Northampton Community College
Results from the Applied Skills for Academic Success are so positive for students in developmental education that Northampton Community College (NCC) scaled up the course in Fall 2009.
After piloting Applied Skills for Academic Success (COLS150) the course is now required for entering students who need both developmental reading and writing.
- As a group COLS150 students consistently have higher nextterm retention rates than all new students
- The COLS150 course has succeeded in improving the retention of students and in narrowing the performance gaps between students from different backgrounds
NCC is the college of choice for one in four graduates of high schools in Northampton County and almost one in six graduates of high schools in Monroe County. It has one of the most diverse student bodies in northeastern Pennsylvania in terms of age, academic interests, and ethnicity. NCC is one of the rare community colleges that offer on-campus housing.
In Fall 2010, NCC had 11,300 students, and of those students 27% were students of color, 36% were first-generation students, and 34% received Pell grants.
To broaden faculty engagement in Achieving the Dream, NCC devotes time during departmental and professional staff meetings to discuss issues relevant to the student success agenda.
NCC’s Achieving the Dream work focuses on improving mathematics and addressing the most underprepared students’ needs.
Smart Path Math, a free online math refresher, helps adult students brush up on rusty math skills. The goal of the refresher is to provide students the opportunity to place into a higher level of mathematics than the course they initially tested into.
A project-based approach to Elementary Algebra was adopted based on data showing its efficacy, especially for minority students.
Smart Start gives at-risk students a one-week, jump start in the summer. The 2010 cohort of 20 students had a 100% fall-to-spring retention rate.
The first cohort of 22 participants in Spartan Pros, a mentoring program for African American male students, had a 91% fall-to-spring retention rate in 2010.
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
