THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF BALTIMORE COUNTY
WINS NATIONAL 'EXCELLENCE AWARD'
CCBC recognized for leadership in serving students of all ages and backgrounds
(Philadelphia, PA) April 8, 2008 — The Community College of Baltimore County in Maryland today received the 2008 MetLife Foundation Community College Excellence Award. The winners were announced at the 2008 annual convention of the American Association of Community Colleges. The other national winner is South Texas College of McAllen, TX.
Each winner combines determined leadership, innovative programming, and attention to outcomes throughout the college, leading to clear improvements in meeting the varied learning needs of low-income, first-generation, immigrant, and working students. As part of the award, each college receives a $30,000 grant to continue working in three areas: creating effective strategies for aiding underrepresented students; implementing those strategies across the institution; and using data to target and assess strategies to improve student outcomes.
“CCBC is honored to receive such a prestigious award,” exclaimed CCBC President Sandra Kurtinitis. “The college is committed to providing accessible and affordable education to help all individuals improve their lives, especially those from underrepresented populations. This acknowledgement from MetLife Foundation reinforces that we are being successful in our efforts.”
MetLife Foundation created the Community College Excellence Award to celebrate institutions that are helping low-skilled youth and adults to enter college and achieve their educational goals. The 2008 winners are among the strongest examples among the nearly 2,000 community colleges nationwide.
Because global competitiveness and changing local economies demand more highly skilled and well-educated workers, community colleges are an important access point for students who aspire to higher education but are not well prepared to succeed in it. Community colleges enroll more than 11.5 million students, including 46 percent of all undergraduates and large proportions of students who are first-generation college goers, part-time and working students, minorities, career changers, low-income, and both older adults and young people under 21. They are vibrant and vital resources for individuals, communities, the economy, and the nation.
While community colleges have made significant progress in expanding access, their challenge and the nation’s opportunity is to meet students wherever they are academically, and to increase the number of students who enroll prepared, complete their studies, and secure certificates, degrees, and well-paying jobs. The Community College of Baltimore County and South Texas College are innovators, collaborators, and achievers who are demonstrating an institution-wide commitment to increasing student success.
“Uniquely American and as different and distinctive as the regions they serve, community colleges open opportunity, and add convenience, affordability, innovation, and flexibility to the broad spectrum of higher education,” said Marlene B. Seltzer, president and CEO of Jobs for the Future, which administers the award for MetLife Foundation. “Both Community College of Baltimore County and South Texas College have embraced the challenge of serving today’s students, and the leaders of both colleges are committed to infusing the collection and analysis of data throughout their institutions to see where students are struggling and help lift them up.”
“We intend for the Community College Excellence Award to bring national attention to the important role community colleges play in providing educational access and opportunity to students of all backgrounds,” said MetLife Foundation president and CEO Sibyl Jacobson. “We commend the Community College of Baltimore County and South Texas College for their commitment, their increasing success, and the inspiring examples they provide for colleges, communities, and the nation.”
The Community College of Baltimore County is achieving positive outcomes for underserved students through a combination of innovation, deliberate experimentation and analysis, focused leadership, and capacity-building to address student needs institution-wide. The largest provider of higher education and workforce development in the Baltimore metropolitan area, CCBC has grown out of the consolidation of three independent community colleges and two extension sites into a united whole.
CCBC has been resourceful in its commitment to increasing the number of students who enroll prepared for college, including a strong partnership with the Baltimore County Public School System. The college works with schools, particularly those serving high proportions of students of color, on sophomore-year placement testing, campus visits, career luncheons, and college-course enrollment for high school students.
Long committed to research and evaluation of results, CCBC has new leadership that has further strengthened its use of data and evidence to build success. The college collects information for decisions ranging from determining when courses are offered, to hiring priorities, to programmatic and budget reviews of all departments and services. Faculty, staff, and students rate the services of the college through various surveys. More than 85 percent of African-American students reported the college is effective in addressing their concerns.
President Sandra Kurtinitis leads an institution committed to innovation and to results, assuring that the institution responds to feedback. When students reported satisfaction with college services in the national Community College Survey of Student Engagement, for example, CCBC took the result as a challenge. It set the goal of exceeding expectations, increasing faculty-student interaction and program advising. A few years later, students reported being very satisfied with how the college engages them.
South Texas College is making the collection and analysis of data pervasive, driven by the desire to institutionalize a “culture of evidence,” led by President Shirley Reed. Established in 1993, South Texas serves two Rio Grande Valley counties, Hidalgo and Starr, that are 85 percent Hispanic and among the poorest counties in the United States. When the legislature bowed to local pressure to create South Texas College, unemployment in the two counties was more than 30 percent. A champion of opportunity, the college has grown rapidly from serving 1,000 students at one location, to more than 22,000 across five campuses.
The college’s performance on a key indicator—students who graduated from college or matriculated in subsequent academic years—is improving steadily—from 56 percent in 2002, to 60 percent in 2004, to 65 percent in 2006. A fact sheet on community colleges and a brochure describing the award program, the two winning institutions, and four other finalists are available, along with additional information about the MetLife Foundation Community Excellence Award, at www.jff.org.
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MetLife Foundation, established in 1976, supports education, health, civic and cultural programs throughout the United States. In education, it places particular emphasis on initiatives that improve public schools, develop the leadership of teachers and principals, and involve parents and communities. Its grantmaking is informed by results from the annual MetLife Survey of the American Teacher. The Foundation is also committed to opening access and opportunity in education particularly through support to strengthen community colleges dedicated to lowering dropout rates, raising enrollment, and fostering the academic accomplishments of all students. For more information, visit www.metlife.org.
Jobs for the Future is a leading innovator in strategies to accelerate education and career advancement for both young people and adults. JFF provides research, consulting, and technical assistance on education and workforce development issues to public and private organizations throughout the United States. For more information on JFF, please visit www.jff.org.
