Tallahassee Community College
Interventions at critical “touch points” help Tallahassee Community College (TCC) students connect to college resources and take responsibility for their education.
New student orientation and revamped academic advising are two of the interventions TCC uses to address multiple student success challenges. The college adopted mandatory orientation and advising for all new students in 2007, added optional family orientation, created advising workshops, and established a structure for periodic adviser-student meetings.
Results include:
- Fall-to-spring retention of first-time-in-college (FTIC) students increased from 81% in 2003 to 91% in 2009
- Fall-to-fall retention of FTIC students increased from 57% in 2003 to 61% in 2009
TCC serves three counties in the Florida Panhandle. The college was recognized in the 2009 Leah Meyer Austin Institutional Student Success Leadership Award competition for its community engagement strategy in Gadsden County, which resulted in a 10-point action plan to address low-income residents’ education and social needs.
In Fall 2009, TCC had 14,500 students. Of those students, 7% were Hispanic, 34% were black, 74% were under 24, and 28% received Pell grants.
TCC’s culture of evidence permeates college operations. Trustees have monthly workshops on strategic goals, faculty and staff are able to access data in a data warehouse to inform all types of decisions, and portals allow key stakeholders to share the data.
Institutionalizing its effective Achieving the Dream strategies, TCC has changed how it interacts with all students. Building on this foundation, in 2011 TCC convened a Student Success Summit where student focus groups made suggestions for the next phase of Achieving the Dream.
The My Success Platinum Individual Learning Plan (ILP) for students received the 2010 Innovation Award from the National Association of College and University Business Officers. The ILP is a comprehensive, multifaceted model that helps students identify their educational goals and empowers them to take control of their educational experience. The ILP’s scalability increases the college’s capacity to serve its growing community.
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
