Wiregrass Georgia Technical College is pleased to announce our participation in the Achieving the Dream Reform Network. Achieving the Dream today welcomed 16 community and technical colleges from eight states into its National Reform Network. Faculty, staff, and administrators from those colleges will participate in the 2015 Achieving the Dream Kickoff Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio.  

“To become an Achieving the Dream College, applicants must demonstrate an institution-wide commitment to spend at least three years working with Achieving the Dream experts to  implement reforms designed to improve student success and completion rates on their campuses. Such a huge commitment to fundamentally rethink educational and student support is unusual and should be applauded because their work will result in a much larger, better educated, and productive workforce,” said Achieving the Dream President and CEO William E. Trueheart.

By 2020, almost two thirds of all jobs will require education and training beyond high school, according to a report by Anthony P. Carnevale, Georgetown University Professor and Director of the University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. Recovery, Job Growth and Education Requirements through 2020, recently cited by Bill Gates and other education leaders, found that unless the US begins producing more college graduates, there will be a shortfall of 11 million skilled workers to fill those jobs. 

The Achieving the Dream 2015 Cohort is joining a network of over 200 colleges that areworking to preserve access and assure that their students, especially low-income students and students of color, achieve their goals for academic success, personal growth, and economic opportunity. 

Introducing the 2015 Cohort Colleges: 

• Bergen Community College (N.J.)
• Big Bend Community College (Wash.)
• Blue Ridge Community College (N.C.)
• Coastal Pines Technical College (Ga.)
• Cuyamaca College - Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District (Calif.)
• Grossmont College - Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District (Calif.)
• Jackson State Community College (Tenn.)
• Lakeshore Technical College (Wis.)
• MiraCosta College (Calif.)
• Modesto Junior College (Calif.)
• Ogeechee Technical College (Ga.)
• Onondaga Community College (SUNY) (N.Y.)
• Roane State Community College (Tenn.)
• Ventura College (Calif.)
• Westchester Community College (SUNY) (N.Y.)
• Wiregrass Georgia Technical College (Ga.)

At the 2015 Kickoff Institute June 23 – June 25, these colleges will work in teams with coaches to increase their data analytic capacity to inform decision-making; understand how guided pathways can improve the student experience; identify opportunities to improve teaching and learning; and understand equity challenges on campus.  

The 2015 cohort represents the first colleges in the Network to begin using the new Institutional Improvement Model to advance student success.  The Model, composed of the Institutional Capacity Framework and the Continuous Improvement Cycle, provides practical guidelines for maintaining focus on students’ needs and building momentum over time. Throughout the process, Achieving the Dream coaches offer customized support, and numerous peer learning opportunities to accelerate the adoption and adaptation of evidence-based, high impact practices. Learn more about the Model by visiting achievingthedream.org.

In addition to using the new model, the 2015 Cohort will benefit from Achieving the Dream’s agreement with the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) in which colleges’ data on key student success outcome measures will be extracted from student data already being submitted to NSC. The change responds to requests by Achieving the Dream Institutions for a more streamlined data reporting structure.

Dr. Tina K. Anderson, Wiregrass Georgia Technical College President, stated, “Our primary concern at Wiregrass is helping students succeed.  Because of this, we have included student success as a central part of our strategic plan, Complete College Georgia Plan, and SACSCOC Quality Enhancement Plan. We are excited to now have the opportunity with Achieving the Dream to advance our student success efforts through additional data analysis and involvement with a national network of colleges and colleagues seeking solutions to the same concerns.”