October 2, 2006

AtD Update#2: October 2, 2006

What is Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count?

Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count addresses a national imperative to enhance opportunity for the growing number of students for whom community colleges are the point of entry into higher education. The initiative is a national effort to increase the success of community college students, particularly those in groups that have been underserved in higher education. As its name implies, Achieving the Dream is an initiative that aims to help more students reach their individual goals, which may include obtaining a better job, earning a community college certificate or degree, or attaining a bachelor’s degree.

Why does it matter?

The nation’s 1200 community colleges play a critical role in providing post-secondary education to a broad population, education that is vital in today’s global economy. They enroll close to half of all undergraduates and they attract particularly high proportions of underserved students, including low-income students, first-generation college-goers and students of color. In 2002, community colleges enrolled 47 percent of all African-American students, 56 percent of all Hispanics and 57 percent of all Native Americans.

Providing open access to higher education has always been a vital role of community colleges. Unfortunately, access does not always lead to success. A recent study by the Community College Research Center reveals that, among students seeking an associate’s degree or higher, only 53 percent earned a degree or transferred to a four-year institution within eight years of initial enrollment. Other research has shown that completion rates vary widely by race and ethnicity, with students of color attaining degrees at significantly lower rates than Whites and Asians. This achievement gap must be addressed to create individual opportunity for millions of students.

To meet this challenge, Achieving the Dream will take a broad-based, integrated approach that includes stakeholders from every relevant sector: higher education, state governments, local school systems, community students, and the broader public.

Who’s involved?

Achieving the Dream isn’t a project of one organization or institution. Rather, it is a large-scale, multi-year initiative created and implemented by several national organizations that are committed to improving education and social policy. In its first phase the initiative was funded by Lumina Foundation for Education and managed by MDC, Inc. MDC, Inc. continues to manage the project. Lone Star College System, as well as four other Houston-based community colleges and one university are funded through the Houston Endowment, Inc.

Partners involved in Achieving the Dream include:

The American Association of Community Colleges

http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/ResourceCenter/Projects_Partnerships/Current/Achieving_the_Dream/FAQ.htm

The Community College Leadership Program, University of Texas-Austin

http://edadmin.edb.utexas.edu/cclp/

Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University

www.tc.columbia.edu/ccrc

Futures Project, Brown University

www.futuresproject.org

Jobs for the Future

www.jff.org

MDC

www.mdcinc.org

MDRC

www.mdrc.org

Public Agenda

www.publicagenda.org

The Houston Endowment, Inc.

www.houstonendowment.org

Each of the national partner organizations brings specialized expertise in one or more of the areas in which Achieving the Dream works: on college campuses and in the community they serve, in the state policy arena, and among the broader public.

In the years ahead, the initiative expects to attract other organizations, including additional funders. Clearly, this type of long-term, broad-based involvement is crucial. Everything we know about postsecondary education persuades us that achieving our goal of greater opportunity will require serious and sustained effort from all involved – students and families, administrators and faculty at two-year and four-year institutions, local school districts, business leaders, government and the philanthropic sector. To read more about the national Achieving the Dream Initiative, go to: http://www.achievingthedream.org.