Capital Community College

Background

In 2002, Capital Community College (CCC) moved to a “state-of-the-art” facility in the central business district of Hartford, Conn. The new location offers better accessibility to city residents and downtown workers, and heightens the college’s visibility with government leaders and the business community.

Enrollment increased by nearly 25 percent from 1999 to 2004. Additional community partnerships have resulted in more internships, clinical experiences and service learning opportunities. Despite the institutional transformation, the majority of CCC’s students fall below identified benchmarks in writing and quantitative skills. Data also indicates that the college under-serves Black and Hispanic males. The majority of degree earners at CCC are Hispanic or Black, but only 34 percent of Hispanic students and 20 percent of Black students are male.

Achieving the Dream Goals

The college’s priority is student attainment. In recent years it has endeavored to create seamless transitions for students by enhancing its orientation and advising services, strengthening its instruction, and continuously analyzing students’ learning. To follow-up, the college would like to develop plans to

• Make learning communities, its new First-Year Success course, and experiential learning opportunities part of every student’s experience;
• Attract and retain more male students;
• Intensify its work with the city schools to align curriculum and improve students’ preparation for college;
• Set benchmarks for writing and quantitative skill improvements;
• Experiment with initiatives to achieve these goals.

Expanded mentoring for minority males and a redesigned developmental education program are among the options under consideration.