Community colleges across the nation make choices every day that may change the course of a student’s life. Achieving the Dream Colleges use data-informed decision-making to close achievement gaps and improve student outcomes.

Deep engagement of faculty and staff in the institutional transformation process is necessary to close achievement gaps and drive student success. Achieving the Dream helps institutions involve larger numbers of faculty and staff in the process of institutional transformation.

In order to substantively improve student performance in a meaningful way, colleges must fundamentally change the way they operate. To get different and dramatically better student outcomes colleges cannot keep doing what they've always done. Deep and substantive reform of policies, practices, and processes are needed to produce better results in shorter time frames and at less cost for an increasingly diverse student population.

Scaling is achieved when most students who need particular services and supports to succeed in college receive those supports. Such large-scale adoption is essential to ensuring that all community college students achieve their dreams.

Achieving the Dream’s holistic approach to Student-Centered Supports embraces a broad spectrum of high impact methodologies including K-12 preparation, developmental education redesign, retention and support services, financial literacy, workforce development, and career pathways, among others.

High performing institutions that consistently align every day actions with the goal of improving student outcomes for all students, have exceptional leaders at all levels of the institutions. A shared commitment to a bold new vision and authentic engagement of trustees, administration, faculty, and staff is essential.