Achieving the Dream: Who is Targeted?

This is the second in a series of articles about GRCC’s role as an ATD college.

GRCC has been an ATD community college for two years, but many employees may only have a tangential understanding of the program, or may not be familiar with it at all. So let’s fill in some background:

Achieving the Dream is a nation-wide initiative aimed at helping community college students succeed in completing coursework and earning certificates and/or degrees. It is an initiative that uses student achievement data to effect broad institutional change. Now in its seventh year, ATD participants include over 160 colleges in 30 states.

Like all the other Achieving the Dream colleges, we place special emphasis on student groups that have traditionally faced significant barriers to success, including students of color and low-income students. Because so many students leave community colleges without earning a certificate or degree, or without transferring to continue their studies, ATD colleges like GRCC make specific commitments to improve student achievement and to keep our doors open to students who:

• Complete developmental courses and move on to college-level courses
• Enroll in and complete gatekeeper courses, such as English Composition I and Statistics
• Complete the courses they take, earning a grade of C or higher
• Successfully satisfy their academic goals while here