STC one of only 21 national colleges earning “Leader College Designation” from Achieving the Dream

South Texas College was recently named a “Leader College” by Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count (ATD), a national nonprofit organization focused on helping community college and their students succeed. One of only 21 colleges in the nation awarded the designation. STC was recognized for its sustained improvement in key student achievement indicators.

“We were one of the first colleges in the nation selected to participate in the Achieving the Dream initiative and have built an evidence–based culture at our institution, ensuring that our decisions are driven by hard data, not whims,” said Luzelma Canales, STC’s lead for the ATD initiative. “We are so thankful for what ATD has done to take our institution to the next level and keep us focused on making student dreams a reality. We look forward to continuing a national leadership role within the organization.”

ATD Leader Colleges include institutions working to address a variety of student success challenges at community colleges across the nation. The colleges have identified workable solutions to issues such as improving developmental education, closing achievement gaps, strengthening academic and personal advising for students, strengthening links to high schools and four-year institutions to improve student preparation, just to name a few.

“These success measures are the heart of the ATD mission,” said Carol Lincoln, national director of Achieving the Dream and a senior program director at MDC, the initiative’s managing partner. “The hard work and commitment our Leader Colleges have demonstrated over time has led to important educational and institutional-based improvements that have helped increase student achievement nation-wide.”

Achieving the Dream includes coaching to help colleges’ administrators, faculty, and staff lead institutional change and analyze quantitative and qualitative data. Institutions that wish to be considered a Leader College are rigorously assessed by ATD. Together with the assessment of the college’s coach and data facilitator, a review team determines whether a college has earned the Leader College designation.

“We expect these colleges to serve as mentors within the ATD community of learners, as well as advocates for the principles of Achieving the Dream,” Lincoln added. “Creating and implementing student success initiatives that have an impact takes time and patience. It’s critical that we get it right and learn from institutions that have demonstrated success in key areas and have been able to maintain progress over time.”

“STC has hosted many colleges from across the nation and the globe who want to understand our approach to fostering student success, especially in terms of our focus on mentoring and advising, where we have taken great strides to help first-time-in-college students acclimate to the challenges and opportunities afforded through a college education,” added Canales. “ATD is offering us another great venue to share our approaches and experiences, as well as continue to share insights with our colleagues – all for the sake of changing lives and changing communities.”

Conceived in 2004 by Lumina Foundation for Education and eight national partner organizations, Achieving the Dream has expanded to more than 100 institutions in 22 states, reaching nearly one million students. ATD is focused on creating a “culture of evidence” on community college campuses in which data collection and analysis drive efforts to identify problems that prevent students from succeeding—particularly low-income students and students of color—and develop programs to help them stay in school and receive a certificate or diploma or transfer to a four-year institution.

STC is joined by several other Texas Community colleges in earning the recognition, including Coastal Bend College, El Paso Community College District, Houston Community College System and Southwest Texas Junior College.

For more information about South Texas College’s work on the national Achieving the Dream initiative contact Luzelma Canales at 956-872-6760 or luzelma@southtexascollege.edu. For more information about Achieving the Dream visit http://www.achievingthedream.org/.