Montcalm Community College
With multiple data collection processes in place, Montcalm Community College wants to use its institutional research more fully and consistently when planning and making decisions.
Achieving the Dream will help the college:
- Increase student success in developmental education and gatekeeper courses by restructuring and strengthening the MCC Developmental Program, creating a Student Success Center to provide Supplemental Instruction, and integrating required Student Success and Efficient Study courses with developmental courses
- Raise student retention rates semester-to-semester as well as persistence rates fall-to-fall with the implementation of Mandatory New Student Orientation to provide the students with a strong, supportive start at MCC
- Hire dedicated faculty to teach in the updated developmental program
- Integrate research and data to identify and accomplish improvements
MCC will interweave its student success efforts with its Academic Quality Improvement Program accreditation processes. It also hopes Achieving the Dream will be a vehicle for engaging students, adjunct faculty, and external stakeholders.
Montcalm Community College (MCC) had 2,330 students in Fall 2009. A large proportion of MCC's students are first-generation college students. Eighty-two percent of the college's students received financial aid in the Fall 2009 semester and 64% of entering students were referred to at least one developmental course.
In addition to its three centers, the college hosts many community activities in rural, west-central Michigan. Its 240-acre main campus in Sidney includes nature trails, an art gallery, theater, heritage village, NCAA-size pool, fitness center, and gym. All facilities are open to the public.
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.
