Public Agenda resources for educators, students, community leaders and parents interested in improving the success rate for community college students:

Strengthening Achieving the Dream Planning through Stakeholder Engagement: A Guide for Community College Leadership Teams A guide to help colleges engage important stakeholder groups in conversations about student success. It is a great starting point for community colleges that have not worked much with the public or have had limited success with this work. Some of the techniques described in the guide can also help structure conversations with internal stakeholders. Techniques covered include focus groups, stakeholder dialogues and community conversations.

Community Engagement Self-Assessment Matrix A self-assessment and discussion tool for colleges wishing to examine their current community engagement practices and capabilities. It can be used by individuals, but is also useful as a discussion starter for small group discussion among members of a college’s ATD Core or leadership teams, and as a means of engaging other stakeholders such as faculty, staff, and students.

Guide To Faculty Engagement: Principles and Practices for Student Success A guide to help colleges understand the importance of meaningfully engaging faculty in their efforts to boost graduation rates. It addresses some of the challenges previous colleges have faced in this area as well as provides concrete examples and case studies of a variety of successful faculty engagement efforts a variety of institutions. Tips for successful engagement are also included.

Campus & Community Conversations Planning Guide A soup-to-nuts guide for colleges wishing to hold a campus or community conversation about student success. It contains detailed instructions about recruiting participants, logistics, structuring the dialogue and every other aspect of planning such conversations. Insights and examples of campus and community conversations at Achieving The Dream colleges are included, as well as detailed guides for moderators and participants.

Faculty-Student Dialogue for Student Success Planning Workbook Instructions and resource materials (such as moderator guides and sample agendas) to enable colleges to conduct productive group dialogue sessions involving faculty, students and staff in conversations about improving student success.

Changing the Conversation About Productivity: Strategies for Engaging Faculty and Institutional Leaders

Sharing the Dream: How Faculty, Families and Community Leaders Respond to Community College Reform

Squeeze Play 2010: Continued Public Anxiety On Cost, Harsher Judgments On How Colleges Are Run

Can I Get A Little Advice Here?: How An Overstretched High School Guidance System Is Undermining Students' College Aspirations

With Their Whole Lives Ahead of Them: Young Americans' Views On Higher Education And College Completion