Jackson Community College
Jackson Community College’s enrollment increased by 27% from Fall 2007 to Fall 2010. Unfortunately, the percentage of college-ready students enrolling at the college fell from 28% to 14% over that same three-year period; while the number of new students enrolling in at least one developmental course increased by 39% during that same time.
From 2007-2010 the number of students of color enrolled at Jackson Community College rose by 85%. The increased enrollment of African American students was up 102% which, in large part, was due to the college’s African American Male Summit and Men of Merit initiatives.
Jackson’s efforts to close achievement gaps include the following initiatives:
- Learning Communities: Designed for both Developmental Education and Gateway students, instructors coordinate content across Math, English and Reading subjects.
- Supplemental Instruction: Student-Coaches are hired as Supplemental Instructors to assist instructors in leading group work and study group sessions.
- Men of Merit and Sisters of Strength: Social support groups for African-American students and a forum to connect these students with community-based leaders.
- K-16 Education Summits: Focused on bringing K-12 and college faculty together to examine curriculum and instructional methods in Math, and designed to increase college readiness.
- Professional Development and Reading Apprenticeship: Designed to improve teaching abilities of, and strategies utilized by faculty.
While rising enrollment is wonderful, the parallel in rising unemployment rates are not. Serving the greater Jackson area in south central Michigan, Jackson Community College has witnessed both trends first-hand, as jobs tied to the automotive industry have continued to fade-away.
It is not just the numbers of students enrolling at Jackson that has increased; so too have the raw number, and percentage, of students of color entering Jackson Community College for the first time.
Nearly 45% of all first year students receive Federal Pell grants. Though it may take time for evidence supporting narrowing achievement gaps to become available, the number of students of color enrolling at Jackson speaks positively to the impact upon the potential for success being envisioned by people of color in the college’s service area. Such enrollment rates in-and-of-themselves, while presenting new challenges to Jackson Community College, reflect positively on the success of the school to create a culture of inclusion.
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.
