PHCC is among 35 community colleges in seven states that have been chosen to participate in Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count (AtD), an initiative designed to enhance student success and funded by the Lumina Foundation. The overall goal is to increase success rates for low-income students and students of color at community colleges.  Achieving the Dream will work for change at five levels:

• Promote and support institutional change
• Develop supportive state and national policies
• Engage the public to support community college access and success
• Build knowledge about strengthening students outcomes at community colleges
• Enhance the capacity of national organizations to work long term for improved student success

The PHCC AtD Grant was developed after a great deal of research including an extensive review of the literature, data gathering and analysis.  The major focus is on increasing student engagement both inside and outside the classroom.

Outside the Classroom Engagement Strategies Include:

• Enhanced tutoring to include supplemental instruction for high risk math courses
• Improved and expanded math lab
• Development of a mentoring program for underserved students with a required mentor training
• Case-management system of advising focusing on high risk students

Inside the Classroom Engagement Strategies Include:

• Collaborative/Active Learning
• Use of Classroom Response System
• Learning Communities

Are you college material? Believe in yourself!
     Advice About College

Building Knowledge to Improve Education
     MDRC.org

Achieving the Dream Strategy Institute
     Session Handouts 2007

Lumina AtD Data Findings

The above link includes PHCC AtD Initial Findings; Success Probabilities by Various Demographics; Success Probabilities by Academic Programs and assessments of intervention strategies.

Jobs For The Future
     Newswire