-level healthcare career fields with immediate market value; and 
   5. Articulates with LCCC’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Healthcare Administration. 
2. Expose and move more students from the HSW Pathway to another high-value LCCC pathway/program through an improved student advising experience (i.e., offramp advising) aligned with student interest and post-completion value. 
3. Increase the number of slots available for high-demand healthcare programs through the expansion of existing programs and/or the development and launch of new programs aligned with market demand and post-completion value.  

Equitable Dual & Concurrent Enrollment Aligned to Pathways

Early college activities such as dual and concurrent enrollment have positive outcomes associated with college-going rates, persistence, and completion.  Yet too often it is an opportunity only afforded to certain demographics and lacks any curriculum cohesion that allows students to progress in a specific pathway or towards a specific credential.  Early-college offerings that do so result in higher rates of college-going and matriculation to the community colleges who offer the dual/concurrent courses.  Further, evidence suggests that disadvantaged and/or marginalized populations do not enroll in early college activities at the rate of those who come from more affluent families or college-going households. 

Outcome-Ensure that LCCC’s dual and concurrent offerings will accomplish the following:  

• All Dual/Concurrent (DE/CE) Students are placed in one of LCCC’s eight Pathways, and provided opportunities to be part of those communities of interest;  
• DE/CE students are advised and provided career exploration to help them get on a path to a high-value program and/or leading to a credential;  
• Enrollment in DE/CE is equitable, with LCCC achieve increasing participation from low-income, first-generation, and disadvantaged populations in our service area;   
• The opportunity to participate in DE/CE offerings is equitable across high schools within the school districts in LCCC’s service area; and 
• All school districts within LCCC’s service area will provide the opportunity for DE/CE students to complete at least one year of college courses toward a chosen credential. 

Individualized Success Plan

Throughout the Guided Pathways work at LCCC, the intention was for all students to have an “academic plan” completed and on file by the end of their first year.  While a start in the right direction, the components of a plan were never fully defined and agreed upon, and many have mistaken course sequences or a program map as meeting this intent. 

Outcome-Ensure that every student has an Individualized Success Plan that:  

1. 1. Identifies the student’s specific goals (student interests, strengths, aspirations, etc.), aligned to the Pathway and program they intend to complete at LCCC;  
   2. Includes challenges/barriers the student has identified impacting their ability to complete the program at LCCC;  
   3. Lists courses required of the program, sequenced according to semesters in which the student intends to enroll/complete them;  
   4. Is visible and easily accessible to the student, their Student Success Coach, and others in their support network; 
   5. Has a progress indicator mechanism whereby students can tell if they are on path and what they have completed and have remaining to finish the program; 
   6. Makes it clear to the student they will be notified of the automatic award of the degree/credential once completed, and triggers a process for this award and communication of completion to primary stakeholders (e.g., Student Success Coach, faculty);
   7. Is completed (having been reviewed and revised) by the end of their first semester or first year (depending on their program);  
   8. Is systematically validated for accuracy and reality; 
   9. Is reviewed frequently (i.e., once per semester with a Success Coach); and 
   10. For students enrolled in AA/AS degree programs, includes an Individualized Transfer Plan (as denoted in the Clear Transfer Pathway Outcome).  

STRT 1000 Reboot

A core component of LCCC’s Guided Pathways work was to ensure all credential-seeking students enrolled in a success course that led to outcomes clearly tied to the research on what makes an effective onboarding process and student experience. Unfortunately, other ideas (meritorious, but non-essential) flooded the course leading to an inconsistent or limited focus on the primary outcomes for which the course was originally designed.  Fortunately, more research around the Ask-Connect-Inspire-Plan framework from the CCRC, along with Unlocking Opportunity, affords us the opportunity to reboot and reset this important course.   

