Norwalk Community College has been awarded a $50,000 planning grant to participate in Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, a national initiative that promotes changes to improve student success in community colleges. Achieving the Dream is funded by The Lumina Foundation for Education, KnowledgeWorks Foundation and The Nellie Mae Education Foundation.

As the name implies, Achieving the Dream is designed to help more students reach their educational and career goals particularly students that have been traditionally underserved in higher education---low-income students, first generation college-goers and students of color.

Nationwide, community colleges enroll nearly half of all college undergraduates. Yet, too many students leave college without earning a certificate or degree or transferring to another institution to continue their studies. According to the U.S. Department of Education, fewer than half of students meet their educational goals. Of those community college students who seek an associate degree or higher, only 45 percent earn an associate or bachelor’s degree or transfer to a four-year institution within six years.

NCC was invited to become one of only 35 Achieving the Dream Colleges because of its willingness to adopt the following approaches to improve student achievement:

• Use data to drive strategies, monitor progress and evaluate outcomes;
• Develop strategies to close performance gaps among students;
• Involve their faculty, students, staff and communities in developing and implementing strategies to improve outcomes;
• Report data and outcomes broadly, both on and off campus;
• Form partnerships with their communities, local businesses and others;
• Advocate for state and national changes as needed.

The Achieving the Dream Planning Grant funds will enable NCC to examine data on student success, confront issues of achievement and introduce strategies to institute change. Once the strategies have been identified, the College will be able to seek an Implementation Grant which could ultimately provide the College with $100,000 a year for four years to institutionalize such changes. Norwalk Community College is pleased to be a part of an experience that will ultimately bring about systemic change and increase student success among all community colleges.