Leaders realize that without deep, durable community partnerships, their colleges are unlikely to meet their student success goals.
When thinking of those who can make a difference for community college students striving to gain the knowledge and credentials they seek, the usual suspects come to mind — faculty, staff and administrators. Large-scale institutional change through which colleges improve their ability to serve their students is usually viewed as an expert-driven process best left to the professionals.
Too often left out of the equation are partnerships with community members, agencies and organizations, which can be tremendous assets and essential ingredients for long-term success. This is particularly the case for community colleges that may not have as high a profile or as many resources as larger 4-year institutions. But effective community engagement can be a tricky process without a proper starting point and roadmap.
Last week at DREAM 2017, the annual conference organized by Achieving the Dream (AtD), nearly 2,300 attendees came together to tackle the challenges of increasing student success. During the President’s Colloquium, leaders from AtD colleges deliberated on what it means for colleges to become anchor institutions in their communities, and shared their community engagement challenges and strategies. These leaders realize that without deep, durable community partnerships, their colleges are unlikely to meet their student success goals.
For colleges to fulfill their obligation to provide socio-economic mobility for their students, they will need to work in new and better ways with K-12, community-based organizations and employers. To fortify these efforts, Public Agenda, with support from The Kresge Foundation, designed a guide to help colleges with the planning and execution of community engagement strategies.
Introduced at DREAM 2017, Success Is What Counts is a starting point to ensure that community engagement efforts begin on strong footing. It outlines general principles of effective engagement and provides tools and resources to support colleges in their community outreach and relationships. This includes a discussion starter on improving community partnerships and a self-assessment tool for facilitators.
Download Success Is What Counts, now available to all higher education leaders and others interested in strengthening new creative partnerships on behalf of better outcomes for all students.
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