Guilford Technical Community College Leads NC Team Selected by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

NCTechNews

May 27, 2011

Guilford Technical Community College has been chosen for a leadership role in a national collaboration to devise and share new approaches to help more young people obtain a degree, certificate or credential. GTCC, along with four other North Carolina community colleges, will share a $495,000 planning grant to launch the project. GTCC is the managing partner among the five North Carolina community colleges which are involved in Completion by Design, a five-year program funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to significantly increase completion and graduation rates for low-income students ages 18 to 26.

In addition to GTCC, Central Piedmont Community College, Davidson County Community College, Martin Community College and Wake Technical Community College are among a cadre of schools from four states chosen for Completion by Design. The North Carolina community colleges were selected after a rigorous competition announced last October at the White House Summit on Community Colleges.

"Guilford Technical Community College is honored to serve as the managing partner for our state's Completion by Design initiative," said GTCC president Dr. Donald W. Cameron. "Our faculty and staff have been totally committed to increasing completion and graduation rates since we were selected as one of the first Achieving the Dream colleges in 2005″.

"If we are to succeed in the global economy, we need a continuing supply of qualified employees at all levels of the educational scale - from certificates, to diplomas to degrees," Cameron said.

"GTCC and its partners are thoroughly committed to the retention and completion of our students through innovative practices and the data collection that measures success. Completion by Design builds on those practices, and we deeply appreciate the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's commitment to this process."

Completion by Design aims to build on proven, existing practices already underway at a number of forward-thinking community colleges. These institutions are committed to addressing the needs of today's students. They are doing this by focusing on new approaches to key events during students' educational experience, from the first time they connect to the college through completion.

Community colleges presently serve nearly 11 million students. Enrollment has surged as the recession has caused many Americans to return for additional training and education. Community colleges also are evolving to serve students, who often are older and work full- or part-time to support families while attending school to obtain a degree or credential.

Too many students are not able to complete their programs. Completion by Design was created to sponsor programs that address the challenges that keep students from completing college and elevate graduation rates. "We believe that the today's students-particularly low-income students-need smarter, affordable postsecondary options that lead to high-quality outcomes," said Hilary Pennington, director of education, postsecondary success at the Gates Foundation. "Completion by Design aims to give them that, and we are excited to support the innovative work being conducted at the North Carolina colleges."

Solving this problem is important for our students, our economy and our country. A report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce forecasts that, by 2018, 63 percent of jobs will require at least some postsecondary education. The report also shows that, without a dramatic change in course, the labor market will be short 3 million educated workers over the next eight years.

Completion by Design utilizes findings from previous initiatives, such as Achieving the Dream, to assist community colleges with interventions at key points where they often lose students. GTCC, one of the original participants in Achieving the Dream in 2005, has been a leader in that national program. In 2010, GTCC was recognized with the Leah Meyer Austin Institutional Student Success Leadership Award, given annually to an Achieving the Dream institution that demonstrates excellence in supporting and increasing student success among low-income students.

Under GTCC's leadership, the North Carolina cadre will analyze best practices within higher education and initiatives the institutions have developed themselves, to determine how these processes and procedures can be spread to the entire North Carolina community college system.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation established the Completion by Design project to proceed in three phases
beginning in June 2011:

• The first phase will be a one-year planning period in which the participating colleges will examine their own data to identify loss points and design strategies to address them.
• Phase two will be an implementation period, during which the colleges will implement the strategies.
• The final stage will focus on policy implications and changes, and scaling up the project for national impact.

About Guilford Technical Community College
Guilford Technical Community College provides access to lifelong learning opportunities for personal growth, workforce productivity and community service. We serve all the diverse segments of Guilford County's population, delivering quality educational programs and services, through partnerships with business, community groups and other educational institutions.

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people-especially those with the fewest resources-have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. Learn more at www.gatesfoundation.org or join the conversation at Facebook and Twitter.