Henry Ford Community College
Henry Ford Community College’s goal is to effectively collect and analyze data in order to successfully evaluate programs and policies implemented to enhance student success.
Henry Ford Community College is pursuing its student success agenda by:
- Implementing a systematic model for institutional change.
- Developing effective and innovative programs for students demonstrating the most needs and challenges, and narrowing the achievement gaps of those students.
- Analyzing data to evaluate the effectiveness of courses and programs.
- Linking Achieving the Dream goals and values to the college’s Accreditation process.
The college has created and hopes to bring the following three initiatives to scale to facilitate improved student success and retention rates, and to meet the goals above:
- MPASS (Math Practice and Supplemental Sessions), which is addressing the needs of students in developmental math courses.
- New Student Orientation, which aims to improve retention rates and success of first year students by cultivating their knowledge and understanding of the college and those offices and services available to students and
- Transition to College: An initiative designed to increase preparedness of minority and low income students through programs held in conjunction with high schools in the college’s service area.
With its enrollment increasing by more than 40% in the last three years, Henry Ford Community College has consequently seen its ratio of adjunct to full-time teaching faculty grow to a ratio of four-to-one. The rise in adjunct faculty has created challenges, though none insurmountable, in the college’s pursuit of Achieving the Dream-inspired student success strategies.
Located in suburban Detroit, nearly half of the college’s 17,500 students in Fall 2010 were from various ethnic minorities, represent immigrant populations, and/or require targeted English language instruction. In the Fall 2010 semester, almost 40% of the college’s students were students of color and 47% of all undergraduate students were Pell grant recipients.
The college’s diverse student population faces challenging achievement gaps along defined ethnic and socio-economic lines. Henry Ford Community College is combatting and attempting to close these gaps and to facilitate the success of its culturally diverse student population.
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.
