Hudson County Community College in Jersey City said it recently earned “Leader College of Distinction” designation from Achieving the Dream, the national reform movement of high-achieving community colleges.
HCCC is one of six Leader Colleges to receive this designation, which is bestowed upon innovative higher education institutions that demonstrate sustained and significant outcomes in the advancement of student success.
ATD is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing community colleges as hubs of equity and mobility in their communities.
“This recognition is important to our colleges. It affirms to their faculty and staff and communities the importance of their student success work and that they are making progress on important milestone metrics in their journeys,” Karen Stout, CEO and president of Achieving the Dream, said. “Hudson County Community College is an exemplar of excellence within the ATD Network. It is driving accelerated and scaled gains in equitable student success results, which effect substantive improvements for students, families and the community HCCC serves.”
HCCC joined the ATD network of 300 colleges in January 2019 and achieved Leader College status last year by demonstrating continuous improvement in retention and graduation rates, especially among Hispanic and African American students; attending annual ATD DREAM meetings; filing annual student success action plans and reports; and serving as an invited presenter at ATD national meetings and webinars.
“We’re proud to be named a Leader College of Distinction, and thank our trustees, faculty, staff and students for helping produce transformative results that empower our students and our community,” HCCC President Christopher Reber said. “ATD’s mission aligns with our college’s mission of opening new pathways for our most vulnerable learners and helping ensure that students achieve their academic and professional goals. Seeing our students complete degree and certificate programs, become gainfully employed and engage in civic participation is inspiring, and compels us to continue building upon our successes.”
