Giving Compass' Take:

• Brittney Davidson and Linda Perlstein call for innovations in post-high school programs to open up equitable pathways to careers for all.

• How is equal education key in opening opportunities for marginalized communities? What are you doing to support equitable programs for everyone?

• Learn about how community colleges are an important factor in the equation for equal opportunity.

At Aspen we’ve spent the last year and a half conducting research into the gap between potential and opportunity. By improving the quality of their programs and supporting a more diverse student body to succeed in them, colleges will open opportunities for underserved Americans and help employers expand their talent pipelines—a necessity if companies are to succeed in the years ahead.

Why are community colleges crucial to this equation? For low-income students and students of color, community colleges are the on-ramp to education. About half of Black and Hispanic students start their education at community college, and two-thirds of community college students have family income below $50,000.

Yet community colleges aren’t doing all they can to ensure that these students have equitable access to the programs that are going to lead to the best-paying jobs. According to the Georgetown Center for Education and the Workforce, two-thirds of U.S. income inequality can be explained by inequities in access to college programs with the highest labor market value. For instance, Black students are overrepresented in college and apprenticeship programs that lead to the lowest-paying jobs.

There are several points along the way where some community colleges are innovating in promising ways. Through community partnership and thoughtful communication, they reach out to populations in their areas who are underrepresented at the college and could most benefit from upward mobility.  They structure advising and program selection processes to remedy the fact that many students don’t even know the good careers available to them, and what it will take to get there.

By identifying, researching, and sharing what we learn about their innovations, we believe we can help both colleges and employers make pathways to great careers more equitable—to ensure that when it comes to jobs with good wages, opportunities really are available to all.

Read the full article about helping underrepresented students achieve fair access by Brittney Davidson and Linda Perlstein at The Aspen Institute.