PRESS RELEASE
Contact:
Carmon Cunningham
617.728-4446
WALKING THE TALK
Community Colleges Where Everyone Wins
Boston, MA, April 6, 2005 “It’s
education that makes you special,” says Mei Yen Huang, a 41-year-old
community college student. “Each hour is precious now and I want them
all.”
This
41-year-old, who came to the United States from Taiwan ten years ago
with her son, is a student at City College of San Francisco. CCSF and
Community College of Denver are featured in Walking the Talk, a
publication from Jobs for the Future and Next Generation Press
presenting compelling stories of college leaders, faculty, and staff
working together to help students like her succeed.
City
College of San Francisco and Community College of Denver were honored,
in 2004, with the MetLife Foundation Community College Excellence
Award. This award recognizes the crucial role that community colleges
play in helping youth and adults meet their educational and career
goals. It celebrates colleges that demonstrate a singular,
institution-wide commitment to low-income students, first-generation
college-goers, and working adults.
“Through
determined leadership at all levels, an attentive eye and ear to the
needs of their students and communities, and a culture that uses data
to inform continuous improvement, colleges like these inspire us all,”
says Sibyl Jacobson, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation. “We
applaud their passion and success at meeting their communities’ unique
learning needs.”
Through
personal stories, Walking the Talk brings to life the passion,
leadership, invention, collaboration, and ability to turn data into
action that underlie the colleges’ exemplary programs, policies, and
supports. It shows how CCSF and CCD help first-time college-goers, new
immigrants, working adults, welfare recipients, high school dropouts,
and others meet their educational and career goals.
For
Walking the Talk, Jobs for the Future, which manages the MetLife
Foundation Community College Excellence Award, asked Next Generation
Press/What Kids Can Do to gather the voices of staff and students at
City College of San Francisco and Community College of Denver. The
press prepared a report that will help other educators and policymakers
learn from the successes of the 2004 award winners.
Around
the nation, low-income students, immigrants, and first-generation
college-goers of all ages account for an increasing share of community
college enrollments. To earn their credits, most must juggle work and
family, often surmounting poor academic preparation or language
barriers.
“It doesn’t take extensive research for most innovative colleges to
realize that they needed to redesign their courses of study and provide
key support services to ensure that non-traditional students succeed at
their community college,” says JFF CEO and President Marlene Seltzer.
“Exemplary colleges, like the 2004 MetLife award winners, start with a
knowledge about best practices, spread these throughout their
institutions, and have a commitment to track outcomes by underserved
populations, using data to make informed decisions.”
Community
College of Denver serves more than 14,000 full-time and part-time
students on its main and branch campuses. Recognized nationally for its
success at narrowing a serious attainment gap, it is Colorado’s most
ethnically and racially diverse higher education institution, with 58
percent minority enrollment, primarily Hispanic and African-American.
In 1990, the Community College of Denver set out to eliminate gaps in
outcomes between students of color and their white peers. Since then,
CCD has consistently improved recruitment and outreach, developmental
education, advising, and student support services targeted to
first-generation college-goers and students who arrive under-prepared
to succeed in college.
City
College of San Francisco enrolls over 106,000 students at its Ocean
campus, nine neighborhood campuses, and over 150 other sites. About
half of the new students in degree and certificate programs are
first-generation college-goers. CCSF’s commitment to serving its
incredibly diverse community is evident across its credit and
non-credit programs.
CCSF
is noted for its sophisticated programs for serving the city’s
immigrants. At one end of the spectrum, about 40 percent of new
students take the English as a Second Language placement test. ESL is
the largest department, serving as many as 25,000 students a year. At
the other end of the spectrum, vocational and ESL programs help
doctors, engineers, nurses, and other foreign-born professionals
improve their English, gain valid credentials, and find employment in
their fields.
Also
honored in 2004 were five other finalists for the award: Albuquerque
Technical Vocational Institute, Bunker Hill Community College, San
Jacinto College North, San Juan College, and Tallahassee Community
College. West Hills Community College of California’s San Joaquin
Valley and Sinclair Community College of Dayton, Ohio, were honored with the MetLife Foundation award in 2002.
For printed copies, contact Jobs for the Future, 88 Broad Street, Boston, MA 02110, 617.728.4446, info@jff.org.
###
MetLife
Foundation, established in 1976 by MetLife, supports programming
that increases education access and opportunity, strengthens partnerships
between schools and communities, and fosters learning in the areas
of health, arts, and civic involvement. For more information about
the Foundation, please visit its Web site at www.metlife.org.
Jobs for the Future seeks to accelerate the educational and economic advancement of
youth and adults struggling in today's economy. JFF partners with
leaders in education, business, government, and communities around
the nation to: strengthen opportunities for youth to succeed in
postsecondary learning and high-skill careers; increase opportunities
for low-income individuals to move into family-supporting careers;
and meet the growing economic demand for knowledgeable and skilled
workers. For more information about Jobs for the Future, please
visit the Web site at www.jff.org. |
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