Paul D. Camp Community College
The Fall 2006 Achieving the Dream cohort of Paul D. Camp Community College (PDCCC) students posted the college’s highest graduation rate thus far.
PDCCC’s graduation and transfer rates have improved since 2003, the year before the college joined Achieving the Dream’s student-centered model for institutional improvement.
The graduation rate at the college in 2003 was only 14% for 99 students who enrolled in the Fall 2000 semester. Since joining Achieving the Dream, PDCCC has made increasing the subsequent cohorts’ graduation rates a top priority:
- 21% is the college’s highest graduation rate. It was reported in 2009, based on the performance of 136 first-time, full-time students who enrolled in Fall 2006.
- 20% is the college’s highest transfer rate. It was reported in 2010 for 171 first-time, full-time students who enrolled in Fall 2007. The transfer rate in 2004 was 7.8% for 116 first-time, full-time students who enrolledin the Fall 2001 semester. Transfer data is not available from 2003.
Increasing the enrollment of underrepresented minorities is a priority in the college’s new strategic plan, which also calls for improving fall-to-spring retention from 71% to 73%.
Founded in 1970, PDCCC is a small, predominantly rural institution with campuses in Franklin and Suffolk and a center in Smithfield. The college is the fourth largest employer in Franklin. The city’s location at the head of the navigable portion of the Blackwater River has influenced the region’s history and economic development.
In Fall 2010, the college enrolled 1,656 students. Sixty percent were 24 or younger. The college’s student population mirrors the racial diversity of the region with 57% white students, 38% black, 2% Hispanic, and 1% American Indian. Thirty-nine percent of students received Pell grants.
PDCCC is participating in the Virginia Community College System’s redesign of developmental math. It added a second developmental writing course based on completion data for English 111, a gatekeeper course.
To improve students first-year experiences the college:
- Provides career coaches in local high schools to assist students and their parents with college preparations and to help them explore career options.
- Requires all new students to attend orientation.
- Uses an early alert system to identify and connect academically at-risk students with tutoring or other services during the first five weeks of the semester.
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
