Completion & Equity Success for All Students All 13 community colleges in the state of Tennessee are official members of the Achieving the Dream (ATD) network, a national reform organization for student success created to help community colleges close equity gaps for students of color and low-income students and to assist all students achieve their goals for academic success and economic opportunity. Colleges work intensively in Achieving the Dream for three years, establishing
We needed to fundamentally change how we do business in order to better serve our students. ATD provided the necessary framework for us to do so.
ATD teams on their campuses who work closely with a leadership coach and a data coach from ATD. The coaches help them set and achieve goals related to student success. In addition to the coaches, the ATD network provides colleges with a platform for scaling up evidence-based effective practices and policies, a set of peers to share
– Dr. Tracy D. Hall President, Southwest Tennessee Community College
knowledge, and other expert sources of innovation. “Our System shares the ATD vision of community colleges highly valued for preserving access and ensuring success for all
students, especially low-income students and students of color. We want to achieve that vision for Tennessee, and we understand the value and benefits of collaboration, so it made sense for us to establish a systemwide Achieving the Dream network,” Tydings said. All of Tennessee’s community colleges have developed action plans and are working toward increasing overall student success with a focus on closing equity gaps among their student populations.
Graduation 30%
29%
Three-Year Graduation Rate – 2016 Cohort
23%
20%
19% 13%
10%
12%
17 Point Equity Gap
5%
0%
<< 29% White
2011
2012
White
14
2013
2014
Hispanic
2015 2016
Black
<< 23% Hispanic << 12% Black