Atlantic Cape Named a Leader College by Achieving the Dream

Achieving the Dream (ATD) designated Atlantic Cape Community College as a “Leader College,” a national honor awarded to institutions in the ATD National Network that have shown three years of steady improvement in two outcomes that measure student success.
“Leader College status represents a sustained, successful effort to build a student-centered culture,” said Dr. Karen A. Stout, president and CEO of Achieving the Dream. “Colleges that stay focused on the hard work of transformation deserve to be recognized when they make measurable progress.”
Atlantic Cape was awarded Leader College status by demonstrating the success of the Accelerated Learning Program that launched in 2012. ALP is an effort to improve college success rates for students that test into remedial English.
Through the program, students who test into the second level of remedial English can enroll in ALP. ALP allows the student to bypass the remedial course and go straight into college-level English 101 while taking a support course with the same professor.
The program allows students to save time by taking the courses concurrently and enabling them to begin college-level work immediately.
College data shows 84 percent of students enrolled through ALP complete ENGL101, nearly double the completion rate of students who go the traditional route of remedial English.
“The Leader College award is based on a public, college-wide, shared commitment to enhance student success at Atlantic Cape Community College,” said Dr. Peter L. Mora, president. “This commitment to student completion is grounded in our past Strategic Plan 2012-2016, and expanded in our current Strategic Plan 2017-2021. Over this period, Atlantic Cape has demonstrated the use of data-driven strategies that measure the effectiveness of our student success programs. Moreover, the Leader College award is an external recognition of our efforts to develop a culture of student success at the college.”
Leader Colleges are eligible to compete for all grant-funded learning initiatives offered by ATD and are encouraged to provide leadership and support to other colleges in the ATD network, disseminate lessons learned, support state and national efforts to advance the student success agenda, and continue to improve student outcomes.
Achieving the Dream grants Leader College designation for three-year cycles. After three years, institutions must undergo a recertification process to maintain Leader College status.
This year, Achieving the Dream designated five institutions as Leader Colleges for the first time and recertified 17 Leader Colleges.
For more information, visit www.atlantic.edu.