Expected Outcomes of Achieving the Dream

 

To increase student success at community colleges, Achieving the Dream is working achieve the following outcomes related to institutional change, policy, public engagement, and knowledge development.

 

Institutional Change

• Achieving the Dream colleges will exemplify a deep commitment to pursuing student success.
• They will become “learning organizations" and will use data to identify problems, set goals, establish institutional priorities, allocate resources and measure progress.
• They will make lasting changes in policies, structures, programs and services to improve student outcomes.

Public Policy

• In demonstration states, leadership structures will be in place to provide long-term advocacy on issues affecting student success.
• These states will make success of community college students an explicit public policy goal. They will identify and implement policy changes in data and accountability, financing, system alignment, and support for institutional improvement that promote improved student outcomes.
• Achieving the Dream states will move toward a policy culture that uses rich student data systems in decision making and places high priority on improving student outcomes.
• Community college leaders and policy makers nationally, will have new knowledge about policies to improve student success.

Public Engagement

• Critical audiences, who can advance the initiative's agenda, will recognize community colleges' potential and society's need to raise postsecondary attainment levels.
• Employers, community leaders, students and others will exert pressure on institutions and policy-makers to improve student outcomes, and they will actively support colleges' efforts.
• More colleges, beyond the demonstration sites, will adopt practices to improve student success.

New Knowledge

• Community colleges, policy-makers and higher education researchers will have meaningful data to benchmark colleges’ performance based on student outcomes.
• Community college administrators will recognize the value of data-driven decision making and will have tools to help them analyze student outcomes at their institutions.
• Colleges, policy-makers and funders will have access to better research on institutional policies and practices that improve student outcomes.
• Colleges, policy-makers and funders will understand Achieving the Dream's institutional change process and its applicability to other colleges.

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