ACCT Co-Signs 'Democracy's Challenge Call to Action,' Committing to Increase Student Completion Rates by 50% by 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APRIL
21, 2010
PRESS CONTACT:
David Conner
202.775.4454
dconner@acct.org
ACCT CO-SIGNS ‘DEMOCRACY’S CHALLENGE CALL TO ACTION,’
COMMITTING TO INCREASE STUDENT COMPLETION RATES BY 50% BY 2020
Six National Community College Leaders Call for All U.S. Colleges to Meet Challenge
SEATTLE, WASH—Today, April 20, 2010, the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) joined in an unprecedented and unified action, signing a statement of commitment to increase student completion rates by 50 percent over the next decade, as one of the six national organizations representing America’s 1,200 community colleges, their governing boards, their faculty, and their 11.8 million students.
“The Democracy’s Challenge Call to Action is an extraordinary step forward for the nation’s community colleges,” said ACCT Chair Thomas M. Bennett, a trustee at Parkland College, Ill.
“This Call to Action represents the culmination of the community college movement’s renewed commitment to accountability, student success, and completion,” said ACCT President and CEO J. Noah Brown, who signed the statement at a special ceremony held during the closing general session of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) 90th Annual Convention in Seattle, Wash.
The Call to Action was also signed by the chief executive officers of the American Association of Community Colleges, The Center for Community College Student Engagement, League for Innovation in the Community College, National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development, and Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. These organizations joined forces to represent the voices of community and technical college governing boards, presidents, administrators, faculty members, and students.
The Call to Action expressly commits the partner organizations to student success-oriented actions, including:
- Changing institutional culture from emphasis on access only to emphasis on access and success;
- Engaging in courageous conversations regarding diversity, equity, and excellence reflecting student success and institutional performance;
- Increasing success rates for all students and eliminating the attainment gaps that separate student groups on the basis of race, ethnicity, and family income;
- Acting on facts to make positive changes in the interest of student success and college completion;
- Promoting faculty and staff development focused on evidence-based educational practice; and
- Providing development opportunities for college CEOs, trustees, and future college leaders to build partnership for student success.
To view the Democracy’s Challenge Call to Action, go to http://www.acct.org/CallAction.pdf.
About ACCT
The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) is a non-profit educational organization of governing boards, representing more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who govern over 1,200 community, technical, and junior colleges in the United States and beyond. The ACCT Web site is www.acct.org.
# # #