The Alliance for College Readiness at ECC works closely with K-12 partners with the goal of increasing the number of students graduating from high school who are college-ready. AY2012-13 efforts have focused on the following interventions:
Elgin Community College
Active in Achieving the Dream:
2009 - present
Leader College:
2012 - 2015
Leader College
Participating Institution
During its first year participating in Achieving the Dream, Elgin Community College (ECC) embraced the spirit of a culture of evidence and demonstrated a genuine commitment to student success by laying the groundwork for the implementation of core initiatives.
What We Are Doing:
ECC is working to create cohesion among its initiatives. After a year of development and planning, the college is looking to drive collaboration among the following strategies in the coming year:
- Academic Advising—Collaborate with the Developmental Education workgroup to identify students most in need of advising; and work with the First Year Experience team to embed advising within the College 101 course and New Student Orientation.
- First Year Experience—Identify synergies among College 101, GSD 101, RDG 110 and other student success courses; research the feasibility of mandating College 101 for all part-time and developmental students; and scaling participation of full-time faculty in student success courses.
- Developmental Education—Bring to scale the Summer Bridges program and MTH099; further professional development through the CETL system; further revise curricula; research the viability and benefits of peer tutoring.
- Culture and Relations—Roll-out competency training to key administrators, faculty and staff; hold team-building sessions with key departments.
Who We Are:
Located in the Fox River Valley, mid-way between Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, in a city ranked among the ten fastest-growing cities in the state,; Elgin is home to some 19,275 students.
ECC strives for both academic excellence and student success. Its targeted assistance to students of color, first-generation students, and low-income students is based on the understanding that equity involves more than just access to the college’s resources. Roughly 40% of the college’s students are Hispanic and another 10% are students of color. Sitting at the intersections of urban and rural communities, Elgin’s diverse student population—while coming from varied backgrounds—face similar socio-economic hurdles along the way to persisting and earning degrees and/or certificates.
Student Success Strategies
Elgin Community College is using the following strategies to impact student success:
After restructuring our developmental education department in AY2011-12, ECC has focused efforts on the following developmental areas for AY2012-13:
1. Mathematics Lab - a designated space where students can receive supplemental instructional support for math
Recognizing a need for a systematic approach to equity, ECC began working with a consultant in 2009 to facilitate a courageous approach to equity.
As part of the Student Success Infrastructure, we have devoted more resources to faculty development. We are partnering with the Academy for Colllege Excellence (ACE) in summer 2013 to offer a 5-day experiential learning program for faculty and staff. In addition, the Math depart
