PARAMUS, N.J. – Bergen Community College is one of 16 community and technical colleges selected, this year, into the Achieving the Dream National Reform Network. Faculty, staff, and administrators from Bergen will participate in the 2015 Achieving the Dream Kickoff Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“We are delighted to welcome Bergen Community College into the Achieving the Dream National Reform Network and congratulate them for taking this next step in operationalizing their commitment to improving student outcomes,” said Achieving the Dream Vice President for Community College Relations Cindy Lenhart.
At the 2015 Kickoff Institute June 23 – June 25, Bergen will work in teams with coaches to increase its 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.
Bergen is joining a network of over 200 colleges that are working 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.
“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.
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.)
Achieving the Dream, Inc. is a national nonprofit leading the nation’s most comprehensive non-governmental reform network for student success in higher education history. The Achieving the Dream National Reform Network, including over 200 institutions, more than 100 coaches and advisors, and 15 state policy teams – working throughout 35 states and the District of Columbia – helps more than four million community college students have a better chance of realizing greater economic opportunity and achieving their dreams.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls 16,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip J. Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
# # #