Outcome-Redesign the STRT 1000 course to ensure that students who enroll in it and complete will: 

• Be able to purposefully develop meaningful relationships essential for their success at LCCC (CONNECT them with faculty, peers, alumni, and employers in Pathway);   
• Be able to effectively collaborate with others to solve a common problem or accomplish a common goal (INSPIRE students by enrolling them in a well-taught and engaging course of interest within their first semester);   
• Engage in active learning, contextualized to the student's specific community of interest/Pathway (INSPIRE students by exposing them to programs/careers within a Pathway and CONNECT them to exceptional faculty within these programs)
• Successfully utilize College resources, systems, and processes necessary for their success at LCCC (CONNECT them to needed college/community resources);  
• Identify careers they are interested in pursuing and successfully articulate why those careers fit themselves personally (ASK about students’ interests, strengths, and aspirations to help them explore aligned high-value programs and careers);  
• Develop their educational goals while at LCCC, based on their identified career path, and the skills to achieve those goals, through the creation of an Individualized Success Plan (PLAN help every student develop a preliminary education plan aligned to their post-graduation goals and a good job); and 
• Summarize the LCCC General Education Practices and competencies and effectively articulate their value. 

Student-Focused Course Scheduling

A well designed course sequence, aligned to program and general education learning outcomes is of incredible value. This value though is diminished significantly if the timing, modalities, and scheduling of those courses do not allow LCCC’s actual students the opportunity to realistically enroll in and complete them.  The majority of our program maps are designed with the expectation of full-time enrollment and many semesters with credit loads well above 15 (threshold to complete on-time). Yet the majority of our students enroll part-time.  Compounding matters more, most of LCCC’s course offerings exist between 9:00am and 2:00pm, Monday through Thursday, while the majority of our students are working and balancing life commitments that often necessitate enrolling in times outside of this norm.  The result is high-quality programs and courses that our students cannot access.   

Outcome-Ensure that LCCC’s course schedules and class offerings exhibit the following:  

• Scheduling, times, days, and modalities, are offered to meet the students’ needs identified through objective, authentic analysis of information from students; 
• Course schedules are published and visible for students and the campus community for a full academic year (Fall, Spring, and Summer semester);  
• Students can register for all semesters (Fall, Spring, and/or Summer) at any time within the academic year;  
• Course schedules are planned, and offered, to align with advising of students encouraging their year-round attendance and dramatically increasing summer enrollment activity;  
• Course caps restricting registration in fully online courses do not exist - LCCC will accommodate all students enrolled in these courses (“A waitlisted student is a lost student.” – Dr. Doreen Larson, LCCC’s UO Coach);  
• Each Pathway offers schedules of courses that afford students the ability to complete their entire degree/certificate by enrolling solely in 8-week terms; and 
• High-demand courses with an in-person component are offered in adequate number and timeframes to ensure all students who want to enroll can do so in alignment with their individualized success plan. 

LCCC Student Experience

LCCC’s Guided Pathways effort, although very successful, left some unfinished business.  The completion of the College’s plans to establish essential student experiences simply, and justifiably, did not come to fruition.  Yet the stage has been set quite well for this work.  During Guided Pathways, LCCC sought to establish three, inescapable experiences for all students: (1) the experience of building positive, productive relationships, (2) the experience of immersion into new settings, and (3) the experience of synthesis and application of all they learned during their time at LCCC.  Within the Unlocking Opportunity, LCCC will build upon this foundation.  

Outcome-Establish, at scale, a collection of opportunities that collectively and/or individually will differentiate the student experience at LCCC.  To do this, the College must:  

• Prepare students for success early in their college journey by strengthening the student success course (STRT 1000 – see strategy) and implementing an inescapable transition experience (TREX) preparing them for success after they leave LCCC;  
• Integrate meaningful, required applied learning experiences (i.e., internships, research, practicums, etc.) into every degree/certificate program affording all students the opportunity to synthesize their learning and apply it towards a practical problem, opportunity, or challenge;  
• Ensure there are focused programs and services for target and marginalized populations (i.e., first-generation students) that provide tailored experiences designed to help them persist and succeed in their educational journey; and 
• Establish and institutionalize a structure within the College that has the necessary human and fiscal resources to connect, coordinate, and ensure these experiences are offered to all LCCC students in perpetuity.