Achieving the Dream

Achieving the Dream Fast Facts

Achieving the Dream is a multiyear national initiative to help more community college students succeed. The initiative is particularly concerned about student groups that traditionally have faced significant barriers to success, including students of color and low-income students.  With this initiative, TCC works to increase the percentage of students who accomplish the following five goals:

1. successfully complete the courses students take;
2. advance from remedial to credit-bearing courses;
3. enroll in and successfully complete gatekeeper courses;
4. enroll from one semester to the next;
5. earn degrees and/or certificates.

TCC has benchmarked its first-time freshmen as follows:

1 AtD cohort submitted one year following cohort entrance. Includes both full-time and part-time students.
2From Preliminary Enrollment Report.   Includes both full-time and part-time students.

Retention and Graduation

1. 74% first semester retention (three-year average)
2. 50% fall to fall retention (three-year average)
3. 12% completion rate of degrees and certificates (within three years)

Developmental Course Work  (5,334 students total for years 2004 - 2006)

1. 1,298 students (24% of total) attempted Reading I or II in first year
2. 68% of Reading students successfully completed Reading I or II in first year
3. 775 students (15% of total) attempted Writing I or II in first year
4. 67% of Writing students successfully completed Writing I or II in first year
5. 2,543 students (51% of total) attempted a developmental math course in first year
6. 67% of developmental math students successfully completed a developmental math course in first year

Gateway Course Work

1. 30% completion rate for College Algebra (in three years)
2. 56% completion rate for Freshman Composition I (in three years)