Jefferson Community & Technical College
Jefferson Community and Technical College’s top priority is to improve the success of distinct groups on their campuses of low-income, high-risk students. Less than 2 out of every 10 new students persist to complete a credential, so Jefferson’s vision as an Achieving the Dream Institution is to place more of Kentucky’s residents on the path to achieving a postsecondary credential and successful career.
Since the Louisville region demands high-wage job training such as Toyota T-10 training for certified auto mechanics and large healthcare providers need training for several new healthcare programs, Jefferson wishes to become the region’s most effective pathway to degree completion.
College leaders and administrators are most concerned with using the help of Achieving the Dream to:
- Increase understanding and application of data analysis by faculty, staff and administrators through assistance with professional development
- Assist institutional leaders in identifying additional data sets to collect to support data-driven decision making
- Eliminate isolation in operation for generating sweeping changes to support student success
- Strengthen their relationships through collaboration between KCTCS and Jefferson institutional research
Jefferson Community and Technical College is Kentucky’s first Achieving the Dream Institution and is the largest of 16 colleges forming the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). With about 15,000 students, six campuses, several other sites, and an extensive eLearning program, Jefferson is the region’s second largest college or university. The college offers more than 70 programs of study and 300 degree, diploma, and certificate options. Jefferson also has an extensive workforce program that provides customized development and training for several hundred companies and nearly 5,000 employees each year.
As the most diverse community college in Kentucky, Jefferson is annually confronted with high percentages of unprepared students, low retention rates, even lower completion rates, and increasing enrollments. Jefferson’s Fall 2010 enrollment reached 15,260 students, with 640 of those students coming from 40 different language backgrounds, and 1,700 from west Louisville’s economically disadvantaged inner-city neighborhoods. Over 50% of full-time students are Pell eligible and reside in a region where unemployment has remained between 11% and 12% for more than three years. The region Jefferson serves is home to 51% of minority households in the state and the college’s minority enrollment is at 30%. Of the total incoming students, 76% take one developmental course and nearly 50% are placed in two or more.
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.
