Alamo Colleges Joins National Network Advancing High-Value Credentials That Lead to Good Jobs and Bachelor’s Degrees

For Immediate Release

All five Alamo Colleges join a national network of community colleges working to align programs with good jobs and bachelor pathways, addressing local talent needs and changing student lives

(SAN ANTONIO, Texas) August 20, 2025 – The Alamo Colleges District proudly announce that all five colleges have joined the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program’s expanded Unlocking Opportunity network. This initiative is designed to reform community college programs so that more students earn credentials that lead to good-paying jobs and bachelor’s degrees.

In 2023, San Antonio College joined the network as one of 10 pilot colleges nationwide, and served as a lead for work across the district. The Alamo Colleges join over 60 institutions in this growing effort to align community college programs and advising with the two most important goals of today’s students: completing a degree that leads directly to a good job or successfully transferring to complete a bachelor’s degree.

Through three years of focused reforms, the Alamo Colleges will continue work with Aspen to assess current programs, set goals, and implement research-based changes to strengthen student success. The initiative will include virtual and in-person engagement for college leaders and teams to scale reforms that connect programs with high-value career and transfer pathways.

“The Alamo Colleges is proud to participate in this initiative that builds on our goal of ensuring thousands more students complete programs leading to high-wage, high-demand fields,” said Dr. Mike Flores, Alamo Colleges District Chancellor. “This partnership reflects our commitment to transforming lives and meeting the workforce needs of our region, while contributing to our moonshot of ending poverty through education and training.”

The network expansion is critical for San Antonio and South Texas, where workforce demand is growing in high-need fields like healthcare. At San Antonio College, leaders have taken significant steps to address the region’s nursing shortage. The college has expanded clinical site capacity by partnering with hospitals, developing a state-of-the-art simulation lab, and sharing sites with other colleges in the region. 

Additional staff have been added to secure new clinical placements beyond traditional hospital settings.

In 2021, San Antonio College also launched an accelerated RN-to-BSN program that has already graduated 185 students. By the 2025–26 academic year, the program will expand capacity to 274 students annually, helping to fill critical healthcare positions across the region.

Josh Wyner, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program, praised the commitment of the colleges involved.

“Every year, millions of students rely on community colleges for a low-cost pathway to what they assume will be a high-value credential,” Wyner said. “The leaders at each of the 55 colleges that have joined Unlocking Opportunity have made clear that they will spend the next three years working toward the reforms needed to make that assumption a reality for thousands more students.”

The Unlocking Opportunity network was developed in partnership with the Community College Research Center and is supported by Arnold Ventures, Ascendium Education Group, Bank of America, ECMC Foundation, and JPMorgan Chase. The expansion of the network is made possible through the support of JPMorgan Chase.

The pilot institutions are already on track to move over 20,000 students into high-value programs of study collectively. With this expansion, Aspen will track and support progress for 65 participating colleges. Lessons learned will inform the broader higher education field through publications, fellowship programs, and state partnerships.

The complete list of colleges joining the expanded network is available here.