FAQ

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	What is the Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count initiative? What are the goals of the initiative?
	Who sponsors the Achieving the Dream initiative and what other organizations are involved?
	What are the expected outcomes of Achieving the Dream?

Achieving the Dream is a multiyear national initiative to help more community college students succeed. The initiative is particularly concerned about student groups that traditionally have faced the most significant barriers to success, including low-income students and students of color. Achieving the Dream emphasizes the use of data to drive change and focuses on measurable outcomes, especially closing achievement gaps.

Achieving the Dream is funded by Lumina Foundation for Education, KnowledgeWorks Foundation, and Nellie Mae Education Foundation. It is managed by MDC, Inc. Other national partners include the following:

American Association of Community Colleges

Community College Leadership Program, the University of Texas-Austin

Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University

Jobs for the Future

MDRC

Public Agenda

Other prominent national and regional organizations, as well as other funders, will join the effort in the future.

Achieving the Dream expects to bring about change within community colleges and in state and federal policy. The initiative also seeks to increase knowledge about policies, programs, structures, and services that increase student success and to increase public support for raising postsecondary attainment levels.

At its core, the initiative seeks to help more students reach their individual goals, which may include obtaining a better job, earning a community college certificate or degree, or attaining a bachelor's degree. Achieving the Dream colleges will maintain a high degree of access for historically underserved groups while working to increase the percentage of students who accomplish the following:

o Successfully complete the courses they take,
o Advance from remedial to credit-bearing courses,
o Enroll in and successfully complete gatekeeper courses,
o Re-enroll from one semester to the next,
o Earn degrees and/or certificates.

After eight years, a substantially higher percentage of students at Achieving the Dream colleges – especially low-income students and students of color -- will experience success, as measured by the bullets above, with no reduction in enrollment for these populations.

After 12 years, student success rates will rise at other community colleges as well.