Achieving the Dream

Achieving the Dream is a national effort to help more community college students succeed, with a special focus on students of color and low-income students. Lumina Foundation for Education is the primary funder, with over 20 additional funding organizations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Founded in 2004, AtD now involves 160 colleges in 30 states (thirty of these began this year). Achieving the Dream

A healthy economy and democracy depend upon an educated citizenry, and for well over a century, America led the world in the education of its people. Eve of World War I, 1914 o 1% of Britain’s young people graduated from high school o 9% of American youth graduated 1950 o A majority of American youth graduated from high school o 10% of British youth graduated Until recently, the U.S. led the world in the proportion of its citizens with a college degree. Today: The U.S. is 12 th in the world in the proportion of its citizens with a college degree, at 38%. In one generation, the U.S. went from 1 st to 12 th in college completion rates. The U.S. has fallen to “average” in international education rankings: 14 th for reading skills, 17 th for science, and 25 th for mathematics. *The rankings are from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2010 report released by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Education Rates and the Completion Agenda

President Obama o Set National Goal of 60% of Americans having a college degree by 2020 o “By 2020, America will once again lead the world in producing college graduates. And I believe community colleges will play a huge part in meeting this goal, by producing an additional 5 million degrees and certificates in the next 10 years.” (President Obama) Lumina Foundation set goal of 60% of Americans having a college degree by 2025 Changing the Focus: From Access to Success and Completion

Achieving the Dream seeks to help more students earn postsecondary credentials. Achieving the Dream works with institutions to improve student progression through intermediate milestones, including the rates at which students: Successfully complete remedial or developmental instruction and advance to credit-bearing courses Enroll in and successfully complete the initial college-level or gatekeeper courses in subjects such as math and English Complete the courses they take with a grade of C or better Persist from one term to the next Earn a certificate or associate degree Goals of the Initiative

Colleges that effectively promote student success adhere to four principles: Committed Leadership Use of evidence to improve programs and services Broad engagement Systemic Institutional Improvement Principles of Institutional Improvement

Senior college leaders actively support efforts to improve student success, not just to increase enrollments, and are committed to achieving equity in student outcomes across racial, ethnic, and income groups. Administrators, board members, and faculty and staff leaders demonstrate a willingness to make changes in policies, programs, and resource allocation to improve student success. Committed Leadership

The college: Establishes processes for using data about student progression and outcomes to identify achievement gaps among student groups. Formulates strategies for addressing the gaps identified and improving student success overall. Evaluates the effectiveness of those strategies. Use of Evidence to Improve Programs and Services

Faculty, student services staff, and administrators share responsibility for student success, and collaborate on assessing the effectiveness of programs and services and improving them. The college also gains invaluable insight about ways to improve student success from students themselves through surveys, focus groups, and advisory councils. Broad Engagement

The college establishes planning processes that rely on the data to set goals for student success and then uses the data to measure goal attainment. Decisions about budget allocations are based on evidence of program effectiveness and are linked to plans to increase student success. Faculty and staff are afforded professional development opportunities that reinforce efforts that help to close achievement gaps and improve overall student success. Systemic Institutional Improvement

Fall: o Data Gathering o Data Analysis December – February: o Begin to formulate Implementation Proposals – 3-5 o Strategy Institute – End of February Spring: o Design Implementation Proposals o Plan, budget, and staff Implementation Proposals for Fall 2012 First Year,

“To furnish the means of acquiring knowledge is … the greatest benefit that can be conferred upon mankind. It prolongs life itself and enlarges the sphere of existence.” John Quincy Adams