07/03/2023 – Unlocking Opportunity

San Antonio College President, Dr. Naydeen González-De Jesús, talks with Hot Mustard about Unlocking Opportunity: The Post-Graduation Success and Equity Network. This national network will lead the field in shifting from the important but incomplete goal of graduating students with any credential to advancing access and completion with the end in mind: credentials of value. San Antonio College will serve as the pilot college across the Alamo Colleges District.Guests include Maria Harper-Marinick, Senior Fellow, Aspen Institute, and David Bevevino, Director of Research & Knowledge Management, Aspen Institute. Both discuss the overarching goal for Unlocking Opportunity: thousands more community college students, including students of color and those from lower-income backgrounds, entering and completing programs that lead directly to jobs that pay a family-sustaining wage or to efficient and effective completion of a bachelor’s degree.The network runs from 2023 through 2028. During the first three years, colleges will set concrete goals, plan reform strategies, and implement changes with the support of coaches and learning sessions. The final three years will include continued monitoring and research by CCRC and Aspen alongside the continuing release of publicly-accessible tools, case studies, and reports to share the lessons with the field. A main focus of the program is to strengthen existing programs and develop new program models to ensure that they expand career and educational opportunities for all students, including those who have been least well-represented in high-value programs.More information on Unlocking Opportunity: The Post-Graduation Success and Equity Network is online at: https://highered.aspeninstitut....e.org/unlocking-oppo