Howard Community College Joins National Student Success Network
Howard Community College (HCC) was announced this week as one of eight institutions to join the Achieving the Dream (ATD) Network, a national organization seeking reforms in higher education to expand student success.
HCC is one of two Maryland community colleges named to this year’s cohort. The colleges will all begin membership in a three-year program to build campus capacity in student support, leadership development, and data integration in programming.
“I am proud of the work our campus ATD leads have done to showcase our commitment to positive student outcomes,” said Daria J. Willis, President of Howard Community College. “We visualize a future of improved graduation and retention rates as key institutional performance indicators. Working in concert with ATD and peer institutions will help us find and customize best practices and innovation to meet students where they dream."
Achieving the Dream partners nationally with more than 300 community colleges to deploy executive coaching, K-12 partnership frameworks, and strategic planning to support student experience and completion. The network's approach is designed to create equitable, antiracist, and economically vibrant communities around institutions.
“These institutions, like all the institutions in the ATD Network, recognize the vital role community colleges play in advancing both the socio-economic mobility of their students as individuals and the overall well-being of entire communities," said Karen Stout, President and CEO of Achieving the Dream. "ATD's commitment to equity is the foundation for the significant, transformative shifts that our Network colleges undergo, ultimately benefiting the broader populations they serve. The 2024 Network cohort colleges are highly motivated to instigate change. I am eager to witness the progress we can achieve together on this journey as they become part of our Network."
The colleges in the 2024 Network cohort are as follows:
- Clovis Community College, California
- East Central College, Missouri
- Frederick Community College, Maryland
- Howard Community College, Maryland
- Madera Community College, California
- Midland College, Texas
- Phoenix College, Arizona
- Waubonsee Community College, Illinois
Howard Community College was named among the nation's top two-year colleges by Niche, an online college selection and data resource for families. HCC ranked #92 among all two-year institutions and the top community college in the Baltimore metropolitan area. HCC enrolls nearly 22,000 credit and non-credit students of all ages from more than 104 countries and yields more than $343 million in economic impact as one of Howard County's largest employers.