Danville Community College
Danville Community College (DCC) increased the percentage of students of color and low-income students who reach college-level math from the single digits to more than 30% within four years.
College Success Skills, online supplemental instruction, and tutoring programs help DCC students reach college-level math.
- By Fall 2010, 39% of the 2005 cohort of students of color had advanced to college-level math as had 41% of the 2006 cohort, and 31% of the 2007 cohort.
- Prior to joining Achieving the Dream, the rate was 2%.
- By Fall 2010, 39% of the 2005 cohort of low-income students had advanced to college-level math as had 48% of the 2006 cohort, and 40% of the 2007 cohort.
- Before Achieving the Dream the rate was 8%.
DCC’s 86-acre main campus dates to 1890 when it was the Danville Military Institute. It became a public community college serving the residents of rural Pittsylvania and Halifax counties in the late 1960s with the merger of the Danville Division of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Danville Technical Institute.
In Fall 2009, the enrollment at DCC was 4,400 and 38% of those students were African American and 2% were Hispanic. Of those students, 26% received Pell grants for that term. In recent years, more than 1,100 DCC students have shared more than $1 million in financial aid from the Tobacco Settlement Funds.
DCC continues its focus on Developmental Math by testing math modules designed by the Virginia Community College System to shorten students’ time in developmental courses.
In a 2010 comparison of Virginia’s 23 community colleges, which were based on Fall 2006 cohort performance, DCC was:- #1 for the percent of students who took Developmental English and graduated or transferred within four years
- #1 for the percent of students passing Developmental Reading within one year
- #2 for the percent of students passing Developmental Writing
- #3 for the percent of students who took Developmental English and then passed English 111 within four years
The Achieving the Dream Model
Achieving the Dream community colleges commit to our Student-Centered Model of Institutional Improvement. Based on four principles, the model frames the overall work of helping more students, particularly low- income students and students of color, stay in school and earn a college certificate or degree.
Each college approaches the work differently, but Achieving the Dream’s five-step process provides practical guidelines for keeping the focus where it belongs and building momentum over time. Throughout the process, Achieving the Dream coaches offer customized support and help each college’s core team implement data-informed programs and policies that build long-term, institution-wide commitment to student success.
Achieving the Dream Leader Colleges
Leader Colleges are demonstrating the power of the Achieving the Dream Student-Centered Model of Institutional Improvement. They show us it is possible to raise persistence and graduation rates, close achievement gaps, and change lives. Leader Colleges embody the ultimate goal of Achieving the Dream, and as such, serve as mentors within our community of learners.
To be eligible for Leader College distinction, colleges must show three or more years of improvement on one or more of these five measures:
- Course completion
- Advancement from developmental to credit-bearing courses
- Completion of college-level math and English courses
- Term-to-term and year-to-year retention
- Completion of certificates or degrees
