Western Texas College Joins Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count

National initiative seeks to increase student success at community colleges; Network now includes more than 130 colleges in 24 states and the District of Columbia, reaching more than 1 million students

DATELINE (05/18/2010) – Signifying a commitment to student success and institutional improvement, Western Texas College has joined Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count.  With support from The Greater Texas Foundation, Western Texas College joins 25 other community colleges from around the country in becoming members of Achieving the Dream and identifying strategies to improve student success, close achievement gaps and increase retention, persistence, and completion rates.

Conceived in 2004 by Lumina Foundation for Education and seven national partner organizations, Achieving the Dream is focused on creating a “culture of evidence” on community college campuses in which data collection and analysis drive efforts to identify problems that prevent students from succeeding—particularly low-income students and students of color—and develop programs to help them stay in school and receive a certificate or diploma.  With these new institutions, Achieving the Dream’s network now includes more than 130 institutions in 24 states and the District of Columbia, reaching more than one million students.  

Dr. Mike Dreith, WTC president states: "This is a huge honor for the college. We will be only one of 20 colleges in the state to be accepted and WTC is by far the smallest by enrollment. Achieving the Dream will allow us to focus like a laser on student success and retention. Our students, faculty and staff will benefit greatly from this association."

WTC’s focus will be on College Readiness and Foundational Education. Ultimately, the College’s goal is to help more students reach their individual goals – which may include obtaining a better job, earning a community college certificate or degree, or attaining a bachelor’s degree.

“We’re very excited about these incoming institutions for a number of reasons,” said William Trueheart, President and CEO of Achieving the Dream.  “Community colleges are at the forefront of the national college completion movement.  To be successful requires a structured, committed focus on using data and evidence to make important decisions that will positively impact students, campuses, and communities. Together, Western Texas College and The Greater Texas Foundation have made a vital commitment that will provide benefits to students and the entire community for years to come.”

Each new college has made an initial two-year commitment to focus its efforts on closing performance gaps among student sub-groups including students of color and low-income students.  These colleges will not only learn from those that are already a part of Achieving the Dream, they will receive assistance from experienced practitioners in building a culture of evidence campus-wide, using data to identify problems, setting priorities, and measuring progress toward increasing student success.  Achieving the Dream colleges make lasting changes in policies, programs, and services that are integrated to support success for all students.

Over twenty community colleges and four universities in Texas participate in Achieving the Dream, making Texas the state with the greatest number of Achieving the Dream institutions. The Greater Texas Foundation is making it possible for even more Texas community colleges to join the initiative during national expansion. Beyond its generous underwriting of WTC, the Foundation is also supporting three additional colleges during the 2010-2012 period.

“Achieving the Dream will play a major role in bringing the entire WTC campus community together in a united effort to increase student success,” states, Dr. John Gibson, WTC vice president.  “This initiative would not be possible without financial support from The Greater Texas Foundation, to whom we extend our deepest gratitude and sincere appreciation.”

2010 Incoming Achieving the Dream Community Colleges