Lone Star College System joins the Aspen Institute

HOUSTON, TX -- Lone Star College System is now a part of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program’s expanded Unlocking Opportunity network—an initiative designed to help community colleges reform programs in ways that improve student outcomes—ensuring students earn degrees that lead to good-paying jobs.

“The college system's strategic goals align very well with the goal of the Aspen Unlocking Opportunity network, which is to substantially increase the number of community college students entering and completing programs that lead directly to jobs that pay a sustaining wage or to completion of a bachelor’s degree,” said Christina Hagerty, Ed.D., LSC interim chief academic officer. “Lone Star College System will have the opportunity to work with other community colleges to develop strategies to increase the number of students enrolled in academic programs that lead directly to well-paid jobs or to transfer to earn a bachelor's degree.”

LSCS, alongside 54 other colleges, will join 10 pilot institutions in a growing national effort to align programs and student advising with the two most important goals of community college students: leaving college with a credential and a good job or transferring and completing a bachelor’s degree. Through three years of focused reforms, the 55 colleges will work with Aspen to assess current programs, set goals and implement research-based reforms to increase student success.

“Every year, millions of students rely on community colleges for a low-cost pathway to what they assume will be a high-value credential,” said Josh Wyner, executive director, Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. “They rightly assume that the degree and certificate programs their colleges offer will deliver a good job and fulfilling career either directly after community college or after transferring and earning a bachelor’s degree. The leaders at each of the 55 colleges that have signed up for Unlocking Opportunity have made clear that they will spend the next three years working towards the kinds of reforms needed to make that assumption a reality for thousands more students.”

The multi-year initiative will engage college leaders and teams through a series of virtual and in-person sessions focused on scaling reforms that align their community college programs with available good jobs and bachelor’s degree pathways in their regions. Guided by lessons from successful reforms implemented by the 10 Unlocking Opportunity pilot institutions, the new 55 colleges will set goals to increase student enrollment in and completion of high-value workforce and transfer programs, while reducing lower-opportunity pathways.

The 10 Unlocking Opportunity pilot institutions are on track to collectively move over 20,000 students into high-value programs of study that lead to good jobs. With this expansion, Aspen will (for at least the next three years) track and support progress for 65 participating colleges, including the 55 just selected. Aspen will use insights from this work to inform the broader field through fellowship programs, publications and state partnerships to provide professional development to college leaders and teams.

The full list of colleges joining the expanded network is available here. To learn more about the network, visit HigherEd.AspenInstitute.org/Programs/Unlocking-Opportunity.

Lone Star College System offers more than 200 academic and workforce programs and four bachelor’s degrees. Registration is still underway for fall 2025. Learn more at LoneStar.edu/Registration.