National Park Community College has been awarded an institutional grant to participate in the national initiative, Achieving the Dream (AtD). This is a multiyear, national initiative seeking to promote strategies to improve student success in community colleges.

Achieving the Dream is designed to assist students:

1. Complete developmental courses and move on to credit-bearing courses,
2. Enroll in and complete “gatekeeper” courses, such as introductory math and English,
3. Complete the courses they take, earning a grade of “C” or higher,
4. Re-enroll from one semester to the next, and
5. Earn certificates or degrees.
   

The ATD initiative at NPCC has identified the following goals:

1. Time of reflection. Look at the data and move toward a culture of evidence for data-driven decision making. A thorough and unflinching examination of retention, grades, course completion and graduation rates.
2.  NPCC hopes to uncover and eliminate obstacles to success that it may have inadvertently created or perpetuated.
3. NPCC hopes to establish stronger partnerships with the seven county high schools with the intention of strengthening those institutions’ preparation of graduates.
4. Investigation of strategies for intervening in student success.
5. Evaluation of our need for new or enhanced programs to meet the demands of our changing demographics.
6. A complete shakedown of developmental education at NPCC.

National Park Community College will analyze its current data, conduct student and community focus groups, and make change recommendations to improve future student success rates. The College will examine quantitative and qualitative student data to discover what college areas might be best served through more extensive study.