Community College of Vermont is One of 20 Community Colleges in Seven States to Join National Student Success Initiative

Achieving the Dream now reaches more than 100 community colleges in 22 states

Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, a national initiative to help more community college students succeed, announced today that the Community College of Vermont (CCV) is one of 20 new community colleges in seven states to join the initiative. With the addition of these colleges, the initiative has grown to include 102 institutions – 98 colleges and four universities -- in 22 states.

Achieving the Dream is a long-term national initiative to help more community college students succeed — particularly those students who traditionally face the most significant barriers to success. The initiative is built on the belief that broad institutional change, informed by student achievement data, is critical to significantly improving student success rates.

“We are thrilled that CCV has been selected to participate in such a critical, ground-level effort to help students succeed,” said CCV Interim President Joyce Judy. “We realize that providing access to college is not enough; we need to help students be successful in college.” As a member of the Achieving the Dream program, CCV has made a two-year commitment to focus its efforts on student success and closing performance gaps among students in targeted populations.

This most recent expansion of Achieving the Dream has been made possible with grants provided by four foundations across the country. Lumina Foundation for Education is making matching grants to provide first-year funding for community colleges in California, Illinois, Indiana, New York and Vermont. The Kresge Foundation is supporting an institution in Michigan. The Greater Texas Foundation is supporting several community colleges in Texas. The Vermont Community Foundation is providing grant support in Vermont. In some cases, the colleges themselves are funding their participation in the initiative.

“Achieving the Dream colleges are identifying methods for increasing student success and implementing interventions to create institutional improvements for all students,” said Carol Lincoln, a senior program director at MDC, Inc., the managing partner of Achieving the Dream and its national director. “We’re excited about bringing these new colleges into Achieving the Dream and continuing our tradition of providing educational and societal benefits to colleges, students and communities around the country.”

“Achieving the Dream colleges have proven successful at ensuring that a student success agenda is a clear strategic focus at all levels of the campus community,” said Jamie P. Merisotis, president and CEO of Lumina Foundation for Education, which has been the initiative’s primary funder since its inception in 2004. “We’re very pleased to help provide this opportunity to additional colleges and, more importantly, to the students they serve.”

Achieving the Dream helps participating colleges implement strategies designed to help more students earn degrees, complete certificates or transfer to other institutions to continue their studies. The initiative emphasizes building a culture of evidence, in which colleges use data to identify effective practices, improve student success rates and close achievement gaps.

CCV’s graduation rate has been below the mean for community colleges across the United States, and the College has prioritized work to support students in attaining their goals of graduation. According to CCV Academic Dean Linda Gabrielson, “Through the Achieving the Dream initiative, we will focus on strategies to better help students progress through the curriculum, earning degrees that prepare them for employment in their chosen field or transfer to a four year college.”

About CCV
Founded in 1970, CCV is a member of the Vermont State College system. Through 12 statewide learning sites and comprehensive online offerings, CCV serves 10,000 students annually. In addition to 17 associate degrees and 11 certificate programs, the College also offers dual enrollment opportunities for high school students and a workforce readiness program for adults.

About Achieving the Dream
Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count is a national initiative to help more community college students succeed, particularly students of color and low-income students. The initiative works on multiple fronts — including efforts on campuses and in research, public engagement and public policy — and emphasizes the use of data to drive change. Achieving the Dream was launched in 2004, with funding provided by Lumina Foundation for Education. Seven national partner organizations work with Lumina to guide the initiative and provide technical and other support to the colleges and states. They are: the American Association of Community Colleges; the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas-Austin; the Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University; Jobs for the Future; MDC Inc.; MDRC; and Public Agenda. MDC is the initiative’s managing partner.