College Profiles
Northampton Community College
Background
For 40 years, Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pa., has focused on offering a wide variety of courses at an affordable price, without sacrificing quality of instruction. NCC offers recent high school graduates and adult learners a variety of credit and non-credit classes, and nearly 100 transfer and career programs leading to associate degrees, certificates, and diplomas. NCC’s graduates have gone on to study at area four-year schools, as well as other colleges and universities across the country. They do well once they get there, and often save thousands on the cost of an advanced degree. Recognizing that students are the primary reason that Northampton Community College exists, the college seeks to provide excellent, accessible and comprehensive learning experiences in partnership with the dynamic, diverse communities NCC serves.
Achieving the Dream Goals
NCC has identified two priorities: (1) building a solid pathway for student success in developmental and gatekeeper courses and (2) building a culture of evidence. Strategies will often and necessarily address both simultaneously. As part of this work, the college plans to:
- Offer a new College Seminar for students testing into two developmental English courses and assess its impact
- Increase proportion of students successfully completing developmental courses
- Improve the accuracy of student placement into math classes
- Improve math instruction
- Increase proportion of students successfully completing required math or math-related courses
- Build collaborative relationships between full-time and adjunct faculty
- Build relationships with high school instructors.
These strategies are designed to help more students successfully complete courses, persist from one semester to the next, and decrease their time to graduation.
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