The Solution

Achieving the Dream is closing achievement gaps and accelerating student success nationwide through efforts on four fronts: 1. Guiding Evidence-Based Institutional Change; 2. Influencing Public Policy; 3. Generating Knowlege; 4. Engaging the Public.

These four fronts function as integrated levers that advance ground-level and system-level strategies to accomplish big-picture outcomes.

Achieving the Dream Institutions:

• Exemplify a deep commitment to improving student success
• Are learning organizations and use data to identify problems, set goals, establish institutional priorities, allocate resources and measure progress
• Make lasting changes in policies, structures, programs and services to improve student outcomes

Achieving the Dream Policy States:

• Have a leadership structure in place to provide long-term advocacy on issues affecting student success
• Make success of community college students an explicit public policy goal 
• Identify and implement policy changes in data and accountability, financing, system alignment, and support for institutional improvement that promote improved student outcomes
• Move toward a policy culture that uses rich student data systems in decision-making and places high priority on improving student outcomes
• Provide community college leaders and policy makers nationally, with new knowledge about policies to improve student success

The Achieving the Dream Network has disseminated knowledge resulting in:

• Community colleges, policy-makers, and higher education researchers having meaningful data to benchmark colleges' performance based on student outcomes
• Community college administrators recognizing the value of data-informed decision-making and having tools available to help them analyze student outcomes at their institutions
• Colleges, policy-makers, and funders having access to better research on institutional policies and practices that improve student outcomes
• Colleges, policy-makers, and funders understanding Achieving the Dream's Student-Centered Model for Institutional Improvement and its applicability to other colleges

Achieving the Dream has helped engage:

• Critical audiences to recognize community colleges' potential and society's need to raise postsecondary attainment levels
• Employers, community leaders, students and others to exert pressure on institutions and policy-makers to improve student outcomes, and actively support colleges' efforts
• More colleges, beyond the Achieving the Dream Institutions, to adopt practices to improve student success