Unlocking Opportunity
Unlocking Opportunity is a national plan led by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program in partnership with the Community College Research Center. It supports community colleges in strengthening programs and advising so more students complete degrees that lead to high‑demand careers with livable wages or successfully transfer to and complete a bachelor’s degree.
Launched as a pilot in 2023, the program expanded in 2025 to include 55 colleges nationwide. Montgomery County Community College is proud to be among those selected.
Over the next three years, Montco will work closely with Aspen to improve student outcomes by advancing degree completion, workforce success, and transfer pathways.
How do we define post-completion success for our students?
- Post-completion success (also called post-graduation success) is how we and the Unlocking Opportunity Network measure students’ access to high-wage occupations and to successful transfer and bachelor’s degree attainment.
- Workforce programs are programs that offer either an associate degree (often the AAS degree) or a credential
that fully prepares students to enter the workforce after completion.
- Workforce/Career success is measured by a graduate’s access to enter a high-wage occupation after earning a college credential designed for that occupation.
- Transfer programs are associate degree programs that are designed to help students transfer to a four-year
institution. These are often Associate in Arts (AA), Associate in Fine Arts (AFA),
and Associate in Science (AS) degrees.
- Transfer success is measured by students’ attainment of a bachelor’s degree within six years of starting college at a community college (high transfer).
- High opportunity programs provide data-supported access to high wage occupations and high transfer.
Unlocking Opportunity Project Team
Unlocking Opportunity Project Team
- Vicki Bastecki-Perez, President
- Chae Sweet, Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs and Provost, Project Lead
- Mike Bettinger, Director of Government and External Relations, Project Manager
- Alaina Hausman, Director of Business Intelligence and Analytics, Data Lead
- Katherine Carter, Trustee
- Ayo Patterson, Trustee
- Lianne Hartman, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs
- Bill McDonald, Vice President of Finance and Enrollment Services
- Jenna Meehan, Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness and Chief of Staff
- Diane O’Connor, Vice President of Administrative Services
- Diane VanDyke, Director of Strategic Communications & Marketing
Working Group I
- Rosann Bar, Dean of Academic Innovation
- James Bretz, Dean of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
- Suzanne del Gizzo, Dean of Liberal Arts
- Anthony Ginexi, Dean of Business and Professional Studies
- Lianne Hartman, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs
- Natalie Palmer, Executive Director of Enrollment Services
- Isabelle Porter, Dean of Health Sciences
- Matthew Swatchick, Dean of Student Services
Timeline
Timeline (to be updated)
September-October 2025
- Set wage standards
- Compile transfer and bachelor’s degree completion outcomes
October-November 2025
- Classify programs by post-completion success
- Workforce programs classified by access to earning high wages
- Transfer programs classified by successful bachelor’s degree attainment after transfer.
January-May 2026
- Review and analyze program classifications and other data gathered in Fall 2025.
- Analyze all data sets to identify strategies to strengthen and expand post-completion success for the greatest number of students
- Set quantitative goals and aligned strategies to strengthen and expand post completion success at the College over the next 2 years and beyond.
For questions, please email [email protected].
